Develop the Capacity of Business and Economic Research Centers  at Palestinian Higher Education Institutions 

Develop Business and Economic Research Centers Capacity at Palestinian Higher Education Institutions (BERC) , Contract no 561966-EPP-1-2015-1-PS-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP. This project has been funded with support from European Commission, within ERASMUS + programm.

The applicant of BERC project is The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). This project includes six partners country (5 higher education institutions and one associate partner) and four EU Partners. The partners country includes: IUG, AUG, BZU, QOU, UCAS, and AQAC. The EU partners includes: UNIVIQ, HUD, UAL, KTH . 

The project aims to connect the researchers into a research hub that increase the monitoring and evaluation. BERC helps bring about major improvements in business research innovation which is a unique project in PS. BERC helps to initiate research hub, applied EU standards, available for local and international stakeholders. The aim of the hub as well as the research centers is to make important research available to the widest possible audience. Wherever possible, subject to author contributions and copyright constraints, it contains the full text of articles, conference papers, book chapters and other published written material.

The research hub liaisons the research centers in PS countries. To this end the hub will provide managerial, financial, economic and accounting database such as DataStream or Bloomberg, Lexis/nexis, COMPUSTAT, among others. In addition, the hub will make the full text databases available for local partners and other stakeholders. The database includes Science Direct , Sage journals Online, Wiley Online Library,  Passport , Key Note , Mintel,   Business Source Complete and Emerald Management eJournals, among other. 

Therefore BERC has many innovative elements including:

- BERC will introduce a quality assurance standards and guidelines in business scientific research in the PS;

- BERC will be a platform and reference for young researchers, students, and professors;

- The first time that researchers have a channel to work side by side with their European peers which generate mutual understanding;

- Through the BERC the standards and rules of research will be unified for all higher education institution in PS which improve the quality of research;

- Through BERC, the standards, and guidelines of publications will be unified and accredited from AQAC which improve the monitoring of publications.

- It will be the first gate for researchers of EU partners and international researchers to contribute in developing research paradigm in West Bank and Gaza.

- Through the BERC it will be the first time that researchers and students have a solution for their complex data analysis as the majority of PS researchers apply simple analysis for their limited experience;

- An important overall innovation of BERC is to establish a cluster of academics and other research experts in West Bank and Gaza in the area of business research.