Institutional and Training Needs Assessment for Establishing
Ministry of Construction and Housing Knowledge and Training Center Draft Final Report
INSTITUTIONAL AND TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT
FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION AND HOUSING
IRAQ HOUSING INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER
ACRONYMS
ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
IHITC Iraq Housing Information and Training Center
JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency
MMPW Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works
MoCH Ministry of Construction and Housing
MMPW Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works
MoB Mayoralty of Baghdad
MoJ Ministry of Justice
MoPDC Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation
MWR Ministry of Water Resources
MoE Ministry of Electricity
SoE State-Owned Enterprises
USAID United States Agency for International Development
FORWARD
Given that Iraq suffers from a huge shortage in the housing sector, the government is attempting to build 1,27 million housing units by 2010 through the public and private sectors since both possess broad construction skills but need to develop and speed up their activities to achieve that goal. Hence, special importance should be attached to topics such as reformulating the housing sector policy, institutional change, capacity-building and other.
The modernization process underway in the housing sector is closely linked to developing decentralization and privatization policy and participation of public bodies concerned. The successfulness and effectiveness of this modernization process is directly connected with training and capacity- building, based on which the Iraqi government signed agreements with international donors in order to enhance its capacity and that of its institutions to deal with the private sector in order to improve the standard of housing and consequently raising living standard of the Iraqi people.
Hence, UN-HABITAT undertook the responsibility of laying the ground for enhancing the capacity of the Iraqi housing sector focusing on institutional development and training in various fields such as funding of housing, planning, housing development planning, improvement and maintenance of housing areas, infrastructure planning, participation of bodies concerned in the housing sector, in addition to the methods and techniques of geographical information systems in terms of housing and services development.
Over the years, the government was the provider of almost all goods and services and the creator of suitable job opportunities for citizens. MoCH and its institutions and companies are employing over 24000 persons in this country. A survey of the housing sector in Iraq conducted in 2006 showed that 90% of home owners built their homes by using their own savings or by borrowing money from friends and relatives/employers. These homes were mostly built by small contractors who showed flexibility in dealing with the local communities to build new housing units or renovating and expanding old ones.
Thus raising performance level of this category of contractors represents the main challenge facing the housing sector, which requires making a change in the attitude and management of the government and its institutions to encourage and develop the private sector.
Challenges
MoCH has asked UN-HABITAT to assist in establishing a center for knowledge and training to undertake enhancing the technical and administrative capacity of the housing sector in Iraq. The Iraqi Training and Knowledge Centre for Housing shall be the stimulating tool to enhance the capacity of MoCH, its institutions & companies, other ministries, the private sector, universities and NGOs concerned to work together to achieve the goal of building 1,27 million housing units by 2010.
It is expected that the housing sector will emerge as an investment activity in order to be organized and oriented and not just a sector concerned with executing government projects. This shall require a change in MoCH role in order to cooperate with the financial services sector, construction and housing sector and national, regional and international private investors.
Knowledge management is based on dealing with knowledge as being an important and basic element in creating a supporting and consolidating environment to exchange expertise between the parties committed and interested in achieving the objectives of their institution or sector. Therefore, knowledge should be organized and available in order to be utilized by the parties responsible upon decision-making.
The current study prepared by UN-HABITAT consultants IdRC includes a workplan proposed for the Iraqi Center for Housing, where UN-HABITAT consultants (via its engineering work team in Baghdad) collected information through field visits conducted to MoCH and its institutions and companies, and also to some ministries as well as government and private institutions concerned inside Iraq.
UN-HABITAT consultants in Amman also met some Iraqi officials from the ministries concerned and met also with some private companies and representatives of some Iraqi government institutions and universities. Moreover, a comparative study of similar knowledge centers in other countries was conducted in order to obtain the best possible means that ensure the successfulness of the proposed workplan.
The draft of this study has been prepared to be presented to MoCH as a basis for the anticipated workshop in Amman where results and key proposals shall be discussed. The final report shall be prepared after the workshop.
UN-HABITAT under the strengthening of the Housing Sector Project phase two will assist MoCH in its initial steps towards establishing a functional centre. Due to limited resources of the project, further support steps will be needed and pledges for support is required.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANNEXES
1. Contacts and interviews
2. References
3. Training Courses under UN Habitat Project:
Strengthening the Capacity of the Housing Sector
4. Mapping of Similar Institutions
5. Institutional Assessment Detailed Results
6. Business Plan
6a. Proposed English language training program
6b. IHITC GIS Lab Hardware and Software Requirements
6c. IHITC Budget
6d. IHITC suggested book purchase list
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Abundant natural and human resources enabled Iraq to attain the status of a middle income country in the 1970s. The country developed good infrastructure, and the education and health care systems were widely regarded as the best in the Middle East. Since then, successive wars, international sanctions and a repressive, state-dominated economic system have stifled economic growth and development and debilitated basic infrastructure and social services.
Despite the country's rich resource endowment, Iraq's human development indicators are now among the lowest in the region. The Iraqi population faces serious challenges re-working fundamental aspects of its governance, political decision making and economic development.
Developments in the housing sector reconstruction are closely related to policy reform for decentralization, privatization and public/stakeholders participation. The success and effectiveness of such reform is directly tied to training and capacity building. This involves upgrading the skills of officials and civil servants working in local, public administration, introducing practices of partnership and participation with the private and non governmental sector, and providing appropriate mechanisms of exchange with neighboring countries and the international community.
UN-Habitat’s “Strengthening the Capacity of the Housing Sector in Iraq” addressed this issue and focused on institutional development and training in various related areas including housing finance, housing development planning and management, housing areas improvement and maintenance, planning for infrastructure and housing, CBOs and stakeholders participation in housing, and GIS tools and techniques for housing and services.
In response to a request by the Ministry of Construction and Housing (MoCH), and based on a rapid needs assessment conducted at the start of the abovementioned project, a total of 26 training workshops were held inside and outside Iraq. The training provided a good introduction to a variety of subjects as outlined in Section 4.1 below. There remains, however, a significant need to improve the capacities of the Ministry’s staff and that of other relevant stakeholders for this purpose.
The main objective for this assignment is to develop the tools that would assist the Iraqi Ministry of Housing and Construction in the establishment of a center of excellence offering training and knowledge management in the housing and urban development sector. The provided assistance will be in a form that would enable the Iraqi government to establish a center that is sustainable, be a focal point in the reform of housing policy in Iraq, provide technical assistance to decision makers, and possibly be replicated in other ministries or regions in a decentralized fashion.
The study at hand aims to address various issues regarding the establishment of the Iraq Housing Information and Training Center (IHITC) which would take a lead role in promoting and supporting sectoral reform. The study develops a participatory, multi-stakeholder structure, management and planning for the proposed center.
This study also addresses the training and capacity building that have been conducted to date by Habitat and other donors and identifies the needs to catalyze and maximize the impacts and effects of such training in a sustainable manner.
The specific tasks were to:
1. Conduct literature review of relevant documents
2. Conduct an assessment of Iraqi Ministry and Construction and Housing to develop a clear understanding of the Ministry’s structure, its mission, capacity and capability, and needs both from a physical and technical context.
3. Conduct a training assessment to identify:
a) Extent of link between training goals/objectives and actual or expected workplace outcomes
b) Need for improved training programs’ development and revision where revisions or improvements in the training can improve the training impact (scaling up of needed training)
c) Identifying unique circumstances, best practices and other factors that have had an impact on the extent of training success
d) Identifying recurrent training needs and potential solutions
e) Identifying organizational or workplace barriers that might hinder or prevent trainees’ demonstration or application of skills gained from the training program (e.g., workspace, equipment, communication infrastructure, etc.)
4. Mapping and Review of training center models to identify Mission Statements, Target beneficiaries, technical services offered, staffing and qualifications, organizational structures, financing and sources of funding, available facilities, and networking with other sectoral entities.
5. Regular interaction with focal points and key senior officials in the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
6. Develop a clear Business Plan with the following elements:
a) Mission Statement with clear goals and objectives for the center and identifying the target and beneficiary groups.
b) Organizational Structure of the center and its various departments.
c) A Networking and Communication Plan
d) Staffing Plan for the center ranging from management to technical and administrative staff.
e) Capacity Building Program including training objectives, scope, methodology, expected outputs and target groups/departments in areas revealed by the TNA conducted by the technical team.
f) A plan of training facilities and lab requirements and information system network requirements.
g) A plan for the Center’s Knowledge Management System, archiving, and library
h) Developmental plan for the center in terms of initial services to be offered, development of new services, marketing strategies, revenues and financial sustainability, and other issues.
7. Conduct a workshop to present the recommended model for the center and receive feedback from the participants on any suggested modifications/recommendations.
8. Finalize the final report based on feedback received at the workshop.
1.1 Methodology
In addition to desk research and extensive literature reviews, the main approach that was followed by the IdRC technical team revolved around the conduct of field data collection and structured interviews. This was conducted by deploying two teams; a lead technical team based in Amman, and a field technical team based in Baghdad. The two teams communicated on a daily basis to direct all the data collection efforts including the design of a survey tool and structured interview forms.
The main tasks and activities undertaken by the IdRC technical team to meet the objectives of the assessment at hand are described below.
1. Desk review – of previous UN Habitat training programs, other related training and capacity building programs, reports on the Iraq Housing Sector, international housing and building centers
2. Training and Institutional Assessment conducted simultaneously. In-depth interviews of senior officials in MoCH, state-owned companies and commissions, as well as other governmental and non-governmental agencies whose work impacts housing provision. These interviews also addressed training needs, both through an analysis of previous UN Habitat training and of current and future tasks and responsibilities of officials.
Interviews in Baghdad were supplemented by a series of meetings in Amman with government and private sector officials, as well as participation the Housing Market Survey Conference.
This final report is based on comments from UN Habitat, and from the recommendations of the MoCH Committee established to “Study Establishment of Information & Training Center for Iraq Ministry of Construction and Housing. As noted by the Committee, there is still a need for a final workshop to define the specific organizational set-up, roles and responsibilities of the Center within the Information Technology Directorate.
1.2 Report Outline
The format of the report is as follows:
· Section 1 – Introduction
· Section 2 – The Current Situation – an overview of the Iraqi housing sector, government policies and strategies, and donor input in the sector
· Section 3 – International Best Practices – outlining international best practices in training, knowledge management, and a review of international models of housing and construction knowledge and training centers
· Section 4 – Institutional and Training Needs Assessment, a detailed review of the previous Habitat training, main institutions involved in housing, their roles and responsibilities, their capacity building needs, and a review of training needs for the housing and construction sector
· Section 5 – Business Plan for the Knowledge and Training Center, including vision, mission, functions, target groups, legal and regulatory framework, communications and marketing plan, capacity building plan, budget and financing, and short and long-term action plans
2.0 THE CURRENT SITUATION
2.1 Overview of Housing Sector Situation
After more than two decades of war, sanctions and neglect, the Iraqi housing sector is in crisis. A series of studies have addressed the sector: starting with the World Bank/UNDP Joint Sector assessment, continuing with various studies by UN Habitat, USAID and “the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with the last one being the Housing Market Survey 2006, also funded by UN Habitat.