USAID/OTI West Bank and Gaza Fact Sheet
November 2005
OBJECTIVE
In June 2005 USAID established its Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in response to political openings following Palestinian leadership changes as well as Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank. USAID/OTI is managing a flexible, rapid response $10 million small grants program that aims to increase the ability of Palestinian national and local government to address citizen priorities. Given the size of the youth cohort and its role in the political transition, a corollary focus is to involve youth in social and economic activities. In addition to quick and flexible programming that supports core USAID Mission priorities, the OTI program has four related programming aims to:
The program will:
- Support positive interaction and coordination between local government institutions, the central Palestinian Authority (PA), and local communities;
- Encourage participatory decision-making at the community level;
- Engage Palestinian youth in constructive activities; and
- Facilitate improved flows of accurate information.
As an integral part of the USAID West Bank Gaza Mission, the OTI program complements USAID's transformational development objectives while targeting critical, time sensitive initiatives identified as U.S. foreign policy priorities. In an effort to support moderate, democratic political actors in advance of another round of municipal council elections in December 2005 and Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006, OTI's small grants program closely coordinates with the PA and local-level municipal councils. Grants range from $10,000 to $100,000 and the contracting firm ARD Inc. serves as OTI's partner on grant development and implementation. ARD Inc. manages OTI satellite offices in Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Gaza City, and Jerusalem.
To date OTI has cleared 39 grants for a total of $1.9 million. Initial grants have achieved geographic diversity to underscore a clear programming focus on both the West Bank and the less accessible Gaza Strip. These grants are targeting key program areas such as small-scale reconstruction projects and forums that link local government and PA officials with their constituents to identify community priority needs, youth-related activities, and media initiatives to better disseminate information on key issues.
For further information, please contact:
Justin Sherman, OTI Team Leader, Asia and Near East jsherman@usaid.gov, 202-712-1924.
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