The turnout was striking with close to 80 civil society organizations attending, including equal number of representatives from the five sub-committees, Gaza members through a videoconference and coordinators from the four NGO umbrella Networks: the Palestinian NGO Network, The National Institute of Palestinian NGOs, the Palestinian General Union for Charitable Societies, and the General Palestinian Union for NGOs- Gaza.
Practical steps and a timetable for the implementation of the Strategic Framework were formulated and developed and the five strategic objectives and indicators reviewed. Action priorities were identified including the setting up of a monitoring and evaluation system and the committee structures of work for the next four coming years.
It should be noted that the Strategic Framework for the Palestinian NGO Sector 2013-2017 was launched in May this year and that it is jointly owned by NDC and the four Umbrella Networks. The Framework aims to provide Palestinian NGOs strategic direction in addressing key issues faced by the Palestinian society and to restructure existing programs and projects accordingly. Effectively, through collective efforts, the Palestinian NGO sector will become more efficient, sustainable and independent.