Cooperative Support Programme for Palestine (CSP-OPT)

The project’s aim is to provide support to the newly established Cooperative Work Agency (CWA) and its subsidiary bodies the CDI and the CDF. The CWA will fulfil both regulatory and promotional functions, thereby creating a conducive eco-system that will allow cooperatives to emerge and to flourish while preserving their independence and autonomy. The joint action by CWA and CDI should enable many cooperatives to improve their performance through capacity building, management system development, and management support. The coordinating and supervisory role of the CWA, including with regard to relevant donors and NGOs, should ensure that all existing and future cooperatives are based on member needs, fully and exclusively owned by their members, and managed in accordance with cooperative principles and the 2017 cooperative law. The support should also enable the development of a cohesive legal framework towards the establishment of the CDF. The project also provides technical support to the newly founded General Cooperative Union and the five sectorial unions, especially in the areas of planning, training, legal questions, and support the exchange of expertise and knowledge with international partners. The project is fully aligned with the Cooperative Sector Strategy 2017-2022 and its strategic goals. The project particularly focuses on making operational and effective the legal and institutional framework of the CWA (including the CDI and CDF) and of the cooperative unions.