Project: Fashion and Textile Institution (FTI)
Country: Palestine
Service: Review & Re-Envisioning process
Date: July and August 2008-08-29
Consultant: Rifat Odeh Kassis

The Fashion and Textile Institution (FTI) was established in 1994 by some Palestinian activists, in cooperation with the Union of Palestinian Textile Industries (UPTI), under the legal umbrella of the Latin Patriarchate (LP) in Jerusalem and was funded by the European Union and other international donors till recently. Since its establishment, FTI provided two-year training courses given to students on the basis of introducing them to different training modules. In addition to this it offered special training in industrial sewing to prepare workers in garment production factories. Over more it gave short-term courses for those already working in this industry in machine maintenance, pattern making, and production/quality management. The FTI also provided short workshops and technical assistance to textile companies including pattern making and grading according to customers specification sheets, product development, graphic designs of logos and other prints.

Currently the Garment and Textile Industries in the region has deteriorated due to the Israeli measures, the difficult conditions imposed on exports and imports and the lack of protection for the local industry and the over flooding of  textile goods, mainly from Turkey and China, at very low prices. This had resulted in shutting down many factories, decrease production, dismissal of many workers and turning what left from factories into a supplementary production to Israel.

FTI was also affected by this as well, the students numbers dropped down from around 80 before the year 2000 coming from all over West Bank and Palestinians from inside Israel to around 20. In addition to that the quality of the students became less talented as it used to be. The “Model Factory” idea which was designed to show the local producers that good stuff with good management can find its way to the international market, has a relative success in the beginning but had to close down due to the closures and other Israeli measures.  In brief, the FTI found itself struggling with a vision which stopped from being alive, dynamic and applicable to the needs of the market and had to undergo a renewal process.

With such a situation, the governing bodies of the FTI choose to combat this deficit by inviting Badayl to conduct a participatory review and re-envisioning process to see what the FTI can do and what is the new direction to take. Badayl worked for two months, July and August 2008, together with all FTI stakeholders, did a research and several workshops to analyse the political, economic, social, and technological (PETS) factors affecting the sector and FTI, and reviewed critically the current vision and how much it fits the current situation. SWOT analysis was also conducted to examine the strength, the weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats which FTI has and face. Thorough analysis to the institution culture, work, achievements, shortcomings, image, structure, resources, experience, efficiency, capacity, relations and its financial resources and potential resources were also discussed and analyzed. The final product of this comprehensive account was a detailed report including different scenarios for the way forward and, both interim and strategic, proposals and recommendations for the FTI governing bodies to decide upon. The report, as well, identified the necessary tools and means to build up the future vision and the new strategic directions and a proposal for an action plan for the next era.