A&E Council and SABEQ Program collaborate to build Council's members capacity

The workshop targeted the Architects and Engineers (A&E) council's eight companies, to provide them with guidance and hands-on technical assistance regarding the development of effective and comprehensive business plans. The two-day workshop includes key issues the A&E sector is facing and their alignment with the National Agenda and Jordan Vision 2020 strategies, as well as concerns and challenges the sector is facing.

The focus of the workshop however, is centered on defining the essential components of an effective strategy, efficient management and leadership skills, and how a well developed business plan can promote empowerment and accountability, corporate conversations and role enrichment for a business leader. An added element to the two-day event is a one-on-one mentoring session provided to each of the eight companies participating in the workshop. The mentoring sessions delve into a more hands-on technical assistance in developing business plan outlines and work programs. Each company is provided with guidance and assistance over the course of a month to ensure the knowledge gained during the workshop, is implemented constructively in actual deliverables.

To solidify the importance of strategic thinking and planning in a business, a special feature in the workshop was a case study on the successful fusion of international best practices set as a foundation to a Jordanian company in this sector. This company's application of the practices and re-design of its business plan and approach has been able to propel it to be a highly regarded specialist in water, environment, dams and road projects; a large part of the A&E sector. Since applying these internationally recognized best practices, the company has also become a recipient of the King Abdullah II Excellence Award.

The USAID-funded SABEQ Program's role in assisting the council is being conducted through its Institutional Transformation solution. This element of SABEQ supports the program's overarching goal of furthering sound management systems, continuous improvement, and competitive organizational and institutional mindsets in Jordan.

By supporting SABEQ's core components, Institutional Transformation assists select public sector organizations to drive change that makes them more efficient, transparent, and customer-centric. The solution also supports select private sector organizations to encourage internal innovation and entrepreneurship, while embracing a competitive mindset. The main goals SABEQ has in its sights for business associations fall into three interrelated themes: strengthened Jordanian organizations; enhanced entrepreneurial mindset and opportunities, and improved mechanisms for public-private dialogue.

The purpose of SABEQ's focus on the A&E sector is due to its recognition as a priority sector in the National Agenda and Jordan Vision 2020 plans, whereas the sector is seen as a major contributor to the national GDP. The accelerated expansion of the sector is also a major factor in its importance with its rapid growth in the last five years, and its future potential to attract high level projects from foreign parties. Jordan's A&E sector is also a sector with one of the largest pools of qualified and experienced candidates, with a level of expertise that is in high demand in the region.

The USAID-funded Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality Program (SABEQ) is a five year broad economic development initiative implemented by BearingPoint, Inc. and a sizeable team of international and Jordanian partner firms. By both supporting improvements in the business environment and providing assistance to expand innovation and productivity in Jordanian businesses, SABEQ's four components all support the common objective of building up the private sector—Jordan's companies, innovators and entrepreneurs—as a powerful engine of economic growth.