Assessment Study of NGOs as Service Providers, West Bank and Gaza Strip

Name of Organization
Geographical Scope
Type of Initiatives:
Country
Regions:
  • Arab States
Country:
  • Palestine
Purpose
Despite many years of their active engagement in the provision of a wide range of services, and although a wealth of information is available on Palestinian NGOs and the nature of their services and the constraints they face; to date, there has not been a comprehensive in-depth analytical assessment of the quality of social services provided by NGOs that would look at issues of cost effectiveness and efficiency, targeting and community participation methods/transparency, and accountability, both vis-à-vis local communities, donors and the NGO body at large.
 
The study is primarily a diagnostic that will provide an analytical knowledge base to inform NGOs, policy makers, and donors of the role and performance of Palestinian NGOs in social service delivery.
 
Based on the research findings, the study will make recommendations on policy and institutional arrangements that could enhance the performance of NGOs as service providers. It is expected that these recommendations will include:
 
  1. options for institutional mechanisms that could be put in place to assess the performance and governance of NGOs
  2. suggestions for promoting higher institutional and quality standards
  3. proposals for institutional arrangements that could promote more consistency in the partnerships between PA and NGOs in key sectors of social service delivery
  4. recommendations for new terms of engagement amongst NGOs, between NGOs and donors, and between NGOs and the PA such as practices of transparency in project management and partnership building etc.
Area of Governance
Civil Society
Website of initiative
Publications
The results of this study will be published by the World Bank in the coming months.
Cost (specify currency)
65 000 USD
Funding sources
World Bank
Source of Data
Using a combination of own and existing data
Type of Data Collection
Administrative Data
Focus groups
In depth interviews
Performance assessment / Desk studies
Random sample population survey
Secondary sources
specifications of type of data collection
The household survey was conducted using multistage cluster sampling.
 
The sample size was 3000 households throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. NGO Survey 132 organizations were chosen out of a sample frame of 353 NGO service providers working in the fields of health, education and agriculture in the WBGS.
 
In addition we are compiling a companion collection of annual and financial reports from the targeted organizations for analysis.
Measurement Methods / Tools Generated or Used

Literature Review and Fact Finding Activities Survey of Targeted NGO Service Providers The purpose of the NGO survey is to do the following:

  1. Provide organizational profile information about the targeted NGOs; this will include staff composition, governance and administrative structures.
  2. Provide information about the approach and beneficiaries of the organization; this will include examining constituency and membership, targeting practices, community participation.
  3. Outline the programs and ''products'' that they offer, modes of delivery, scope, frequency, etc.
  4. Provide financial information about the organizations to aid in the study of their cost effectiveness and cost efficiency, information about funding sources and other resources.
  5. Offer information that will help us to assess how responsive the NGOs are to the needs of the community including addressing poverty and emergency situations.
  6. Provide information about networking, partnership, mobilization, and support patterns and mechanisms of the NGOs and possibly indications of the relationships between these NGOs and the Palestinian Authority, donors, and the private sector, as well as advocacy and policy making or influencing roles of the targeted organizations.
  7. Gather all relevant documentation and publications of the organizations that will aid in the data analysis.

National Survey about Public Perception about Service Delivery NGOs. The idea of conducting this public opinion survey is to measure:

  1. Percentage of people who utilize services provided by NGOs.
  2. Assessing people's satisfaction of the services provided by NGOs, government and the private sector.
  3. Percentage of marginalized groups that are utilizing services provided by NGOs. Focus Groups with Palestinian Authority representatives, international NGO leaders, and international donor representatives. Community Focus Groups One-on-one interviews with NGO directors.
List of Indicators
Financial management and administrative practices, legal registration and qualification, qualifications of staff, board, and volunteers, governance of the organizations, leadership, reporting, resource mobilization, transparency, accessibility, assets, community relationships, activities and services, staffing patterns, and networking and partnership arrangements in addition to a review of the organizations' expenditures and revenue.
 
In addition we will be looking at community experience and perceptions of governmental, private sector, and NGO service delivery in terms of utilization, satisfaction, and perception.
Main Outcomes (Products)

Main Users
Civil society
Donor agencies
International agencies
Policy makers
How to

Areas of Governance

Country Initiatives

Regional Initiatives

Global Initiatives

UNDP Support