Social Development Strategy Group (SDSG)
 

The overall mandate of the SDSG is to support comprehensive, equitable and sustainable social development policies and an institutional framework of efficient, effective and affordable social service delivery. The SDSG focuses on issues of social development policy formulation and programmatic coordination.

The main objective of the SDSG is to improve aid effectiveness and strengthen PA-donor relations through:

• increasing donor alignment and harmonization with the PA's national and sector policies, priorities and plans in the social development area;
• supporting the development or updating of sector policy papers and strategies, within the framework of national plans and budgets;
• developing joint indicators for sector monitoring and programme-based approaches;
• improving coordination and transparency between the PA and donors and enhancing cross-sectoral policy discussion;
• developing and ensuring adherence to basic aid effectiveness principles;
• preparing, wherever possible, a sector-wide approach and pooled funding arrangements.

 
The SDSG is supported by the work of three Sector Working Groups, namely: Education, Health and Social Protection. These sector working groups are the main instrument of coordination between the PA, the donor community and NGOs.

The SDSG reports to the Local Development Forum (LDF) on a regular basis.

Membership in the group is limited to donors who can add substantial financial or analytical value, relevant PA institutions and representatives of relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs).


Composition

Co-Chairs: Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO)
Members:
PA institutions: Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development (MoPAD), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Labour (MoL), Ministry of Finance (MoF)
Donors: Canada, European Commission (EC), France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Sweden, Switzerland, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United States (US), World Bank
NGOs: Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations’ Network (PNGO)
Secretariat: Local Aid Coordination Secretariat (LACS)
SDSG Coordinator: Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO)