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MENA NWC Update
Research Project Design and Writing Workshop
Held in Oman
MENA NWC Thematic
Partnerships
The Network’s thematic
areas and related research
priorities include:
Water Use Efficiency and
Productivity
Groundwater
Nonconventional Water
Water/Energy/Food
Security Nexus
Water Supply and
Sanitation
Throughout the Middle East
and North Africa research
teams are collaborating to
design proposals that will
address critical water
challenges. To support
these efforts, USAID’s
Further Advancing the Blue
Revolution Initiative (FABRI)
program and Partnerships
for Enhanced Engagement in
Research (PEER) jointly
presented a research project
design and proposal writing
workshop at the Middle East
Desalination Research
Center (MEDRC) in Muscat,
Oman in October 2012.
The workshop included 35
participants from 29
institutions and 12 countries
in the Middle East. Through
interactive plenary sessions
and participatory small
working groups the
participants generated draft
proposals that could be
submitted to either FABRI
or PEER for possible funding.
“The knowledge and
skills I learned will be
helpful in preparing
proposals and
research plans, not
only for PEER and
FABRI, but for
everything because the
skills I learned are so
comprehensive.”
Feedback from
Workshop participant
MENA NWC Business Planning Begins
Under the direction of the
Acting Director of the
Network’s Secretariat, Peter
Reiss, FABRI is proceeding
with a key component of the
Network: the five-year
business plan. The business
plan will set a course for the
Network’s financial
sustainability by identifying
its anticipated expenditures
and revenue stream. As
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part of the business planning
process, a team travelled to
the MENA NWC Centers in
February 2013 to gather
input on the Network’s
vision, mission, and strategic
objectives which will be
finalized by the Founders
Committee when it meets in
March 2013. Philip Giantris
of Valu Add Management
Services, Ra’ed Daoud and
Razan Quossous of Eco
Consult, and Shawki
Barghouti of USAID’s
Further Advancing the Blue
Revolution Initiative
(FABRI) program are
contributing to the
business planning process
and many were part of the
business planning trip to
the region in February
2013.
Building Partners hips at the 2013 World Water
Week in Stockholm
The MENA NWC will host
a side event entitled
Research Partnerships to Solve
Middle East Water Challenges
at the upcoming World
Water Week in Stockholm
in September 2013. In-line
with World Water Week’s
theme “Water CooperationBuilding Partnerships”, the
event will highlight MENA
NWC research progress
and discuss how the
partnerships are formed and
nurtured. Panelists will
discuss how their research
will reshape the water
sector in the region. Through
active participation at World
Water Week, the MENA
NWC has the opportunity
to create new international
partnerships to expand its
program and increase its
impact. If accepted, this
event will be the first
international presentation of
the MENA NWC, a
fulfillment of U.S. President
Obama’s vision to support
technological development in
the Middle East.