EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

QUARTERLY REPORT 20 (April, 2019 – June, 2019) CONTRACT : AID-520-C-14-00002 The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

BACKGROUND This Quarterly Report captures the breadth of activities performed during the twentieth quarter (Q20), which ranges from April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019. It delineates high-level results, key achievements in each of the six result areas, obstacles faced during the reporting period, project management updates, and financial reporting against the six funding sources of the Nexos Locales contract.

USAID’s Nexos Locales Project (Contract No. AID-520-C-14-00002), formerly known as the Local Governance Project, is an eight-year program that began in June 2014. Implemented by DAI Global, LLC (DAI), the project is based in Quetzaltenango, with a regional office located in . The primary goal of USAID’s Nexos Locales Project (hereinafter Nexos Locales) is to strengthen municipalities in the Western Highlands of the country so they foster more responsive, inclusive, and effective socio-economic development while reducing local vulnerabilities such as food insecurity and natural disasters. In order to achieve this goal and the objectives of both USAID and other development partners, local governments must be able to better manage public resources and deliver services in an efficient and transparent manner. Strong and inclusive municipal governments are necessary for local development and are crucial to the sustainability of interventions supported by the United States Government (USG) in Guatemala.

KEY ADVANCES IN ALL SIX RESULT AREAS Resultado 1, Sólidos Sistemas Financieros— seis municipios utilizan actualmente teléfonos inteligentes e impresoras móviles para facturar más eficientemente a los usuarios de servicios de agua, reduciendo los costes administrativos municipales de 44 días hábiles para facturar a sólo nueve. Adicionalmente, el Procurador de Derechos Humanos (PDH) brindó su respaldo al calendario digital de la Unidad Municipal de Acceso a la Información Pública (UAIP).

Result 2, — This quarter, derived from the ongoing technical assistance provided to youth networks, Nexos Locales completed ten youth-organized forums for mayoral candidates where over 1585 people attended and 183 youth drove the planning process. For many youth, this was the first time they experienced mayoral candidates discussing and prioritizing youth issues in their campaigns, which is a reflection of the youth’s leadership and application of advocacy skills gained through Nexos Locales’ technical assistance with youth networks. Eighty-two mayoral candidates (of whom ten were women) and 41 municipal administration candidates signed a letter of interest committing their administrations to prioritizing youth issues. In addition, 43 advocacy campaigns began implementation with 421 completing

1 Excluding San Andres Sajcabajá, Quiche. mayoral candidate forums to probe future leaders about their policies and plans related to issues of particular interest to civil society.

Result 3, Increase the Quality of Potable Water— In Q20, the Municipal Water and Sanitation Office (OMAS) in Tacaná, located in the department of San Marcos, was legally institutionalized. Additionally four municipalities2 invested in improving the infrastructure of their urban water system, improving water service provision for a total of 87,012 people. Lastly, eight municipalities3 updated or developed new chlorination systems that will benefit an estimated total of 91,945 people.

Result 4 and 5, Local Economic Development and Climate Change Adaptation— This quarter, USD 843,977.35 in Guatemalan government own funds for women-centered projects were approved in 13 municipalities4 through 20 National Public Investment System (SNIP) codes. On May 13, 2019, Nexos Locales signed an agreement with Helvetas, Swiss Intercooperation through the Prodert Ixoquib’ project. Eleven municipalities5 in five departments receive support from both projects and the agreement aligns actions to increase impact in local economic development. Additionally, four municipalities implemented actions from the Local Economic Development (LED) plans that resulted in 1,305 producers participating in local economic development efforts that benefitted around 7,830 people. These actions included planting tomato and flower crops in municipal greenhouses, the ‘Huist Kapeh” coffee festival, and developing marketing plans for increased commercialization of the Hibiscus flower and soy bean in the region. Lastly, 19 municipalities6 completed reforestation actions from their Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans7, planting 230,840 trees on 169.2 hectares to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change; an area nearly three times as large as the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Result 6, ANAM & AGAAI— In Q20, ANAM updated its online municipal toolbox to include 23 Nexos Locales-developed tools that are publically accessible to all 340 municipalities.

2 Quiche: 1) ; 2) ;

San Marcos: 3) Tajumulco; and 4) San Marcos. 3 Huehuetenango: 1) La Libertad; 2) San Sebastián Coatan; 3) San Miguel Acatan; 4) ; San Marcos: 5) Comitancillo; and 6)Concepción Tutuapa; 7) Comitancillo and Totonicapán: 8) Totonicapán. 4 Quiche: 1) San Juan Cotzal; 2) Cunen; 3) ; 4) Nebaj; 5) San Bartolomé ; 6) ; 7) ; 8) San Andrés Sajcabajá; 9) Santa Cruz del Quiche; Huehuetenango: 10) Barillas; 11) Todos Santos Cuchumatán; San Marcos: 12) San Marcos; and 13) Sibinal. 5 Huehuetenango: 1) San Miguel Acatan; 2) Todos Santos Cuchumatan; 3) ; Quiche: 4) Cunen; 5) Sacapulas; 6) Uspantan; Totonicapan: 7) Totonicapan; San Marcos: 8) San Miguel Ixtahuacan; 9) Tacana; 10) Concepcion Tutuapa; and Quetzaltenango: 11) Concepcion Chiquirichapa. Huehuetenango: 1) Chiantla; 2) Concepción Huista; 3) San Sebastián Coatan; 4) La Libertad; 5) Huehuetenango; 6) ; 7) San Sebastián Huehuetenango; 8) Jacaltenango; 9) San Pedro Necta; 10) Todos Santos Cuchumatán; Quiche: 11) Santa Cruz del Quiche; 12) ; 13) San Bartolome Jocotenango; 14) San Andres Sajcabaja; 15) Zacualpa; San Marcos: 16) Tacana; 17) Sibinal; 18) San Marcos; and 19) Comitancillo. 7 The Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans are the same mentioned in Q18, the seven are of the total 43. All municipalities are working to complete actions and the project will report actions as they are completed.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL QUALITY Pre-Electoral Analysis and Presentations- On Tuesday, May 14, 2019, Nexos Locales presented a Pre-Electoral Analysis of the 43 municipalities under project coverage to nearly fifty USG staff. The analysis was the result of diligent data collection by project technicians in each of the 43 municipalities to better understand the socio-political climate surrounding the local elections in the Western Highlands, a population representing over 28% of the national vote. USAID/Guatemala Communications Visit- On May 30, 2019, Nexos Locales hosted the visit of Mr. Benjamin Ilka, of USAID/Guatemala, to San Bartolomé Jocotenango, located in the department of Quiche. The project coordinated meetings with the Municipal Water and Sanitation Office, in conjunction with local water committees and representatives from the local health center. International Visiting Leaders Program- On May 21, 2019, the project received a request to nominate a candidate for the IVLP ‘NGOs and Minority Participation in the Democratic Process’. One day later, Nexos Locales submitted the application of Ms. Juana Baca, a women’s rights leader from Nebaj, Quiche, who is the director of the Asociación de Organizaciones de Mujeres Ixhiles (ASOREMI). Youth Roundtable- On May 1, 2019, USAID/Guatemala requested the project’s support in nominating a youth beneficiary to participate in a roundtable discussion in with key USG officials from Washington. Nexos Locales coordinated the participation of Wilson De Leon, the Municipal Public Service Office manager from La Libertad, located in the department of Huehuetenango. St. Andrews Prize for the Environment- In June 2019, Nexos Locales coordinated with the forestry office in San Juan Atitán, located in the department of Huehuetenango, to design a project proposal for the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment. The proposal involves using forest incentive funds to provide potable water to over 9,000 beneficiaries. Cultural Pertinence Strategy- In June 2019, the project submitted the Cultural Pertinence Strategy to USAID for its review and approval. The strategy was developed by the Internal Cultural Pertinence Committee as a response to the need to work more fluidly to address the unique needs of the indigenous population in the Western Highlands. The strategy contains detailed descriptions of the indigenous context, a legal justification, and principles of multicultural and multilingual communities.