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GIFT-MENA network

The Governance Institutes Forum for Training in the Middle East and North Africa (GIFT-MENA) is a network of schools and institutes specialized in the training of government civil servants in the MENA region. Besides regional institutions the network also includes international organizations as associate members. It was created as a reaction to governance deficits in the MENA region and tries to tackle these through regional developed solutions and south-to-south cooperation. The network acts as an exchange platform for practitioners and decision makers and serves as a networking hub in a collective effort to document and disseminate successful regional experiences and knowledge in capacity development. Its main areas of focus relate to public finance management and state modernization.

History
The GIFT-MENA Network was launched at the initiative of the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan of Lebanon, and with the initial support of the World Bank and the Agency for International Technical Cooperation of the Ministries of Economy, Finance and Sustainable Development of France- ADETEF. Seven MENA Government training institutions, two regional organizations and ten European and international organizations endorsed the initial project, in March 2006.

Set-up phase (2006-2008)
Following the network launch in March 2006, a 18 month interim period followed without an official structure and regular meetings. But first initiatives - like a regional conference for training of trainers, in Marocco - were cunducted. A preliminary committee held its first meeting in June 2006, in Granada, Spain to discuss progress, potential funding as well as prospects of enlargement. It met again in January 2007 in Amman, Jordan.

In June 2008, the First General Assembly/Annual Network Meeting was held in Paris, under the theme "Joining hands for a better public service". It was organized by the Institute of Finance of Lebanon - Basil Fuleihan Institute, GIFT-MENA Network Secretariat; the ADETEF - Agency for International Cooperation of the French MINEFE; the National School of Administration of France (ENA); and the World Bank Institute. Its aim was to give the network a more institutional character and develop a shared vision. The Participants from 22 institutions and 10 Arab countries ratified the GIFT-MENA Convention and Bylaws, elected a first steering committee and discussed the strategy and vision of the network.

Development phase (2008-2015)
Beginning in November 2009 the GIFT-MENA network started to assemble its members annually at a network meeting. The steering committee also started to hold annual meetings, mostly combined with the general assembly.

In the first general assembly in Beirut the members signed the Beirut Declaration, which "represents a common agreement between member institutions on the necessity to increase cooperation, create, foster and develop new and existing partnerships, as well as strive to offer innovative training programs to civil servants and leaders, develop appropriate and up-todate training curricula and promote an organizational culture of integrity and ethics".

The following annual general assemblies were always organised combined with workshops around a relevant topic for governance in the MENA region.


 * 1. Leadership in MENA Civil Service: Challenges of Competence and Confidence Building (Beirut, 2009)
 * 2. Public Financial Management in MENA: Reforming for Results at a Time of Crisis (Beirut, 2010)
 * 3. Rethinking Training in the Public Sector (Beirut, 2011)
 * 4. Training and Cooperation for Change in the MENA region (Tunis, 2012)
 * 5. Human Capital Formation in the Public Sector and the Challenge of building the State in times of crisis (Kuwait, 2014)
 * 6. Governance, State Building and the Rule of Law (Marrakech, 2015)

In parallel to the regular offer, on-demand requests for specific training programs, bilateral study visits and technical assistance were conducted.

Purpose
The network is an instrument of development cooperation that was created to allow countries of the MENA region to enhance the development of South-South cooperation in the areas of capacity development for public finance, state modernization and governance reform. The project builds upon existing efforts undertaken by MENA training institutions and existing comparative advantages and intends to reinforce the impact of bilateral and multilateral exchange programs.

The network objectives are to :


 * Strengthen the institutional capacity of member institutions;
 * Promote networking and cooperation among member institutions, including the exchange of trainers, trainees and training programs;
 * Act as a platform for the dissemination of good practice among its members;
 * Provide access to high quality training modules on financial governance topics, in the Arabic language.

Structure
The GIFT-MENA network is structured as a support and agency network. This signifies that "members act independently as agents of change but join the network to receive support that will make them more effective in their work".

The GIFT-MENA Convention declares the General Assembly and the Steering Committee as their governing bodies. Whereas the General Assembly shall include all GIFT-MENA members the steering committee consists of five member institutions, elected by the institutional members of the General Assembly. The steering committee is supposed to meet once a year to discuss, formulate and subsequently recommend to the General Assembly major policies, strategies, and actions providing overall direction to the network and set strategic orientations.

Since February 2015 the Steering Committee is composed of :


 * The Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (BIPA)
 * The Egyptian National Management Institute
 * The Ministry of Finance of Palestine
 * The Moroccan Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Modernization
 * The Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan of Lebanon (Secretariat)

The GIFT-MENA secretary acts as supporting entity, which prepares the general assemblies, coordinates the activities and takes care of most financial aspects. Since 2008 the Institut des Finances - Bail Fuleihan hosts the secretary in Person of a Executive Secretary.

Members
GIFT-MENA membership encompasses two types of members: Institutional Members and Associate Members. Individuals can apply for Observer status.

Institutional Members
Two forms of Institutions are included:
 * a) Civil service training schools and institutes which are part of, or are affiliated with MENA governments;
 * b) Government agencies and/or ministerial divisions, which include training government civil servants as part of their mission in the MENA region;

New member institutions are accepted if they fulfill the requirements. The network consists currently of 60 member institutions from 20 Arabic countries :


 * 🇲🇦 Morocco: Institut des Finances, ENA, Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Modernization, ISA
 * 🇩🇿 Algeria: ENA, Institute for the Development of Human Resources, Ministry of Finance, Institut d'Economie Douanière et Fiscale, Central Bank of Algeria, Institut Supérieur de Gestion et de Planification
 * 🇹🇳 Tunisia: ENF, ENA, Prime Ministry, IFID, Centre National d'Innovation Pédagogique et de Recherches en Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Dev. & Intl. Coop.
 * 🇱🇾 Libya: Ministry of Finance, Institute of Planning, Institute of Banking and Financial Studies
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt: Central Agency for Organization and Administration, National Management Institute, Ministry of Planning and Administrative Reform, Ministry of Finance
 * 🇸🇩 Sudan: Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, Academy for financial and economic studies, Supreme Council for Local Governance and HR Development, Ministry of Finance and Civil Service (Red Sea State), National Council for Training
 * 🇱🇧 Lebanon: Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan, Central Bank Institute of Training and Development, ENA
 * Palestine: Ministry of Finance, PFI, National Institute for Administration, General Personnel Council, Palestinian Banking Institute
 * Syria: Higher Institute for Administrative Development, National Institute of Administration
 * 🇯🇴 Jordan: Public Finance Training Center, National Institute for Training
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq: Finance and Accounting Training Institute, Ministry of Finance of Kurdistan, National Center for Consultancy and Management Development
 * 🇰🇼 Kuwait: Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Kuwait
 * 🇴🇲 Oman: Institute of Public Administration
 * 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates: Mohamad Bin Rachid School of Government, Institute of Administrative Development
 * 🇶🇦 Qatar: Ministry of Finance, Institute of Administrative Development
 * 🇧🇭 Bahrain: Ministry of Finance, BIPA
 * 🇲🇷 Mauritania: Ministry of Economic Affairs
 * 🇾🇪 Yemen: Ministry of Finance, Finance Institute, Ministry of Planning and Intl. Cooperation
 * 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: Institute of Public Administration
 * 🇩🇯 Djibouti: National Institute of Public Administration (Djibouti)

Associate Members
Associate Members of GIFT-MENA can include:


 * International and regional organizations involved in training and/or capacity building on public administration/governance issues and servicing the public sector of MENA;
 * Euro-Mediterranean civil service training schools, institutes and organizations whose mission include the provision of technical assistance to MENA governments, including to MENA counterpart institutions;
 * Euro-Mediterranean government agencies and/or ministerial divisions, which include training government civil servants as part of their mission and which provide technical assistance to MENA governments;
 * Global networks of universities, institutions or individuals involved in public administration/governance in MENA.

Following 14 are currently associate members :


 * Expertise France
 * Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO)
 * Arab Planning Institute
 * United Nations Development Program – UNDP
 * Center of Institutional Cooperation - National Institute of Public Administration
 * World Bank Institute
 * Directorate General of Public Administration and Civil Service - DGAFP
 * ESCWA- ECRI
 * Islamic Development Bank
 * National School of Administration - France
 * Arab Monetary Fund - Institute of Economic Policies
 * Islamic Research and Training Institute
 * Center for Economics and Finance of the International Monetary Fund
 * International Training Center of the ILO

Changed environment since 2011
The creation of the network, in 2006, happened against the background of substantial governance deficits in the Arab region, which is assumed of being one reason for the Arab uprisings since 2011. The demand for more political participation and transparency was evident throughout the protests. This evolving change of the relationship between the society and the government is also shaping the demands on and the necessary abilities of civil servants.

This new social environment combined with increasing political instability in many Arab countries represents a new challenge for the network. Not only is the objective to modernize governance in some countries brought back to only maintain a basic civil service or reconstruct the damaged body of civil service, but the whole network is struggling to convince donors and policy makers to invest in visionary and long-term projects, where a refugee crises and fighting terrorism seems more important in the short term.