National Expert to develop, test and implement a generic capacity development tool on Business Planning (TPAT)

The TPAT is a three year technical assistance project to assist the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) in order to:

• Facilitate the implementation by PWA of the Sector Reform processes.
• Update water supply, sanitation and water resources management strategies towards more effective infrastructure development, improved service provision, and sustainable resource management.
• Develop PWA’s capacity for implementation of water supply, sanitation and water resources management strategies, action plans and programs.

The TPAT project is an integral part of the Action Plan for Reform for the water sector in Palestine and only one of several interrelated projects. The Institutional Water Sector Review (2010-11) has given the main direction to the further reform and its related projects like the TPAT (2011-14), the Legislative Review (2011-12) and the Organizational Development (2011-2012) project. The TPAT project is based on the concept of collaboration and partnership between the TPAT team and the PWA. In addition, for those activities that relate to or impact other stakeholder organizations, the following additional specific arrangements have been made:

• Expanded task teams to include the main stakeholders (inner circle) and
• A group of other stakeholders are participating in seminars, workshops to discuss draft outputs (outer circle).

A team of seven international advisers from ORGUT Consulting AB from Sweden is in place, among others two long-term advisers, i.e. the Team leader and the Deputy Team leader and five medium-term experts, together covering the fields of water resources, water supply, sanitation, wastewater & reuse, finance & economics, communications, institutional & planning and legal.

Since 2009 the water sector is in a process of legal and institutional reform. The anticipated outcomes of the reform include among other things:

1. The split of the current PWA organization into (1) PWA being responsible for ministerial functions for water resources, water supply and wastewater and for regulatory functions for water resources, (2) a new to be established Water Sector Regulatory Council being responsible for regulatory functions for water supply and wastewater, (3) the current WBWD to be transformed into an independent public company being responsible for bulk water supply to water supply service providers.
2. One of the envisaged departments of the ‘new’ PWA will be the General Directorate of Capacity Development which will be responsible for capacity development policy and strategy development and implementation, institutional audits and training needs analysis, programming and developing generic capacity development tools to strengthen the capabilities of the Palestinian water sector organizations.
3. The large number of municipal water departments responsible for water supply (300 plus) will be subject to a process of horizontal integration, including the merging into a limited number of Joint Service Councils and Regional Water Utilities, and being responsible for the provision of water supply and wastewater services.

Palestinian Water Authority
The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) has offices in Ramallah and Gaza City, its three levels of managers are also divided over these two offices as follows:

Ramallah
1 Head/Minister
5 General Directors
28 Directors

Gaza
1 Deputy Hea
1 General Directr
19 Directors

The role of the national expert on business planning national was to develop, test and implement a generic capacity development tool. Currently there is no regular system of annual and multi-annual planning at authority level or at departmental level. Annual departmental plans are sporadically produced, mainly as an administrative requirement, however, not to set strategic and tactical targets and not to plan and monitor activities in operational terms. Annual financial plans and budgets are produced and implemented in line with Ministry of Finance regulations. However, this activity is mainly carried out by the General Directorate of Finance and Administration and without any significant involvement of the other PWA departments, neither in its preparation nor in its implementation.

The primary objectives of the expert on Business Planning are:

1. To develop a generic capacity development tool for the water sector on business planning;
2. To test and implement this tool by assisting PWA, once restructured, to prepare business plans for the authority as a whole and for each of its 5-6 constituting General Directorates;
3. To make PWA managers understand and be able to apply the techniques required for preparing and monitoring the implementation of business plans at the level of the PWA and its constituting departments.

Secondary objectives include:

• To enhance the team spirit and coordination in the PWA senior management team, and to enhance horizontal communication and coordination between PWA departments;
• To strengthen the capacities of the new PWA General Directorate of Capacity Development to roll out the tool on business planning in water sector organizations, focusing on water and wastewater service providers.