DELIVERING BETTER LEARNING OUTCOMES MORE EFFICIENTLY AND WITH CERTAINTY IN THE MENA REGION

THE MARKET

Key to the prosperity of every country is a well-educated population able to contribute to economic growth - measured as GDP. Therefore education must be a primary plank of economic development and a growing focus for leaders and governments.

Recent events including the unprecedented socio-political unrest in some MENA countries, continues to have profound implications for ruling governments in meeting the growing expectations of their populations.

We are finding that education is a growing focus for governments across the region, which recognise that a well-educated population, able to contribute to economic growth, is key to creating a stable and prosperous economy. Nowhere is this more important than those countries where a rapid expansion of the economy on the world stage has resulted in increasing input from expatriate professionals where no such skills and expertise existed within the national population.

As such, many countries in the MENA region have embarked on ambitious educational development plans to improve the quality of education for the local population, and in so doing, have created building programmes as a first stage of support for education transformation. Within the GCC, Oman, UAE and more recently Saudi Arabia have all commenced ‘model’ schools programmes with physical infrastructure (school buildings) as a dominant component.

ABOUT US

EC Harris is a leading international Built Asset Consultancy. We help clients make the most from their investment and expenditure on built assets.

In the education sector we are committed to delivering better learning outcomes more efficiently and with certainty. We develop education-led solutions underpinned by technical expertise to deliver efficient learning environments.

We operate across all areas of the education sector and in the last ten years, worldwide, have:

■ Delivered over 1,050 public and independent sector schools;■ Delivered projects which directly impact on the lives of well over 10 million learners;■ Managed numerous higher education projects;■ Supported over 50 local authorities and municipalities with major strategic education improvement programmes, and;■ Managed services for over 500 schools on a regular basis.

EC Harris completed its first project in the Middle East in the 1950s and established permanent offices here in 2000. We have a network of offices across the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia which support projects in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Libya.

Certainty

Outcomes Efficiency

Optimum solution

STRATEGIC ADVICE

We work with governments, municipalities, local governments and major providers around the world providing strategic consultancy services to help shape initial strategy and ensure what they are commissioning is the right thing for their communities.

This can be at any number of levels, for example:

■ Helping national and local governments and private sector providers create their vision and strategy for the delivery of their education improvement programmes and securing the business case for implementing them;■ Ensuring the right number of places are available to meet demand for local / national provision in all levels of the system;■ Creating comprehensive investment plans for provision over time to sustain the estate and services;■ Managing delivery of new school provision for national and local government and private sector provider clients;■ Ensuring that private sector provision can be effective in making a return on the investment and sustainable as a business while at the same time promoting educational excellence;■ Meeting special educational needs of learners with differing levels of complexity.

We have education consultants, skilled and highly experienced in strategic and developmental advice, with an international track record of developing strategies for:

■ Pupil and student place provision planning■ School organisational development■ Master planning of new education provision at all levels■ Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development■ Special Educational Needs provision development■ Curriculum planning■ Vocational provision■ Education infrastructure and services provision■ Commercial and investment planning for new provision■ Specialist design and procurement services for FF&E.

We are able to quickly move from strategy to implementation using our technical services and project management capabilities.

For the MENA market, we see three key initiatives that governments and private sector providers can harness to leverage competitive advantage in the growing education market. These are...

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS – A TURN-KEY SOLUTION FOR DEVELOPERS

There is major growth forecast in the development of British International Schools globally, with the market set to double from £9 billion revenue turnover in 2010/11 to £18 billion revenue turnover in 2016/17.

Many long-standing institutions are looking to go international to establish new high performing schools in emerging economies to take advantage of this demand.

EC Harris has a fully assembled supply chain that can offer a robust, full turn-key solution to deliver British International Schools across the globe.

With our detailed sector knowledge, expertise and experience in both education and with lenders and investors, we are able to support developers and funders to identify opportunities and make them a reality.

Additionally, we can search and secure British International School operators on behalf of developers to fulfil the educational components on both small and larger development master plans. Typically we would develop the school requirements right through to construction and handover. This allows developers to concentrate on delivering their core residential business whilst in parallel, delivering world-class school facilities - a proven driver to retaining and enhancing investment or rental values.

MODULAR, OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS

To address the huge imbalance in demand side dynamics, a new wave of high quality modular solutions herald an astute change from the traditional education response.

With greater quality of product, inherent speed in design, manufacture and delivery, considerable time advances can be realised - all reducing cost. Importantly with the leading solutions in the market place being education-led, architecturally enhanced and technically advanced, finished schools look and feel as good as if not better than conventional build.

EC Harris has developed an integrated solution which encompasses the dynamic and agile nature of the pod system allowing classrooms to be added, removed or re-modelled, cost effectively and within a few weeks - and with minimum disruption. The primary benefits include:

■ 50% quicker than current traditional approaches (from design to admission)■ 10-20% cheaper than traditional practices■ Significant increase in quality to recognised British and European standards■ Warranted for up to 60 years■ Minimum one year fire protection and seismically qualified for the MENA region

■ Significant reduction in ongoing maintenance and repairs costs ■ Full delivered and installed ICT and FF&E needs■ A dynamic and agile building ‘designed’ to adapt to community needs ■ An architecturally led scheme in terms of aesthetic - not boxy cabins

EC Harris is at the forefront of delivering modular solutions using a fully integrated supply chain leveraging global experience and local knowledge.

FURNITURE, FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT (FF&E) SOLUTIONS

We recognise that FF&E has far greater influence on students’ education than considering it as just ‘tables and chairs’. With the need to provide learning spaces that support the delivery of the best possible educational outcomes, coupled with increasingly challenging project budgets, achieving the best value for money without compromising quality, is crucial.

Our team has developed a suite of services to drive value from the entire FF&E delivery process, by integrating the management, design, procurement and delivery aspects into a seamless service.

Through our EC Harris, vendor independent, FF&E framework we are able to provide an integrated solution from the initial design stages through to installation and commissioning.

We provide solutions that manage project delivery risks and provide our clients with agile educational environments which enable changes to be made according to year group and teacher needs. Significant cost savings are realised by careful management of all aspects of the process, from design, supply chain management through to the opening of an operational school.

OUR REGIONAL EXPERIENCE

■ Nord Anglia – British School Abu Dhabi, UAE■ Higher Colleges of Technology - Abu Dhabi Men’s College Redevelopment, Abu Dhabi, UAE■ New York University, Saadiyat Campus, Abu Dhabi, UAE■ UAE University, Al Ain Campus, Abu Dhabi, UAE■ Gems Academy, Dubai, UAE.

OUR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE:

■ Sir James Henderson School of Milan, Extension to an Existing Educational Institution, Milan à PHASE 1 - Planning the Asset, Milan, Italy■ American School of Milan, ASM Extension - Development Project, Milan, Italy■ London Borough of Waltham Forest, Consultant Client Project Manager BSF Programme, London, UK■ London Borough of Havering, Architectural led multidisciplinary building design services Primary Schools, London, UK■ European Investment Bank (EIB), Strategic Consultancy National School Provision in Serbia, Serbia■ Bracknell Forest Council (BFC), Programme Management New Basic Need Provision and Strategic Consultancy, Bracknell, UK■ The London Borough of Brent, The Village School, UK

OUR LOCATIONS

Because we can be everywhere, we are never far from where our clients need us…

OUR OFFICES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

■ Abu Dhabi, UAE■ Dubai, UAE■ Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia■ Doha, Qatar

Qatar

Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates

MEET THE EXPERTS

Andrew Jeffery Partner, Head of Public Sector - Middle East

m +971 50 220 7658

e andrew.jeffery@echarris.com

Simon Lucas Partner, Head of Education

m +44 7966 310 675

e simon.lucas@echarris.com

echarris.com/education