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| The National Strategic Plan |
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| Programming areas |
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The plan uses an integrative approach while in parallel dealing with a number of issues: economic development, education, infrastructure, settlement and housing, and community and leadership.
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 Economic Development |
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The area of economic development is being led by the world known McKinsey and Company and the plan for this area was agreed upon in conjunction with leading figures from the government and business sectors in the Negev as well as those from outside the region. The plan is based on ensuring sustainable economic development led by the private sector, focusing government intervention on removing barriers and creating favorable conditions, including assistance in attracting investment to the Negev, reducing bureaucracy, changing regulations and reducing crime.
There is no one industry in the Negev which will provide a single solution for all of the problems. However, it is important to refrain from the total dispersion of the incentives for development. Therefore, the focus needs to be on hi-tech industries, tourism, electronics, chemistry, water and alternative energy. Cultivation will be based on investment incentives, establishment of a venture capital fund which will focus on Negev start-up companies, increasing the grants by the chief scientist’s office to companies in the Negev and other steps.
Special emphasis will be placed on encouraging businesses and employment in the Bedouin sector including employment placement, business funding and accompaniment, activities in the community, assistance training workers, subsidizing the work of women, and the development of infrastructure for joint industrial areas and trade in the localities.
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| Infrastructure and Environment |
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The area of infrastructure and environment is being let by Amnon Ben-Dahan from Daroma, in cooperation with government ministries, local authorities, the IDF, planners and engineering and infrastructure companies. Development of Negev infrastructure will balance development of human activities with nature and the environment and emphasize implementing a policy of sustainability.
Accordingly, the program operates according to planning principles, which support the expansion and strengthening of existing localities as opposed to the establishment of new communities giving preference to linking infrastructure. The uniqueness of the Negev, its open areas and its concentration of nature and scenery attract people. A strong population will contribute to increasing the awareness of protecting the environment and improving its quality.
The main initiatives for infrastructure development are:
· Lengthening Road No. 6 from Machaz to the Shoket Junction in order to increase accessibility to the Negev from the center of the country; a journey which is comfortable and without delays.
· Widening of Road No. 31 (Lahavim-Arad), Road 40 (Eastern Beersheva Ring Road to the Negev junction), and Road No. 232 (from the Sa’ad junction to Maon) to 4 lane roads in order to make the North-South and East-West roads in the Negev faster and safer.
· Building of a train route from Ramat Hovav to the Negev junction in order to connect the planned IDF training city which is to be built at the Negev junction to the train network, and build an additional route Lahavim, Shokat, Arad, in order to provide public transportation to the Eastern Negev (Arad, the Bedouin communities, and the expanded Nevitim base).
· Additional improvements are needed for sewage, infrastructure for industrial areas, electric, communications and air fields.
· Special emphasis will be placed on advancing infrastructure in the Bedouin sector.
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| Settlement and Housing |
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Planning for housing and settlement is led by Yishai Shechter, Head of the Division of Planning and Strategy of the Jewish National Fund, and Roni Palmer, General Director of the Or Movement for National Missions. The staff consists of planning, regional development and geography professionals. The staff work is done in cooperation with government offices, heads of municipal councils and planning and social representatives.
Improving the attractiveness of housing by providing unique housing experiences will assist in attracting new people to the Negev. It is possible to create a deep change in the housing experience in the Negev by using the natural resources of the region to create real estate products which are absent in Israel.
The Negev has natural housing advantages which allow for the marketing of unique housing products: available areas in existing localities, many open areas, and lots of nature attractions, historical sites and scenery. The supply of unique real estate will improve the potential value of the property in the region which is a central factor in choosing where to live.
A number of steps are needed to implement the plan: clarification of planning rules and regulations, advancement of detailed plans for expanding existing localities, implementation of localized infrastructure development for housing, increase the draw of the rural sector, and encourage building of rental properties.
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| Education |
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The work process in education is led by Dr. Shimshon Shoshani and Adva Eshel-Rabinowitz from Daroma. The team included senior members of the Ministry of Education, representatives from formal and informal education, representatives from the Bedouin sector, academics, local council heads and others.
The educational challenge is the creation of a quality education system, which will assist on the one hand in reducing educational gaps and cultivating excellence on the other; and which will brand the Negev as a region of quality education – education which is “different”, and which will draw a strong population to the Negev.
A central objective of the program is an increase in the number of Negev residents studying for academic degrees and to have this number become equivalent to the national average; while at the same time increasing the number of students studying fields in demand such as engineering, the sciences, law and economics. The program is based on three levels of activity as a solution to the educational challenge it faces:
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Positioning of a basic educational infrastructure in the Bedouin sector which includes 1,840 classrooms, improvements in teacher training, improvements in early childhood education, and training guidance counselors and psychologists.
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Providing equal opportunities for quality education in the Negev while placing an emphasis on chosen areas by adding educational hours based on the socio-economic situation and in accordance with the Shoshani report. Providing informal education opportunities to every child and family; generate accessibility to information and science centers and building of a model education system.
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Cultivating excellence by means of building two centers of excellence based on academic center (Ben Gurion University and Sapir College) an strengthening the connection between pupil success and teacher remuneration by giving financial prizes to schools and teachers who excel.
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| Community and Leadership |
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The work process for community and leadership is led by Dr. Nili Shchori and Adva Eshel-Rabinowitz from Daroma. The staff for this layer includes senior professional for the fields of urban planning, economic-strategic planning, formal and informal education, social non-profits and local leaders. Team work also included community groups, government officials, the heads of local authorities, Bedouin women, social organizations and experts from a variety of fields.
The working assumption is that a community that is active and works together contributes to the quality of life and is attractive to both veteran and new residents. Accordingly, the gola of the program is to create a unique community infrastructure for each locality on the basis of partnering with the population and advancing broad levels of cooperation between the different localities.
Special emphasis will be placed on young people in the Negev as they are a population which engenders change. In the framework of transforming the Negev to a space for young people, a variety of unique initiatives are being proposed in the areas of employment, education, housing, culture, recreation and community, which in the future will establish the Negev as a place which is particularly attractive to the younger generation.
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| Health |
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The work process for the health layer is led by Dr. Ronit Peled from Ben Gurion University and partners in the process include representatives of the Southern District of the Ministry of Health, the Clalit Health Services, Maccabi Health Services and additional representatives from Ben Gurion University.
Recommendations of the team include: Increasing the number of health care professional including specialists and registered nurses; increasing the professional manpower for public health services, including encouragement to work in the Negev and the establishment of emergency services in the far periphery.
Based on the analysis undertaken, taking into account the current load at Soroka Hosptial and in comparison to the number of hospital beds in Israel, there is a need for an additional hospital in the Negev.
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