The Higher Council for Science and Technology

Established in 1987, The Council aims at assisting the Government in formulating Science and Technology policies and Building a National Scientific and Technological base for development in the Kingdom.

Council Members  HRH Prince El-Hassan Chairman  President of the RSS  Minister of Planning  Minister of Industry and Trade  Minister of Finance  Minister of Agriculture  Minister of Education  Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research  Minister of Tele-communications and Information Technologies  Minister of Energy  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff  Secretary General of HCST  President of Amman Chamber of Industry  President of Amman Chamber of Trade  Three persons by their personal capacity

Jordan Science and Technology S&T Structure Government Institutions Universities and Research Centres Private Sector

Main Current Activities of the Council R&D Support Establishment of ICT business incubator (IPARK) Support of SMEs Water pollution monitoring system Establishment of Scientific Centres Review of Science, Technology, and Innovation Programs in Jordan Jordan Science Week International S&T Cooperation

Technology Business Incubator The objective is to assist entrepreneurs and start up companies in developing their business ideas, through operational, logistic, and strategic services.

R&D-PRIVATE-ACADEMIA Industrial Research Fund Established in 1994 to increase the standards of Jordan industry through providing technical assistance, and financing joint research project between industry, universities and research centres.

National Fund for Enterprise Support (NAFES) Established in November 2001, NAFES aims at assisting Jordanian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing their capabilities and competitiveness locally and internationally through providing them with access to consulting and training services provided by local business service organizations in various management disciplines.

National Fund for Enterprise Support (NAFES) NAFES is financed from the revenues of investing 10 million Jordanian Dinars (JD) of a non-project cash grant donated by the government of Japan through the Ministry of Finance. Since its establishment NAFES supported over 350 projects in various sectors with a total value of JD 1.5 M (US $ 2.1M)

iPARK Jordan's Technology Incubator Overview and accomplishments

Overview iPARK ICT Business Incubator is a Jordanian organization, established by the Higher Council for Science and Technology May 2003, with the objective of supporting Jordanian entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Information and Communications technology (ICT) sectors and to increase their odds of success, establish, and grow their businesses in a supportive and innovative environment.

Services HCST ICT Business Incubator Services Operational i.e.: HR, marketing, research, PR, technical, accounting, legal, etc Managed and supervised by the Incubator Delivered by a network of 3 rd party specialized service providers (like NAFES). Logistics i.e.: Space, facilities and business infrastructure, including PCs, Internet, furniture, technology infrastructure. Managed and provided by the Incubator Strategic i.e.: Strategy, planning, contacts, partnerships, financial guidance, etc… Managed and secured by the Incubator

Achievements in Brief 22 companies incubated to date Over 15 companies graduated, 14 still growing Over 170 fulltime Jobs created 3 Patents many other IP (Copyright, Industrial design, etc…) All companies have regional or international presence

Background PProject objective based on “Sustainability” & “National Resources” PProject contract between The MoF & HCST – (6/2001) IInitiation of activities started year 2002 receiving 117 application for support & 44 were approved

O bjective Assisting Jordanian SMEs to become more efficient & competitive both locally & internationally. Also assisting new projects with new ideas & start-up projects that works in the industry & service fields. The following areas of service are supported by NAFES: Studies related to Management Systems Development, which include: BBusiness Planning & Management Systems PProduction Management. FFinancial Analysis/Management. MMarketing Analysis/Sales Support. FFeasibility Studies. HHuman Resources Development Support. PProductivity Improvement. IIT & e-business Applications AAll Studies related to Management Systems Development A pproach Support of 60%-80% of the consultancy cost.

S tructure Na tional F und for E nterprise S upport Fund Management Unit SMEs (S mall & M edium E nterprises) Supervisory Board Auditors -External Financial -Government Financial -Chaired by SG of HCST -Private & public sector representatives (1) SME Applications (2) Qualifying Consultants (3) Project Proposals (4) Project Contracts (5) Training & Consulting Services BSOs (B usiness S upport O rganizations )

D istinguishing C haracteristics 3- Utilizing National Funding / National Expertise 4- Sustainability (Duration / Constant funds) 5- Quality Assurance & Effectiveness (M&E) 1- Independent Financial Base/ Management under the Umbrella of the HCST 2- Performance Evaluated by a Supervisory Board

L ogical P roject C ycle Local SMEs Project subsidy Capacity / willingness to contribute Access to expert consulting service at reasonable cost Expansion of the local Market for consulting Experienced local management consultants

Administrative Statistics Review Totals (’02-’05)Actual ’06 Income 1,913, ,337 Operational exp. 564, ,523 Project support 1,152, ,639 ___________________________________________________________________ * Planned operational expenses = 29% (original project document – Jan. 2001) * All figures in JD (1 JD =1.4 $)

’02’03’04 ’05 ‘06 Start-ups Outside Amman Women Owned Others (Percentages out of total value of support) Support Statistics (Year 2006)

Some of NAFES Achievements during year More than 60% of supported Feasibility Studies Projects has been initiated or implemented 2.20% of Management Development Systems Projects 10%-20% increase in their total sales 3.75% of Projects related to Management Development Systems had improved their performance, to avoid financial and management problems. 4.NAFES supported over 1640 trainees from different SMEs in various sectors 5.NAFES support has been pivotal to the success of over 25 Conferences & Seminars.