USAID/ ONE WINDOW FOR CITIZENS (OW4C)

PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORT

1 OCTOBER – 31 DECEMBER 2020

Contract Number: 72044219C00001

15 January 2021

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Nickol Global Solutions LLC.

Periodic Progress Report – OW4C – 1 October – 31 December 2020 1 ONE WINDOW FOR CITIZENS (OW4C) Periodic Progress Report 1 October – 31 December 2020

Submitted to: USAID/Cambodia

Prepared by: Nickol Global Solutions LLC

DISCLAIMER: The authors’ views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms ...... 1 Introduction ...... 2 Summary of Progress on Activities ...... 3 Technical Engagement ...... 3 Civic Tech Tools ...... 5 Challenges: ...... 6 Design & Development of a Public Accountability Dashboard ...... 6 Public Outreach ...... 7 Monitoring Tools ...... 10 Operations ...... 13 Reporting ...... 14 Major Accomplishments ...... 14 Operations ...... 14 Technical ...... 14 Challenges and Proposed Resolutions ...... 15 New Challenges ...... 15 Relocation from Siem Reap to Kampong Chhnang ...... 15 EXISTING CHALLENGES ...... 15 COVID-19 ...... 15 Plans for Next Quarter ...... 15 Civil Tech Tools ...... 15 Public Outreach ...... 16 Monitoring ...... 16

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ACRONYMS

API Advocacy and Policy Institute COP Chief of Party COR USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative COVID-19 Corona Virus Disease 2019 DIS Development Information Solution EU European Union GiZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit ISAC USAID Innovations for Social Accountability Cambodia Project IVR Interactive Voice Response MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning NGS Nickol Global Solutions LLC OW4C USAID One Window for Citizens Project OWSO Royal Government of Cambodia One Window Service Office SBAR Small Business Applied Research USAID United States Agency for International Development WE Act USAID Women’s Entrepreneurs Act Project

Periodic Progress Report – OW4C – 1 October – 31 December 2020 1

INTRODUCTION

On 1 October 2019, Nickol Global Solutions LLC (NGS) received the signed contract from USAID to implement the One Window Service Offices – Platform to Enhance Accountability program (Contract # 72044219C00001). The goal of the project is to increase the capability of civil society to engage the Royal Government of Cambodia in accessing improved public services through a series of tested interventions, including the design and implementation of civic tech tools and community engagement activities. Supported by strong monitoring activities and an applied learning approach, the project – later renamed the USAID One Window for Citizens Project (OW4C) – seeks to support the innovation, success, and sustainability of implemented project activities. The development hypothesis to achieve this goal is illustrated as follows:

• If citizens have real-time access to provide and receive reliable information about the Royal Government of Cambodia’s One Window Service Office (OWSO) services through civic tech innovations, • And if they are engaged through meaningful processes, • Then they will more effectively hold government accountable to improved public service through the OWSO.

Through the Small Business Applied Research (SBAR) contracting vehicle, NGS has developed and is promoting tech-enabled solutions to broaden public access and awareness about OWSO services and the role of the District Ombudsperson; and has developed monitoring tools to enable citizens to report on their satisfaction of OWSO services as a means for government authorities to better measure progress on service delivery and respond to citizen service needs.

Highlights from the 1 October – 31 December 2020 reporting period include:

• 3,039 citizens used OW4C technologies. • OW4C reached over 100,000 Cambodians through our two Facebook pages: the OW4C page https://www.facebook.com/USAIDOW4C; and the Pidor, the Smart Villager page https://www.facebook.com/pidorow4cbot, directly engaging 9,954 citizens. • 8,889 citizens in were reached via our door-to-door campaign. • 1,105 citizens were engaged in 21 public forums in Battambang. • Four OW4C radio campaigns (short one-minute spots) promoting the OW4C tools were run in Battambang, with an estimated listenership of 65% of the population.1 • OW4C and its tools were featured on the US Embassy to Cambodia’s “Let’s Chat!” Facebook Live program, generating over 5,000 views, 212 reactions, and 20 comments2. • OW4C opened its third office in Serei Sisophon, Banteay Meanchey Province.

1 OW4C contracted the Women’s Media Center of Cambodia to record radio adverts promoting the OW4C tools and to air on their radio network. According to the Women’s Media Center, the Women’s Radio FM 104 MHz in Battambang broadcast coverage encompasses 65% of the population of the province. 2 https://www.facebook.com/watch/us.embassy.phnom.penh/

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These, and related key activities achieved during the reporting period, are detailed in the section entitled Summary of Progress on Activities.

These achievements were set against a backdrop of a few environmental challenges. In early November, a visiting foreign dignitary was found to be COVID-19 positive after a diplomatic visit to Cambodia. This led to exposures at the highest levels of government and the Royal Government of Cambodia implemented increased prevention measures, including restrictions on the gathering of groups. After a two-week period, these measures were relaxed but were unfortunately followed by extensive flooding in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey Provinces. This delayed planned community activities for OW4C in Battambang. Finally, on 27 November, Cambodia recorded its first community transition of COVID. This resulted in a rapid response by the Government of Cambodia and the suspension for the project of all community-based activities until 21 December.

OW4C prioritized the health and safety of our staff, colleagues, and beneficiaries during this tumultuous period. Impact to the delivery of specific activities is detailed within Summary of Progress on Activities.

SUMMARY OF PROGRESS ON ACTIVITIES

TECHNICAL ENGAGEMENT

Year Two of the project focuses on an expansion of the piloting of the technology tools, the development of a public data dashboard to share feedback on OWSO services, and the continued engagement and support of Cambodian citizens’ access to improved public sector services. To achieve these goals, the project continued its active engagement with key audiences, influencers, and users of OWSO services. In support of the continued development of the project’s activities and technology tools and the expansion to new provinces, OW4C undertook active outreach and engagement with the following stakeholders to assure the cooperation with, and success of, the project.

USAID: • 6 October: OW4C’s Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) attended the initial OW4C public dashboard user design workshop. • 13 October: OW4C’s COR attended and contributed to the OW4C Year One Reflection and Learning Workshop. • 28 October: OW4C presented the mock-up of the project’s proposed public dashboard to the COR for inputs and feedback. • 5 November: OW4C’s Chief of Party (COP) attended the USAID Mission’s Roundtable Discussion on Gender. • 19 November: OW4C’s Senior Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager attended USAID’s training on USAID’s Development Information Solution (DIS) dashboard. • 17 December: OW4C featured on the US Embassy’s “Let’s Chat” Facebook Live program.

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Provincial Governments: During the reporting period, the project engaged three provincial administrations in discussions about the geographic expansion of the project. • Siem Reap. On 19 October, the OW4C project team met with the Deputy Provincial Governor, OWSO Chiefs (Provincial and Krong), and the Ombudspersons (Provincial and Krong) for Siem Reap. After the meeting, the team was invited and toured both the Provincial and Krong Battambang OWSO offices. • Banteay Meanchey. On 20 October, the project team met with the Deputy Provincial Governor, OWSO Chiefs (Provincial and Krong), and the Ombudspersons (Provincial and Krong) of Banteay Meanchey. After the meeting, the team was invited and toured the Provincial OWSO. This was conducted within the overall backdrop of the Provincial Administration offices being the center of flood relief for the province and was held a day before the arrival of the Prime Minister to the province. In addition to a receptive and attentive audience, the Deputy Governor OW4C COP and the Deputy Governor (center) and their expressed interest in the project respective teams meet on 20 October 2020. (photo OW4C) engaging the OWSO in Poipet. • Kampong Chhnang. On 28 December, the project team met with the Deputy Provincial Governor, the Provincial OWSO Chief, and the Provincial Ombudspersons of Kampong Chhnang.

Community of OWSO Supporters: • On 5 October, OW4C key technical staff attended the quarterly meeting of the informal OWSO working group comprised of members from GiZ, Transparency International, ActionAid, and OW4C. The purpose of the meeting was to share activities and coordinate efforts in engaging and promoting the OWSOs. During this meeting, Transparency International shared that their planned complaints registration platform (funded by the EU) for commune and district services was now including services information including OWSOs. Both programs planned to implement in Battambang and Siem Reap. This led to a series of private meetings with Transparency International and in consultation with the project’s COR to assure a path forward where the projects could provide complementarity. This challenge was resolved at a meeting at the EU on 23 October during which it was agreed that OW4C would not expand the program to Siem Reap, and Transparency would not expand their program in Battambang. • GiZ and OW4C in Battambang continued close collaborations in conducting public forums featuring OWSO services and the role of the District Ombudsperson. GiZ invited OW4C to join five of their forums, expanding the reach of the program and tech tools promotions to an additional 440 citizens.

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Social Accountability Community: • 5 October: OW4C COP met the newly appointed COP for the USAID Solid Waste Management Platform Project. A fellow SBAR recipient, the COPs shared their challenges and project approaches. • 12 November: OW4C presented its project and technology tools at the USAID Innovations for Social Accountability Cambodia (ISAC) Project in Banteay Meanchey.

Battambang NGO and Project Community: • 26 November: The project team attended the launch of the USAID WE Act Battambang project office. • 25 December: The project team attended a Battambang NGO networking meeting.

CIVIC TECH TOOLS

Interactive Voice Response and Facebook Chatbot Tools

OW4C has developed two tools to better provide increased, transparent access for citizens on information pertaining to services provided at the One Window Service Offices. Our civic tech tools – an interactive voice response (IVR) phone line and Pidor the Smart Villager Facebook chatbot – both quickly direct citizens to the information they are seeking. In addition, the tools allow citizens to provide anonymous feedback on the quality of the services they received and identify areas of improvement. Between the tools’ launch on 27 August and the close of the previous reporting period (30 September 2020), there were 1,193 visitors to our tools and 645 users. During the current reporting period, the usage of the tools increased to reach: • 1,000 users on 27 October, • 3,000 users on 21 November, and • 3,620 users as of 31 December 2020. 52% of the users are female.

As of the reporting date, 786 Cambodian citizens have used the IVR and 2,834 the OW4C chatbot since their launch on 27 August 2020.

Both tools provide three services: information on application requirements, fees, and delivery standards of OWSO services; application status tracking ( District only3); and citizen feedback on the delivery OWSO services.

3 The OWSO is the only piloted OWSO, including Krong Battambang, that has adequate IT infrastructure to allow the OW4C to provide this feature.

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The most popular service requested was information on OWSO services (71%), followed by user feedback (17%) and ticket tracking (12%). Ticket tracking is very popular, with 282 users from outside of Kamrieng demanding the services.

OW4C established a Telegram chat group to directly connect the technology support team with our community engagement teams. This connection allowed for active technical support to the project’s field teams during public forums and tech tool demonstrations. The feedback allowed for a continuous improvement approach based on direct citizen feedback that led to minor adaptations to the graphics menu of the chatbot.

CHALLENGES: • OW4C is providing both a chatbot and an IVR tool so that Cambodian citizens across the economic spectrum can access information on OWSO services. The basic premise is that poorer households do not have smart phones nor access to the internet and therefore cannot access the chatbot tool but do have access to a basic mobile phone. Furthermore, the project sought to provide those citizens with a free call service. At the time of the procurement for a telecommunications provider, only one carrier presented the ability to provide a charge-back service to the project (i.e., a citizen places a call and the project is then directly billed). The telecom overcommitted its ability to provide this service. After two months of inquiry, the company formally informed the project that they could not provide this service. Charge back is not provided by any other carriers in Cambodia. • IVR capacity challenges were discovered. During public forums where multiples of attendees are calling the number at the same time, some could not connect. This was resolved by doubling the line capacity of the IVR. • IVR connectivity issues in the western districts of Battambang were discovered. Metfone is the predominant carrier for the districts and provinces along the Cambodia/Thailand border. To better serve Battambang and Banteay Meanchey citizens, the OW4C IVR is now available via Metfone: 889-888-159.

DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF A PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY DASHBOARD The project is engaged in multiple approaches to increasing government services accountability by creating a public discourse on the quality of government services and citizens’ recommendations for areas of improvement. At the community level, this is exercised during baseline activities when OW4C conducts a community OWSO scorecard and facilitates the development of an improvement plan. This plan is then presented to the District Ombudsperson Working Groups and used as a roadmap for improvement. Expanding the audience and voice for this data, OW4C is developing a digital dashboard featuring citizen feedback from the OWSOs where the OW4C pilot is focused. Key development steps to the 2021 launch of the dashboard during the reporting period are: • Dashboard Design Workshop: On 6 October, OW4C conducted an initial user design workshop with members of the press, civil society organizations, universities, and citizens.

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The workshop was a cornerstone to understanding project data in demand and how users prefer to access the information. • Dashboard Mock-up Meetings: After gathering all the insights from all the participants, OW4C developed mock-ups of the dashboard. These were presented to the OW4C USAID COR through a series of virtual and in-person feedback sessions. Valuable feedback was provided in format, function, and content that were actively incorporated in design iterations. • Dashboard Field Validation: Initially field validations were planned to be conducted in person with selected targeted users in Banteay Meanchey Province in November. However, due to the rise of COVID-19, the project pivoted and conducted the validations online. The purpose of the validation is to capture the first, initial impressions of target users for the OW4C Digital Dashboard. This yielded essential insight from all the target users in order to improve on both user-experience and user-interface that led to prototype refinements. • USAID Compliance: USAID is committed to the equitable access to information for all citizens as well as the protection of personal information online. A USAID-branded website must be formally reviewed by USAID/Washington before being approved to go public. Specifically, the USAID Mission must submit a Privacy Impact Assessment and a USAID Product Accessibility Template for review to Washington. The OW4C COP and partner InSTEDD attended four consultations with USAID/Cambodia’s Executive Officer, Communications Director, and COR to complete these forms. OW4C, with the USAID/Cambodia Mission team, also participated in three calls to USAID/Washington for consultations during the application process. OW4C awaits the review and approval of the dashboard by USAID/Washington.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

The project goals for public outreach for the reporting period were to expand community outreach programs in Battambang and engage and commence the expansion of the project to Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey Provinces as approved in the OW4C Year Two, First Semi-Annual Work Plan. As detailed in the Technical Engagement section, these activities were slightly delayed due to the following challenges: • Battambang: Compliance with increased COVID-19 prevention measures put in place by the Royal Government of Cambodia in November and December and flooding in November. • Banteay Meanchey: Compliance with increased COVID-19 prevention measures put in place by the Royal Government of Cambodia in November and December and flooding in November. • Siem Reap: To prevent creating competition and confusion by having similar tech tools in the same provinces, OW4C will not be implementing its tools in Siem Reap, nor will Transparency International be implementing in Battambang. Kampong Chhnang was selected as an alternative and OW4C had a positive engagement with the provincial government on 28 December.

Overall Project Promotions:

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• Social Media: OW4C maintained its active engagement on its two Facebook accounts, OW4C (https://www.facebook.com/USAIDOW4C) and the home of the OW4C chatbot tool, Pidor the Smart Villager: https://www.facebook.com/pidorow4cbot. The two accounts reached over 100,000 users (i.e., posts were read) and directly engaged 9,954. • US Embassy Social Media: OW4C was invited to the US Embassy’s “Let’s Chat!” Facebook live program. Hosted by OW4C’s USAID COR, a representative from NGS’s partner InSTEDD spoke on the role and importance of OW4C tech tools in enhancing accountability and civic engagement in Cambodia. The show also provided a platform to demonstrate and showcase our tech tools to a new audience. The “Let’s Chat” show generated 5,000 views, 212 reactions, and 20 comments.

Battambang: • Youth Engagement. OW4C provided an orientation to Battambang engaged youth on how to conduct a door-to-door dissemination campaign. The orientation was conducted on 6-7 November 2020 with 41 youth (27 females). The in-person training was conducted in compliance with COVID-19 prevention protocols. The orientation covered the One Window Service Office services and role, the role and responsibility of the District Ombudsperson, how to use the IVR and Facebook chatbot, and how to collect basic respondent demographics, including the type of phone they use and mobile phone carrier. These are collected via a Google form synched to the cloud for ease of data collection and analysis.

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• Battambang Door-to-Door Campaign: OW4C embarked on a door-to-door dissemination campaign in 30 communes of the four districts and one Krong in which the project is piloting its integrated tech/community activities in Community Activities in the Time of COVID . Implemented During the community door-to-door campaign, OW4C by 41 youth and supported by the provided youth volunteers with training on safe hygiene OW4C team, 8,889 citizens (5,341 and social distancing. In addition, the project provided the females) were engaged. Citizens youth with masks to distribute to citizens with whom they received a leaflet on how to use the engaged directly. tech tools (IVR and chatbot), and the youth oriented them to information on OWSO services and provided hands-on

demonstrations on how to use the IVR and Facebook chatbot tech tools.

• Public Forums: OW4C organized 16 public forums and joined five public forums organized by GIZ, reaching 1,105 citizens. At these events, OW4C distributed information on the tech tools, shared information on the role and services of the OWSO and District Ombudsperson, and convened members of the District Ombudsperson’s Working Group to receive and address questions from the audience. As a result, the participants gained more knowledge and understanding on the types of OWSO services available, role of the District Ombudsperson, and how to use OW4C’s tech tools. Due to the challenges of COVID-19 and the floods, not all the public forums planned were completed by the close of the reporting period. These activities have been rescheduled to January 2021.

• District Ombudsman Working Groups: The project engaged the District Ombudsperson Working Groups in the Public Forums. Comprising the District Governor, District Ombudsperson, OWSO Chief, Counsel Chief, and representatives from civil society and the private sector, the Working Groups are engaged to facilitate the implementation of the suggested improvements from the OWSO community scorecard activities. Scheduled to be held in December, these meetings were postponed due to COVID prevention precautions. These are rescheduled to the next quarter.

• Infomediary Workshops: OW4C conducted two infomediary workshops in Battambang in October and December with a total of 34 participants (21 females). The workshops provided skill development on media topics, such as storytelling, short news writing, and photography skills. In addition to the skillset on media, OW4C provided capacity building on governance topics related to transparency and accountability. As a result, three stories related to user experiences with OW4C’s technology tools and user experiences with OWSO’s services have been developed by the participants during the workshop. Shortly after the workshop, OW4C conducted the Reflection and Joint Action Plan meeting with previous participants to reflect on the need and support required for both technical and material aspects to encourage and empower reporting on transparency and accountability of public services.

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Banteay Meanchey: • Presentation of OW4C Tech Tools at the USAID ISAC Project’s Civic Tech Meetup: OW4C joined the 12 November Civic Tech Meetup hosted by ISAC to convene civil society organizations, technology companies, and other civic tech enablers in Banteay Meanchey to promote how the ISAC project works and explore potential collaborations for development programming. • Youth Engagement: OW4C conducted a project orientation meeting on 18 December to 26 youth (18 females). The meeting introduced the project and recruited youth volunteers who are interested in working as a volunteer with OW4C project. All volunteers are university students and members of the community accountability facilitators (CAF) from different districts in Banteay Meanchey province. Youth that choose to join OW4C will then enter a training program covering the roles of the OWSO and District Ombudsperson and how to conduct a household survey. These are now scheduled for the next quarter.

Kampong Chhnang: Replacing Siem Reap as OW4C’s third province for pilot testing, OW4C conducted a successful initial meeting with the Deputy Governor of Kampong Chhnang on 28 December. Building upon this, in January 2021 OW4C will ramp up its engagement with stakeholders in Kampong Chhnang and establish an office there. The process of resolving the overlap of programs with Transparency International and the selection process for an alternative province has resulted in a delay in the roll out of the third province (originally slated as Siem Reap) by about six weeks.

MONITORING TOOLS

OW4C Year 1 Reflection. Conducted on 13 October, the OW4C Year 1 Reflection Event focused on the review and reflection upon the project’s four key learning questions4 included in the project’s approved Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan using USAID’s Learning Questions Checklist as the basis for reflection. General observations made across the four learning questions during this reflection include: • A need to further clarify the terminology used in key learning questions through either refining wording and/or defining key terms; and • Further consideration of the feasibility of answering each of the key learning questions given existing data and information sources, gaps in data/information, and the budget available to respond to the key learning questions.

Extending that process, the group reviewed the clarity and applicability of the learning questions. With the active participation and inputs from OW4C’s USAID COR, the outputs of the reflection suggested a refinement of the learning questions to:

4 (1) What is the most effective feedback tool for an average Cambodian citizen who has utilized a OWSO service? (2) What tech solutions work best to both engage and inform beneficiaries? (3) What are successful ICT strategies to best engage with women, youth, and vulnerable populations? (4) What is the scalability of promising tools and their sustainability?

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1. What is the most effective OW4C-promoted tool for citizens who use OWSO services to provide feedback on quality of services and overall user experience? 2. Which of OW4C’s tech innovations (IVR or Chatbot) works best to engage citizens? Why? 3. What is the cost effectiveness of OW4C’s tech innovations compared to each other and to other leading tech innovations in Cambodia that serve a similar purpose of raising awareness of OWSO services?

The USAID COR was provided a debrief after the workshop and supported the continued refinement of the questions. During the reporting period, the Senior MEL Manager continued the process of refining the questions and refining the related data to be collected to support these questions. It is anticipated that, as a result of these efforts, OW4C will submit a revised MEL Plan to USAID for review in early 2021.

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Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Performance Indicators October - January – March April – June July – September Life of Project Indicator Project Year 2 December 2020 2021 2021 2021 Notes Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Activity Goal: Increase the capacity of civil society to engage in political processes through a series of carefully planned and tested interventions, including design and implementation of civic tech tools, outreach/engagement activities, monitoring activities, and other complementary activities to support innovation, success, and sustainability. Objective 1: Build Civic Tech Tools to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability Standard 1.1: # of tech innovations supported through 0 0 Indicator: STIR- USG assistance on OW4C Activity. 3 2 10 1.2 # of innovations supported through USG Standard

assistance with demonstrated uptake by the 0 0 1 Indicator: STIR- - public and/or private sector. 11 1.3: # of CSO beneficiaries using ICT-based Standard 3,039 solutions as a result of the CSO's engagement 2,593 24,875 3,684 Indictor: DR.4- (117%) with USG assistance. 1 1.4: % of beneficiaries who can name at least

three one window services for which 15% Not information is available via USG supported civic 50% - increase applicable Custom tech solution by OW4C Activity. 1.5: # of government officials that take part in the 2 0 16 23 Custom civic tech solution design and development. 1.6: # of citizens engaged in solution design and 19 12 75 45 Custom validation. (158%) Objective 2: Initiate Public Outreach to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability 2.1 # of individuals receiving civic education Standard

through USG-assisted programs (OW4C 12 0 100 718 Indicator: DR

Activity) 3.2 – 5 Objective 3: Develop Monitoring Tools to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability 3.1: % change in satisfaction with the provision of Not local government services through OWSOs in 30% Custom applicable Battambang. 3.2: # of accountability issues raised by the 2 0 35 0 Custom public. 3.3: # of mechanisms for external oversight of Standard public resource use supported by USG n/a n/a Indicator: assistance. DR.2.4-2 Objective 4: Implement Complementary Activities/Tools to Enhance Awareness of Accountability 4.1 # of events or activities designed to engage community members in the prioritization of 2 2 2 1 17 12 Custom needs and activity identification to be addressed through the OWSOs

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OPERATIONS

Expansion: • Following the successful engagement with the Deputy Governor of Banteay Meanchey on 20 October, the project recruited and hired its Program Manager, Project Officer, and Administrative Assistant with all commencing work by 8 December. From 8 – 10 December, staff attended staff orientation covering essential employee benefits, policies, procedures, project background, and tech tool orientation. The office in Serei Sisophon was formally opened on 15 December.

Staffing: The OW4C focused its staffing actions on recruiting and hiring high quality staff for its Banteay Meanchey and Kampong Chhnang offices, adapting its office structure to meet administrative and operational needs of multiple field offices, and started the search for a qualified Cambodian Chief of Party. Staffing-related actions taken during the reporting period are:

• October: o Commenced search for Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap staff

• November: o Interviews for Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap staff o Commenced search for qualified Cambodian Chief of Party

• December: o Hired Banteay Meanchey staff: Program Manager, Project Officer, and Administrative Assistant o 8 – 10 December, conducted virtual on-boarding of Banteay Meanchey staff. Staff had direct sessions on: ▪ Welcome and Project Orientation – OW4C Chief of Party ▪ Human Resources, Policies, Procedures, and Financial Management – OW4C Office Administration Officer ▪ Communications and Outreach – OW4C Senior Networking and Outreach Manager ▪ OW4C Tech Tools – InSTEDD Technical Advisor ▪ Community-based Activities – API Program Manager ▪ MEL – OW4C Senior MEL Manager o Commenced search for an Operations Manager. Identifying the demands of additional offices, the Phnom Penh office requires a more senior position to oversee administration, finances, and human resources. The results of an open call for applications and interviews of qualified candidates by the OW4C Chief of Party and NGS home office resulted in the promotion of the project’s Office Administration Officer. She will assume her new role as Operations Manager on 1 January 2021. o Conducted interviews for Kampong Chhnang staff, with ▪ Offer made to the Project Officer who is starting 25 January 2021

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▪ Final Program Manager and Administrative Assistant candidates selected and being vetted. Offers to be made in early January 2021 o Chief of Party candidate interviews conducted. NGS is committed to the strong partnership with API and InSTEDD. The directors of both partners, along with the OW4C Chief of Party, conducted the initial interviews of four selected, qualified candidates from a pool of 26 applicants. Two finalists were selected for a second round of interviews by NGS. These are scheduled for early January 2021.

REPORTING

NGS met the reporting requirements during the 1 October – 31 December 2020 period.

Report Delivery Date Status Year One Annual Report 31 October 2020 Approved Level of Effort Report 18 December 2020 Acknowledged as received

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

OPERATIONS

• Banteay Meanchey office opened and fully staffed. • OW4C adapted to the changed operational conditions caused due to the two periods of increased COVID-19 prevention measures mandated nationally and the floods in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey Provinces, with only minor delays to the delivery of planned activities.

TECHNICAL

• 3,039 citizens used the OW4C technologies. • Successful door-to-door campaign engaging 8,889 citizens in Battambang in one-on-one conversations on OWSO services and how to access information on them via OW4C technologies. • Created a dialogue between citizens and the OWSO service providers through 21 public forums engaging 1,105 citizens in Battambang. • Continued active OWSO services awareness and OW4C tech tools media campaigns engaging 9,954 on social media and an estimated 65% of the population via radio adverts. • US Embassy selected to feature OW4C and our tools on their “Let’s Chat” Facebook Live program, generating over 5,000 views, 212 reactions, and 20 comments. • Working prototype of the public dashboard developed.

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CHALLENGES AND PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

NEW CHALLENGES

RELOCATION FROM SIEM REAP TO KAMPONG CHHNANG

OW4C encourages openness and collaboration with other programs and has a sincere interest in sharing data learning across programs in the social accountability space. This openness and active engagement led to OW4C and Transparency International identifying and preventing the overlapping and potential citizen confusion of launching similar tech tools in the same provinces. Pivoting from Siem Reap was done in full consultation with USAID, and OW4C appreciates the COR’s guidance and support through this process.

The process of finding a suitable new province and orienting the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Administration did create about a month’s delay in the planned opening of the project’s third office. The team is committed to having an office and staff in place by the close of January and will focus on efforts to swiftly roll out activities there.

EXISTING CHALLENGES

COVID-19

The approval of multiple COVID-19 vaccines globally is a positive development. However, Cambodia has yet to purchase vaccines nor has it presented an inoculation plan for its citizens. Therefore, it is anticipated that the project is at continued risk of being negatively impacted by the strong prevention measures implemented by the Cambodian government when transmission risks are heightened.

PLANS FOR NEXT QUARTER

CIVIL TECH TOOLS

Commencing with the second round of IVR and Chatbot prototyping, activities for the next quarter will include:

• January: o Finalize prototype of public dashboard for USAID compliance review. o Maintenance of and iterative development of all tech tools. o Demonstrate the dashboard at the USAID/Cambodia Democracy & Governance partners meeting. • February: o Launch of OW4C Tech Tools in Banteay Meanchey.

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o Launch of OW4C public dashboard (pending USAID/Washington approval). o Maintenance of and iterative development of all tech tools.

• March: o Launch of OW4C tools in Kampong Chhnang. o Maintenance of and iterative development of all tech tools.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

Public outreach entails both campaigning and providing information on the civic tech being developed, as well as engaging directly within the communities in developing steps to implement the recommendations from the OWSO community scorecards. The following activities are planned for the next quarter: • January: o Stakeholder engagement meetings in Banteay Meanchey. o Conduct Public Forums in Battambang. o District Ombudsman Working Group meeting.

• February: o Community Roadshow Pilot (Battambang). o Train youth on roles of OWSO, District Ombudsman, and conducting a household survey (Banteay Meanchey). o OWSO Community Scorecards (Banteay Meanchey). o Infomediary Workshop (Banteay Meanchey). o Radio campaign commences in Banteay Meanchey. o Stakeholder engagement meetings in Kampong Chhnang. o Project Orientation for Youth Volunteers (Kampong Chhnang).

• March: o District Ombudsperson Working Group meetings (Battambang). o OWSO Community Scorecards (Kampong Chhnang).

MONITORING

There are two priorities for the monitoring and learning components of the project. First, OW4C will consolidate inputs and finalize the learning agenda for the project. Second, OW4C will establish the baseline data for the project in Banteay Meanchey and conduct the annual household OWSO knowledge survey in Battambang. Key activities planned for the quarter include:

• Submission to USAID of a revised MEL Plan. • Household baseline survey in Banteay Meanchey. • Annual survey in Battambang to measure change in OWSO awareness and knowledge. • Conduct a quarterly reflection and learning event and document lessons learned.

Periodic Progress Report – OW4C – 1 October – 31 December 2020 16

U.S. Agency for International Development/Cambodia U.S. Embassy, No. 1, Street 96, Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh Phnom Penh, Cambodia www.usaid.gov

Periodic Progress Report – OW4C – 1 October – 31 December 2020 17