The 2011 annual report provides a comprehensive summary of the ongoing projects by the UNICEF Jordan Country Office (JCO). The programmes and projects include social protection initiatives for the National Aid Fund and Zakat Fund;; national perinatal and neonatal mortality study and development of nationwide computerized violence tracking system. . The analysis of the report is based on the progress and assessment of the JCO’s projects in partnership with other organizations in relevant fields including the Ministries of Interior;; Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and other UN agencies (UNDP;; UNFPA;; UNWOMEN;; UNHCR and WHO). The report specifies the organization’s methodology in collecting data and evidence and monitoring mechanisms to track and assess programme progress. In evaluating the development of ongoing projects;; the report summarizes future work plans and examines critical factors and constraints in each project.

The report is based on the study designed to conduct a communications assessment of Aqaba Water Company;; one of the key water utilities in Jordan and to examine how its communications department collaborates with other areas of the organization. As part of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP);; a public education and behavior change communication program developed to support USAID’s technical and policy investments in the Jordanian water and energy sectors;; the report finds that the effective communications can save the utility money by improving operations;; increasing efficiencies and reducing customer complaints. The report suggests that the strategic communications can be the key to a sustainable future for the kingdom during the times of critical resource constraints and presents some guiding principles and recommendations for the Aqaba Water Company’s communication efforts.

The report presents the findings of the government institutions efforts survey;; which is designed for the purpose of reviewing the government agencies’ current and past communication activities in water;; energy and environment. The specific objective of this survey is to review the Donor Position Paper on Outreach targeted sample of 36 staff from 22 government institutions from Aqaba and Karak. As part of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP);; a public education and behavior change communication program developed to support USAID’s technical and policy investments in the Jordanian water and energy sectors;; this report finds that many government institutions have more than one role;; overseeing solid waste management;; industrial water and reuse and environmental laws. The report also finds that the communications programs are scattered and credibility and trust between service agencies and their clients is a concern. The interview analysis suggests that the Public Action Project needs to focus on two or three specific areas;; and the report recommends all capacity building activities to be focused on one goal of developing;; implementing and measuring national communication strategies and action plans.

The report presents the findings of a desktop survey conducted to review gender studies in Jordan with an overall goal of the survey as to ensure that gender is adequately addressed throughout project research;; analysis and activities of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP). Under the PAP mandate to encourage water and energy conservation and to support behavior change towards more conservation and efficient practices both at the household level and in the commercial;; industrial and civil society arenas using social marketing behavioral methods;; the report is based on a gender desktop review of existing research on gender and natural resource management in Jordan. It capitalizes on the growing body of research on gender across sectors in Jordan including natural resource management;; to apply and adapt the findings to the PAP project activities. The report concludes with recommendations for the PAP projects such as donor collaboration;; improvement of women’s knowledge of water and energy saving methods;; engagement and creation of women’s participation to promote and support opportunities for small;; women-owned business promoting water and energy saving technologies and promotion of alternative technologies.

The report studies the formal and informal waste streams in Jordan as well as the public behaviors and attitudes that influence them. The study gives a specific emphasis to discovering the “drivers” of these practices as well as barriers to change and aims to locate examples of model behavior that already exists in Jordan so that they can be encouraged and duplicated. It investigates and assesses the four areas – the general attitudes of the Jordanian population towards waste and waste disposal;; informal waste reclamation sector in Jordan;; stream of recyclable material and the formal sanitation and waste management system of Amman and Aqaba. This research was conducted as part of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP);; which aims to encourage water and energy conservation and to support behavior change towards more conservation and efficient practices both at the household level and in the commercial;; industrial and civil society arenas using social marketing behavioral methods. The study finds that there were high levels of awareness and concern about issues such as littering and recycling but it also concludes that the lack of concern amongst the broader public was cited as one principal reasons that people were not taking action. It calls for a quantitative research to confirm Jordanian attitudes on environmental issues.