1. Project Phases
    1.1 Preparatory Phase
    1.2 Implementation Phases
2. Evaluation and assessment of results

The Project on the Modernization of the Public Prosecution Offices in the Arab Countries shall be implemented according to a plan of action consisting of a Preparatory Phase and three Implementation Phases.

The approach that the Project adopted consists of working with a limited number of countries in order to implement tailored activities that respond to the needs of the individual countries and to ensure that these activities have a real impact on the functioning of the public prosecution offices and other stakeholders in the pilot countries.

During the Preparatory Phase, various project partners from governments, civil society organizations, and international and regional experts joined efforts under the general oversight of an advisory group to produce several studies and working papers on issues relating to institution building and citizen security on the international and the regional level. Focusing on public prosecution offices, these studies and research papers have made available a wide array of information that has been the basis for an in depth needs assessment of the needs of the pilot countries in this area.

During this phase, stocktaking was also conducted by the Project in each pilot country and a national report was drafted for each country based on the findings of the stocktaking. These national reports highlighted important information about the pilot Arab countries and were later summarized and compared in a regional report that constitutes the main source of information for the Project.

• Phase I
  Based on the preparatory phase outcomes, it was deemed necessary to pursue the stocktaking and data collection during Phase I of the Project. The stocktaking had to be deepened in order to examine, in greater detail, the problems and obstacles that public prosecution offices in the Arab countries face; problems and obstacles that hinder their daily work and performance.

  Another important component of this phase was the preparation of working tools needed for the collection and organization of information; in particular a questionnaire that was prepared under the form of a template was distributed to the public prosecutors to gather the information required for the Project.

  The work undertaken during Phase I resulted in the following achievements:

  1. Establishing the working units
  2. Allocating working space to the national and local working teams in each of the selected public prosecution offices
  3. Appointing national experts to work on various missions in order to continue the stocktaking and collection of information that were initiated during the preparatory phase
  4. Holding workshops and meetings between the experts and the local and national teams in order to set a detailed national plan of action following the analysis and the deciphering of the information gathered through the stocktaking
  5. Setting a detailed implementation plan for each of the contemplated reform projects with the help of national experts
  6. Initiating the preparation of the project's website
  Phase I of the Project encompassed four pilot countries: Egypt, Yemen, Morocco and Jordan. This phase has been successfully completed in February 2006.
• Phase II
  In the second phase (twenty-four months), the activities determined in Phase I will be implemented, including the development of "Training-of-Trainers courses", organization of conferences/seminars/tours groups/trainings, and creating a software for public prosecution offices (Objective 1).

  At the same time national activities will be developed and implemented in order to increase the interaction between the prosecutors' offices and citizens, including civil society roundtables, advocacy activities, etc. (Objective 2).

  Moreover, a webpage will be developed and regional networks will be established and provided with support (Objective 3).

• Phase III
  In the third phase (four months), a regional conference will be organised and the information and know-how acquired over the course of the first two Phases of the Project will be transferred to a regional institution, namely the Arab Centre for Criminal Studies.

The logical framework and work plan link the outputs of the Project to a time plan and will serve as a baseline for monitoring progress by the Project Management Team. Pilot offices will meet on a regular basis in their respective countries for the purposes of monitoring, exchange and feedback. At the end of Phase II (implementation) a national evaluation meeting will bring all national partners together to evaluate the outcome of the programme and to discuss follow-up activities. Frequent visits and email exchanges between the Project Management Team and pilot offices will also serve as a monitoring and feedback mechanism.

A thorough evaluation will be undertaken to provide a full account of the outcome of the programme. This evaluation will take place after the end of Phase II (implementation) over a period of three months. The evaluation foresees that extensive interviews will be held with all parties involved, i.e. participating pilot offices, national pilot teams, as well as national advisory teams. In addition, members of civil society with interest in and knowledge of the workings of the pilot offices, such as specific NGOs or lawyers, will be interviewed in relation to any changes and progress made as a result of the programme.