Strategic Plan for the Socioeconomic Development of the Negev’s Bedouin Population
Over the last decade the government has tried to promote solutions for the socioeconomic development of the Negev’s Bedouin Population, which ranked at the bottom of the official Israeli socioeconomic index (received an overall ranking of 1-2 out of 10). These solutions included various decisions' culminating with government resolution No. 3708, which focused on allocating budgets designated to improving services to the Bedouin population. Nevertheless, these decisions were not unified and comprehensive, didn’t create the necessary "critical mass” of policy required for change, and were poorly received by the Bedouin population.
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture hired ADALYA to draft a 5-year strategic plan for the socioeconomic enhancement of the Bedouin society. This plan was intended to enable the coordination and concentration of budgets and policies that tackle key issues regarding Bedouins. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) defined 3 main goals for this plan:
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture hired ADALYA to draft a 5-year strategic plan for the socioeconomic enhancement of the Bedouin society. This plan was intended to enable the coordination and concentration of budgets and policies that tackle key issues regarding Bedouins. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) defined 3 main goals for this plan:
- Creating sustainable improvement to the socioeconomic status of the Bedouin population.
- Improving governance in Bedouin municipalities, enhancing the services these municipalities provide and strengthening their role in inhabitants' lives.
- Improving the integration of Bedouins in the wider Israeli society.
ADALYA drafted the Strategic Plan in 3 main phases:
Phase A – Identifying the key factors of Bedouins’ low socio-economic status and wellbeing. ADALYA conducted an extensive survey of the current state of affairs in the Bedouin population, the obstacles, and barriers that this population faces. The 3 key issues which were identified are Income & Employment, Education, and Municipal Service Levels.
Phase B – Defining the path to tackling these key issues and setting concrete goals. One of the main principles in defining the path was setting measurable goals to be achieved within 5 years.
Phase C – Helping the MoA draft a new government resolution focused on the Bedouin society. During this phase, position papers were prepared and many meetings with relevant government agencies were held, in order to discuss the budget and measures necessary to achieve the stated objectives of the program.
The strategic plan drafted by ADALYA formed the basis for the new governmental resolution number 2397 regarding the socioeconomic development of the Negev Bedouin population (2017-2021)
This resolution can be found here.
