USAID Transformation Communications Activity in Ukraine Quarterly Performance Report

USAID Transformation Communications Activity in Ukraine FY 2021 Q1 PROGRESS REPORT (01 October – 31 December 2020)

Award No: 72012120C00003

Prepared for USAID/Ukraine C/O American Embassy 4 Igor Sikorsky St., Kyiv, Ukraine 04112

Prepared by Chemonics International Inc. 1717 H Street NW Washington, DC 20006, USA

Table of Contents

I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 2 II. CONTEXT UPDATE 3 III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 IV. KEY NARRATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS 7 V. PERFORMANCE MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING 15 VI. INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT 17 VII. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 18 VIII. SUB-AWARD DETAILS 19 IX. ACTIVITY ADMINISTRATION 20 X. ATTACHMENTS 24

I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

AGRO USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity DIIA The Ministry of Digital Transformation developed its own brand to promote state services through smartphones, called “State and I”, that translates into DIIA with capital letters CO USAID Contracting Officer COR USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative DOBRE USAID Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency program ENGAGE USAID Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement activity GOU Government of Ukraine MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MELP Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan SeeD Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development SMT Senior Management Team StateGeoCadastre State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre TCA USAID Transformation Communications Activity UCBI II Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative II UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UNITY USAID Ukraine National Identity Through Youth US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development

II. CONTEXT UPDATE

LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

On Sunday, October 25, 2020 local elections for deputies of district councils and rural townships, as well as city mayors were held across Ukraine. The voter turnout was 35.94 percent with Donbas seeing the lowest turnout of any region. Overall turnout was more than ten points lower than voter turnout in the 2015 local elections (46.5 percent) and at the parliamentary elections in 2019 (49.3 percent).

One of the unexpected results of the elections was the success of pro-Russian, vocal Zelensky and reform opponent, blogger Anatoliy Shariy’s party in some cities of southern and eastern Ukraine (Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Mariupol) where his representatives secured seats in the local councils.

Aggressive ‘disinformation campaigns’ during the elections flooded social media and TV stations with stories about US spies creating COVID-19 in secret Ukrainian laboratories and Zelensky being a ‘marionette of the West’. President Putin's meeting with Victor Medvedchuk from the Opposition Platform - For Life (OPFL) party just two weeks before the elections seemed designed to send a strong signal as to who is best placed to improve relations with Russia.1

According to NGO Detector Media’s (supported by the EU and Council of Europe) monitoring of media coverage of the local electoral process, some political players actively spread messages on Facebook that echoed Russian disinformation. The narratives that were disseminated were national in scope, even when it came to specific regions. Particular messages focused on Ukraine as a “Nazi state”, “failed state”, under “external control”, and with a “failed medical reform2.

COVID-19 IN UKRAINE (OCTOBER 2020 - DECEMBER 2020)

During this reporting period the number of people contracting coronavirus in Ukraine has risen sharply.

“Weekend lockdown”

On 11 November, the Ukrainian government approved an alternative model of the lockdown labelled “weekend lockdown”, starting from November 14 and covering three weekends. The “weekend lockdown” imposed the closure of all non-essential commerce: cafes, restaurants, and bars (except for take-out orders); shopping malls; cultural institutions; gyms; fitness centers; and

1 https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/11/ukraine-local-elections-challenge-zelenskyys-plans 2https://www.coe.int/en/web/kyiv/-/do-the-media-manipulate-while-covering-the-2020-local-elections-in-ukraine- results-of-two-monitori-1

swimming pools. At the same time, the government’s decision provoked anti-lockdown protests in front of the Cabinet of Ministers building.

The main objective of the “weekend lockdown” was to reduce social contact during the weekend and therefore break the chain of infections. However, the number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Ukraine continued to grow. According to the official statistics3 as of Saturday, November 28th, 2020 Ukraine set a new record of 16,294 new Covid-19 cases per day.

Strict National Lockdown

On December 9, the Ukrainian government announced it would impose a new strict national lockdown from January 8 until January 24, 2021. As stated in a recent report from the Rating Sociological Group,,4 56% of Ukrainians support the government's decision to introduce a national lockdown in January and 52% of the respondents believe the spread of the coronavirus will subside due to the lockdown.

Mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

Meanwhile, a mass vaccination program to protect people from the coronavirus has started globally. On December 2, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to permit the general use of a fully tested COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and began administering doses on December 8.5 The US and Canada embarked on the vaccination process on December 14, and the European Union launched its vaccine campaign on December 27.6

COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine

Discussions on mass vaccination in Ukraine have also been on top of the agenda recently. As of the end of December 2020, Ukraine has not received any vaccines. However, on December 22, 2020 the Ministry of Health of Ukraine approved a COVID-19 vaccination plan. The document was developed by experts from the Public Health Center, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF. The goal of the plan is to vaccinate at least 50% of the population (20 million people) against COVID-19 during 2021–2022.7

The plan envisages four stages of vaccination:

3 https://covid19.rnbo.gov.ua/ 4http://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/ukraina na karantine monitoring obschestvennyh nastroeniy 12- 14 dekabrya.html 5https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/12/05/britain-becomes-the-first-country-to-license-a-fully- tested-covid-19-vaccine 6 https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-where-the-vaccine-has-been-rolled-out/a-56073292 7https://phc.org.ua/news/v-ukraini-zatverdili-plan-vakcinacii-naselennya-vid-covid-19-centr-gromadskogo- zdorovya?fbclid=IwAR0fusiDRg7HxszFueVpvEJxONBlXCGcCum PNx AbLvS52Ykm2oKqwnkJg

1. January-April 2021 – people with the highest risk of contracting and developing COVID- 19 and those, who perform vital functions in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic;

2. April-June 2021 – people with an extremely high risk of contracting and developing COVID-19 and those, who provide medical services;

3. June-September 2021 – people with a high risk of contracting and developing COVID-19 and those, who perform functions to maintain the security and livelihood of the state;

4. September 2021 - March 2022 – people with an increased risk to contract and develop COVID-19 and those who perform functions to maintain the security and livelihood of the state.

However, it seems not all Ukrainians are open to the offer of vaccination. According to a survey conducted by the Rating Sociological Group in late November, even if the vaccine against coronavirus is free, 40% of citizens are unwilling to be vaccinated. If they have to pay for the vaccine, 57% of respondents shared that they will oppose vaccination.

On December 30, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine signed a contract to buy 1 million 913 doses of China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine.8 The exact date for the arrival of the vaccines is yet to be confirmed.

LAND REFORM

The government continued to implement land reform efforts which included the drafting and passing of bills in this field. During this reporting period Parliament adopted law #3295 regarding the functioning of the State Agrarian Register and improvement of state support for agricultural producers. This law introduces an innovative tool for better access to state support programs (especially for small farmers) and transparent use of these programs.

In addition, there are still a number of critical bills that need to be passed:

- #2194 (passed first reading): simplifies the procedure of land transfer and obtaining property rights; introduces decentralization in the field of land regulations; transfers state lands outside the inhabited localities to communal ownership of communities; the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre will be deprived of most functions concerning control in the land relations;

- #2195 (passed first reading): establishes the detailed procedure of electronic auctions that are going to be compulsory for selling as well as executing lease agreements state/communal owned lands;

8https://moz.gov.ua/article/news/moz-uklalo-dogovir-na-postavku-18-mln-doz-vakcini-proti-covid-19-kompanii-sinovak

- #3205-2: establishes the Partial Guarantee Fund for agricultural loans;

- #3012-2: establishes the principles and formula of land distribution during agricultural lands privatization of state and communal enterprises.

However, citizens in general perceive the implementation of land reform mostly as just a free agriculture land market reform which they tend to criticize. According to the most recent nationwide survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF) and released on November 12, 2020, the public opinion on land sales was divided almost equally: 43% of respondents believed that land could not be the subject of a sale in principle, while 44% of respondents support buying and selling, but there is no unanimity on the terms of the land circulation among them. In addition, 19% of respondents believe that land could be sold only if the buyers are not foreign nationals; 11% believe that the land market can be opened if there is a restriction on the amount of land sold to one person/company; 9% of respondents believe that land could be sold if there is a fixed minimum price; 4% of respondents believe that the sale of land should be held freely and without any restrictions; and 13% of citizens are undecided9.

III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During this reporting period, Transformation Communications Activity (TCA) worked to finalize the operational startup of the program – including registration, accreditation, recruitment, and developing, releasing, and finalizing tenders for our rapid response firms – and launched technical implementation making progress on key activities across all three objectives.

Key Narrative Achievements

Under Objective 1, TCA completed the Rapid Assessment, a critical activity the results of which have already served to inform the development of key communications campaign/products and activities across all project objectives and will continue to do so throughout implementation. Under Objective 2, the TCA team engaged with several stakeholders on the development of communications campaigns and products in current priority areas, including: 1) worked with the Ministry of Digital Transformation Services on the E-Baby and E-Driving License campaigns, with development of videos, visual materials and media plans; 2) worked with all relevant stakeholders (the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Office of President, the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeocadastre), USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO), and the World Bank) on advancing land reform communications, including selecting the campaign concept and developing videos for two target audiences as well as campaign visuals; 3) supported the Ministry of Culture and Information

9 https://dif.org.ua/article/vidkrittya-rinku-silskogospodarskoi-zemli-yak-zminilisya-suspilni-nastroi-protyagom- 20192020-rr

Policy’s annual Creative Ukraine Forum; and 4) worked with UNICEF to develop alternative concepts for a vaccination campaign. Finally, under Objective 3, TCA launched the third iteration of PitchUA, including selecting themes, hosting an online opening event and disseminating contest information for potential applicants across online and social media platforms; the TCA team further identified five additional projects for transition from Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative II (UCBI II) to TCA support in the upcoming quarter, subject to USAID approval.

Quantitative Highlights

During the reporting quarter the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (MELP) submitted during the last quarter was approved as interim by USAID pending final edits following the conclusion of the TCA Rapid Assessment. The TCA team noted significant progress on key indicators across the three project objectives, including: 8 research or data collection products produced with TCA support (IR-102); 78 strategic communications products developed by and/or in partnership with the Ukrainian Government (IR-202); and 10 partnerships among the creative sector, civil society, broadcasters, and/or government to develop social impact entertainment content as a result of TCA intervention (IR-306). Additional details on results by indicators can be found in section V. Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

Activity Administration

No significant management or operational challenges to report this quarter. Coordination with USAID and UCBI II throughout the period continued to be strong as is navigating the transition between USAID CORs.

IV. KEY NARRATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS

OBJECTIVE 1: EQUIP USAID AND ITS PARTNERS TO CONDUCT DATA-DRIVEN COMMUNICATIONS

Rapid Assessment Research

During October-December 2020, the TCA Rapid Assessment (RA) team conducted and completed the TCA Rapid Assessment. The team was led by Manisha Aryal, Chemonics Media expert, and Taras Fedirko, Ukrainian media researcher and scholar from Cambridge University. The Assessment was based on two main themes selected by USAID: land reform and vaccination in Ukraine, and consisted of five main components:

1. Methodology. The team developed methodology for deep dives into the two selected themes. The methodology included the following: Gap Analysis (desk research of the

available data in the field with selection of data gaps that needed to be filled with the next phases of Rapid Assessment research); Social Media Monitoring (SMM); Stakeholder Interviews; Focus Groups and Interviews with selected individuals on the basis of target audiences identified in the Gap Analysis; and a Final Report. 2. Gap Analysis. During October, the Rapid Assessment team received data from different stakeholders for analysis. The results of Gap Analysis were presented to USAID on October 19 and were approved with minor changes. The analysis showed the need for additional research in the next phase of the assessment. 3. Social Media Monitoring. TCA contracted PlusOne agency to assess conversations in social media around land reform and vaccination. The report included the peaks of discussions around these themes, main social media influencers and general analytics of the narratives discussed on social media. 4. Interviews with stakeholders. Taras Fedirko conducted 16 in-depth interviews with stakeholders on the themes, as well as interviews with individuals that are involved in the state communications in Ukraine including representatives of the Office of President, Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Culture and Informational Policy, and others. 5. Focus Groups and Interviews. TCA research partner InfoSapiens conducted 2 Focus Groups on Land Reform, 20 interviews with landowners, and 6 interviews with members of farming enterprises. Also, InfoSapiens conducted 4 Focus Groups on vaccination and 15 interviews with healthcare specialists. The InfoSapiens team developed three reports – one on Focus Groups and two on vaccination. 6. Final Report. The final Rapid Assessment report was presented to USAID on December 9, 2020. Following a consultative process internal to USAID and with the TCA team, the final version of the report is now with USAID for approval. The report consists of 95 pages and provides readers with detailed information about the selected themes and communications needs and goals for TCA to respond to. A shorter version of the report was used as part of the briefing conducted for the USAID Ukraine mission and received highly positive feedback. 7. Data Driven Programming: The results of the Rapid Assessment are already informing TCA activities. Both the Land Reform and Vaccination campaigns (Objective 2) used data from the RA to inform messaging and approaches, and the themes for PitchUA3 (Objective 3) were selected on the basis of Rapid Asessment data and analysis.

Transitional Justice Research

In parallel to the Rapid Assessment, the TCA team started to work on a concept for research on transitional justice in Ukraine in support of the working group under the Office of President of Ukraine. TCA’s main contact person is Oleksandra Dvoretska, who has shared the preliminary concept and requested research to test some of the main messages incorporated into the transitional justice concept. The TCA team, with research partner InfoSapiens, developed a qualitative methodology for testing and is now in the process of finalizing the

questionaries for the Focus Groups. The final report for this research is expected in the next TCA reporting period.

OBJECTIVE 2: INCREASE THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS ON REFORM DIVIDENDS

In this reporting period, the TCA Objective 2 team developed communications products for three campaigns: the DIIA E-Baby, the DIIA E-Driving License, and Land Reform. In addition to the developed products, TCA consolidated the work of all stakeholders for a “one-voice” communications approach towards land reform and the government digital services.

Additionally, the TCA strategic communications team led coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine in unifying the communications on COVID-19 countermeasures, developing a consistent visual style for the Ministry, and supporting the Creative Ukraine Forum held by the Ministry.

This quarter, TCA also collaborated with UNICEF to develop creative concepts to support routine vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic and adult revaccination. Testing and roll out of this campaign will occur in the next reporting period after further consultation with the USAID Health Office.

Ministry of Digital Transformation Services

The Ministry of Digital Transformation developed its own brand to promote state services through smartphones, called “State and I”, that translates into DIIA with capital letters. The DIIA E-Baby and the DIIA E-Driving License Projects were transferred to TCA from the Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative II (UCBI II) for implementation.

E-Baby. TCA in close cooperation with the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, developed three DIIA E-Baby communication videos for TV and digital, three visuals for outdoor campaigns and for placement in clinics and women's health facilities, and four banners for digital campaigns.

E-Driving License. For the purpose of DIIA E-Driving License communication, TCA developed three videos for a TV and Internet campaign, four banners for a digital campaign, one radio spot, and one visual for an outdoor campaign and for placement on gas station monitors.

Detailed media plans for efficient communications were created for both campaigns. All creative products were developed based on the DIIA brand book to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the government's communications related to these two services. The products

were approved by all beneficiaries. As of January 2021, they are ready to be launched as part of the state campaign.

Land Reform Communications

During the reporting period, TCA developed all products planned for the land reform communications in the previous quarter. Initially, eight creative concepts were developed. As a result of several meetings and discussions with all stakeholders, one concept was chosen: "Land reform – obvious changes for the better." TCA, with its implementing partner Pleon Talan Agency, created two types of videos for this concept. The first one is aimed at Target Audience (TA) 1 – Ukrainians residing in big cities not owning land; the second one is aimed at TA2 – Ukrainians who are landowners. The videos were adapted for TV and Internet broadcasting. The agency developed images for outdoor advertising and the social media campaign. The four main communication channels for this campaign are: television, outdoor advertising, digital media, including social media, and PR.

Rapid Assessment research highlighted that the population that does not support the land reform in its totality still supports some elements of it that are part of the reform. It also showed that people are willing to access more information as long as it is explained in simple language. Therefore, the key part of the campaign is focused on PR and SMM, as these tools help to convey the rational component of the campaign and explain in detail to the target audience the essence of land reform. The TV campaign will be implemented as a social advertisement with the support of the Office of President. The Agency will also print and place 60 boards in six Ukrainian cities near local government institutions to draw the attention of parliamentarians, government officials, and civil servants to the importance of enacting laws necessary to implement the land reform. The rest of the boards will be placed with the support of the Office of President as social advertising.

In addition to the general communication of the land reform, TCA supports the communications of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre) online services. StateGeoCadastre is the central executive body that is coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine via the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine. Ten videos will be developed to show in detail how to use the StateGeocadastre online services resulting from the land reform implementation and making land-related processes transparent. The concept of the videos was developed and approved in this reporting period. The videos on the StateGeocadastre will also communicate the key message of the "Land Reform - Obvious Changes for the Better" campaign and will be part of the overall campaign.

All stakeholders engaged in land reform communications were involved in the development of the campaign materials including: the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the Cabinet of Ministers,

the Office of President, the StateGeocadastre, AGRO, the World Bank, and external experts. The developed TCA materials are a consolidated product designed for communications, which incorporates the expertise of all parties involved. In order to ensure the campaign is perceived as government communications, all materials will only be branded with the logos of state institutions in line with TCA’s approved branding and marking plan. This quarter, weekly communication meetings were introduced and held with all stakeholders, where each party presents planned communications activities allowing for coordination of joint communication plans. This is the first step towards building the holistic government communication on the land reform and these coordination meetings will continue to be facilitated by the TCA team in the coming quarter.

Ministry of Culture and Information Policy

On November 19 - 20, 2020, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy held its annual Creative Ukraine Forum. This entirely online event brought together international participants and participants from all over Ukraine. TCA developed the key video of the forum, which demonstrated the innovativeness, originality, and practicality of the Ukrainian creative product. This video was shown at the opening of the Forum and was also used as a screensaver between the panels. Further, TCA organized and moderated the Socially Important Content panel. The panel was comprised of Taras Fedirko, sociologist, Maria Yefrosinina, TV presenter, public figure and founder of the Charity weekend series, and Olesya Lukyanenko, creative producer of Film.ua. Speakers, as well as moderator Vira Kostenko-Kuznetsova, Deputy Chief of Party and Content Director of TCA, shared their experience in creating socially relevant content. TCA also provided technical support and English interpretation for the event.

The video developed for the Forum was prepared in Ukrainian and English. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy sent the video to Ukrainian embassies abroad and invited creative sector companies to use the video for international exhibitions and international events. Thus, this TCA-developed product has not only broader reach than anticipated, but has continued to be used beyond the parameters of the Forum event.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy asked TCA to develop the Ministry's logo, branding and brand book. TCA engaged a creative agency in the project, resulting in 12 branding concepts developed and presented to the Ministry. Currently, the selected concept is being finalized.

TCA also takes an active part in meetings held by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, including those dealing with communications to help counter the spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of the Communication Concept for Gender Equality until 2025.

Vaccination

TCA, in collaboration with UNICEF and creative agency TBWA, developed creative concepts to promote vaccination among adults (revaccination) and among parents of children under six years old. The "Scar" campaign takes into account the local attitude to the mark left by the BCG vaccine and the visual image conveys the "Vaccines work" message. Following consultations with the USAID Health Office, in-depth interviews will be conducted to test this idea locally. Alternative concepts were also developed to make more efficient use of research funds. If the “Scar” campaign does not pass the success criteria then, based on the most positive feedback received from the target audience during the testing process, an alternative idea will be selected for the communication campaign.

OBJECTIVE 3: BROADEN THE USE OF SOCIAL IMPACT CONTENT BY UKRAINE’S CIVIC LEADERS AND CREATIVE SECTOR

PitchUA3

The key activity under Objective 3 this quarter was PitchUA3 – the 3rd season of the national contest for TV and film producers, NGOs, digital and other creators – which will result in the award of grants for development, production/co-production and public demonstration of social impact entertainment, educational, and cultural media content. Previous PitchUA seasons were supported by UCBI II and organized by Media Resources Management (MRM), Ukraine’s first media consulting company offering competent expertise in the broadcast and movie productions spheres. PitchUA’s 3rd season is supported by TCA and organized by MRM. For the Ukrainian media industry, PitchUA has become the biggest open content funding competition that is not directly held by a Ukrainian government-funded agency endowing it with the positive reputation of an independent funding competition.

Objective 3 activities began, as planned, in December 2020 with the preparation for the PitchUA 3 opening event and the event itself, held this year entirely online due to COVID-19 restrictions. To participate in PitchUA3, applicants will need to submit proposals along the four broad themes developed as a result of the analysis from the TCA Rapid Assessment and in consultation with USAID and GoU partners. The first three themes will be supported by TCA, with the fourth theme dedicated for UCBI II future programming. The themes for PitchUA3 are as follows:

1. I Feel Changes: Reforming Ukraine The content is based on the fundamental reforms of the country; it also highlights how the reforms develop citizens’ responsibility for personal health, social life, online behavior, etc. TCA suggests focusing on those areas where reforms are visible and make Ukrainians feel real changes in their country.

2. Uniting Ukrainians: Unity in Diversity Meaningful and fascinating stories about the people of Ukraine, about their common experience and values that constitute a part of the modern Ukrainian identity. This year, we pay special attention to the content, which relates to Ukrainian history, culture and unique stories about people that despite anything are changing their country for the best.

3. Media Matters Today misinformation is complex and multilevel. Although research shows that Ukrainians have little trust in the Russian media, they are still not always able to identify fakes and manipulations; they remain vulnerable to destructive Russian narratives that have affected all spheres of life. This topic will complement USG / USAID's continued support for media literacy development and countering misinformation.

4. UCBI II Theme: Russian Language Content: Re-Connecting Across the Divide. While Russia is actively promoting Ukraine's image as a failed state, in reality, Ukraine is a diverse and modern country that is making tremendous progress in the direction of democratic reforms This Russian-language topic will help Ukrainian content producers to highlight the main positive changes that Ukraine has implemented since the Revolution of Dignity.

To communicate all activities connected with PitchUA3, MRM relaunched the website pitchua.com, and all of the new information appearing on the site was also announced via MRM’s and TCA’s Facebook pages. The rules of the contest and the application form were also placed on the website along with the announcement of the launch event and the subsequent schedule of PitchUA3. To help potential applicants better study and understand the theme of their choice, 11 different research reports gathered by TCA’s team were placed on the website.

On December 16, TCA organized the launch of PitchUA3 and used this opportunity to officially launch TCA, as a separate USAID activity in Ukraine. The event was co-hosted by representatives of MRM and TCA. USAID Mission Director in Ukraine and Belarus, James Hope, took part in the opening event and presented TCA to all participants. Taras Shevchenko, Deputy Minister of TCA’s main beneficiary in Ukraine the Ministry of Culture and Informational Policy, took part in the opening event and discussed the importance of TCA for building effective data-driven communications between Ukraine’s civil society, the media and the GoU.

Further, the launch event featured panel discussions around the presented themes for PitchUA3 with a total of seven Ukrainian experts representing USAID projects in Ukraine, including AGRO, Ukraine National Identity Through Youth (UNITY), Enhance Non- Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement (ENGAGE), and Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency (DOBRE), Ukrainian NGOs, media organizations and others. The experts outlined the importance and urgency of the themes proposed for the contest. Oren Murphy, Senior Regional Specialist for Europe and Asia at USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), presented the 4th theme dedicated to Russian language content. The launch event also included two master classes on the development and formats of socially significant content by TCA’s Hollywood experts Adam Sigel and Josh Weinstock.

The Facebook stream of the launch event has so far gathered more than 260 viewers, the Ukrainian language stream on YouTube has been viewed by more than 550 people, while the English language stream has been viewed more than 100 times. Considering the event was aimed at a professional audience of potential applicants, and not the broader public, these are excellent numbers.

Following the launch event, MRM continued to interview experts in subjects related to the contest themes. To date, ten interviews between 20 and 35 minutes in length have been placed on the website and PitchUA’s YouTube channel, including an interview with Peter Pomeratsev – an internationally acclaimed analyst, writer and expert on Kremlin propaganda – whose agency’s research into the themes that unite Ukrainians is the basis of the 2nd theme of PitchUA3. The appearance of each new interview on the website is announced and promoted on MRM’s Facebook page and is shared on TCA’s Facebook page.

To date, ten applications for the contest have already been submitted, however, judging from the previous PitchUA iterations, the major bulk of applications is expected closer to the January 27 deadline. The public pitching of the proposals this year will be reserved only to the finalists and will take place on April 20.

To help applicants better prepare their proposals and pitches, TCA’s Hollywood experts Adam Sigel and Josh Weinstock will hold an online master class which will be open to the public. A webinar on how to accurately prepare the budget proposal and how to follow the expense reporting requirements will also be held.

PitchUA3 winners will be announced on April 29.

Content transitioning from UCBI II to TCA

In parallel to PitchUA3, during the reporting period, the TCA Objective 3 team worked on finalizing the ideas that could be transitioned from UCBI II to TCA this quarter. Five projects – winners of PitchUA2 that received support from UCBI II for the production of the pilot and development of the concept, have shown the greatest potential, and received positive feedback from Hollywood experts Adam Sigel and Josh Weinstock – are planned for submission for USAID approval of TCA support in the next reporting period.

These projects are the TV drama Maritime Academy, created by Star Media LCC, the TV comedy The Head, produced by StarLight Production, the feature film The Weekend, the reality show Build Ukraine Together, produced by Film.UA, and the YouTube show Mum, I’m doing business.

Maritime Academy is an eight episode drama series about a war veteran who becomes a teacher in an academy to get closer to his estranged son. The production team is now negotiating to broadcast the series on one of the most viewed TV channels in Ukraine – Ukraina.

The Head is a 15-episode comedy series about a daring student from Kyiv who, on a bet with his professor, becomes the mayor of a small village. The show will be broadcasted on Novy channel, one of the Top-5 most popular TV channels in Ukraine.

The Weekend is a movie that will tell the story of people who attend a famous music festival in Kyiv called Atlas Weekend. It will premiere in cinemas all around Ukraine.

Build Ukraine Together is a reality show that follows a real volunteer initiative of the same name that implements projects across Ukraine.

Mum, I’m Doing Business is a YouTube reality show starring a Ukrainian celebrity artist Volodymyr Dantes. It is an entertaining and informative reality show about doing business in Ukraine.

V. PERFORMANCE MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING In this reporting period, the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan was submitted. After a productive consultative process, the plan was approved as interim pending final edits after the completion of the Rapid Assessment and for re-submission alongside the next six- month implementation plan. The table below highlights the indicators relevant to activities completed in this quarter.

Indicator Indicator Description Number to Verification Number Date Gap Analysis Social Media Monitoring (1 report on land reform and 1 on vaccination) Interviews with stakeholders (1 Number of research or data compiled report) IR-102 collection products produced 8 Focus Group Report (1 report with TCA support on land reform and vaccination) Interviews Reports (1 report on report on land reform and 1 on vaccination) Final Report Number of TCA supported The Cabinet of Ministers of partnerships among GOU, Ukraine IR-201 civil society, and the creative 15 The Office of President sector to develop strategic The Ministry of Culture and communications products Information Policy

The Ministry of Digital Transformation The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture StateGeoCadastre World Bank AGRO UNICEF CDC InfoSapience Pleon Talan communication agency Green Penguin creative agency PlusOne communication agency TBWA communication agency HAVAS media agency Videos for TV - 8 Creative Concepts - 2 Videos for Internet - 8 Video for Forum - 1 Visuals for Outdoor Placement - Number of strategic 12 communications products Visuals for SMM - 18 IR – 202 developed by and/or in 78 partnership with the Digital Banners - 8 Ukrainian Government PR Plan - 1 SMM Plan -1 Content Plan - 1 Posters - 14 Media Plan - 3 Radio Spot -1 Land reform campaign Number of campaigns E-baby campaign IR – 203 designed by TCA partners to 5 E-driving licenses campaign amplify Ukrainian voices Vaccination campaign StateGeoCadastre campaign Land reform campaign Number of USAID activities E-baby campaign supported by TCA to deliver E-driving licenses campaign IR – 207 7 data-driven, positive reform Vaccination campaign communications StateGeoCadastre campaign Creative Ukraine Forum

Logo and branding for the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy Commercial/creative entities that Number of partnerships registered and took part in the between TCA and five-hour long online PitchUA3 IR-303 commercial/creative entities 191 Launch event, interested to

to create socially relevant create socially relevant content content as a result of their participation in the PitchUA3 activity. Ministry of Culture and Informational Policy Ministry of Digital Number of partnerships Transformation among the creative sector, UNICEF civil society, broadcasters, MRM IR-306 and/or government to 10 Detector Media develop social impact ENGAGE entertainment content as a UNITY result of TCA intervention DOBRE IREX Literacy Program AGRO

VI. INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT Inclusive development principles were taken into consideration as applicable in the methodology and execution of the Rapid Assessment as well as in ensuring responsiveness to target audiences within finalized campaigns. With the focus on transitional justice research and social impact content creation in the next quarter, opportunities to further inclusive development will be maximized.

VIII. SUB-AWARD DETAILS In FY2021 Q4, TCA issued seventeen sub-awards for a total value of , including the ceiling cost for six indefinite quantity subcontracts (IQSs), discussed further below.

These sub-awards include six IQSs awarded under the Communications Activity Fund (CAF) with an overall ceiling of under which five sub-task orders have been awarded to date for a total value of . Kindly note that the sub-awards table in Annex D only includes the value of the awarded sub-task orders in the total amount of sub-awards awarded to date, rather than the total value of the IQS. This is to ensure that there is no duplication in value for sub-task orders awarded under the IQS. Further CAF sub-awards include two firm- fixed price subcontracts with a total value o .

TCA further issued two time-and-materials non-CAF subcontracts to the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and Media Resources Management LLC (MRM) respectively. The subcontract with SeeD has a total value of . TCA received CO consent to subcontract with SeeD during the previous reporting period on September 6, 2020 under approval request no. 010. The subcontract with MRM has a total value of . TCA received CO consent to subcontract with MRM on December 3, 2020 under approval request no. 021. TCA further issued a sub-task order to subcontractor InfoSapiens to support research to inform the TCA Rapid Assessment for a total value of .

IX. ACTIVITY ADMINISTRATION Constraints and Critical Issues

During this reporting period, TCA worked closely with USAID in response to a bank request by Chemonics’ corporate banking partner CitiBank to register with Ukraine’s tax authorities. USAID provided guidance that registration with the tax authorities was not required based on the project’s status as an international technical assistance project. Chemonics sought alternative banking options and ultimately opened a bank account with ProCredit Bank on December 18, 2020. As of the end of the reporting period, TCA is effectively processing payments locally through its bank account and has encountered no further issues related to registration.

Personnel

During the reporting period, TCA fully onboarded nine cooperating country national staff onto long-term employment agreements managed by TCA. This included the transition of five staff from the UCBI II project to fully support the TCA project, as well as four new hires from competitive recruitment processes.

Name Position Start Date

*Staff transitioning from UCBI II to TCA

Further, during the reporting period, TCA finalized the transition and recruitment of three additional staff whose start dates are in FY2021 Q2 as follows:

Name Position Start Date

combined with annual report) 2 Quarterly F.4.B(2) Within 15 COR Approved, Financial and calendars days October 22, 2020 Accrual after the end of Reports the fiscal year quarter 3 Annual F.4.B(3) 30 calendar days COR No action, next Performance after the end of report due Reports the US October 30, 2021 government fiscal year 4 Property F.4.B(4) 30 calendar days COR Approved Report after the end of November 24, the US 2020 government fiscal year 5 Final Report F.4.B(5) May 31, 2025 [30 COR No action calendar days before the end date of the contract] 6 Special F.4.B(6)a-c Upon COR COR Weekly updates Reports request submitted to COR via email following weekly SMT-COR meetings 7 Special F.4.B(6)d Submitted as part COR No action Reports: of the Quarterly Geospatial Performance Reporting Reports Requirements 8 Special F.4.B(6)e Within contract DDL & No action Reports: performance COR Submission of period Datasets

9 Special F.4.B(6)f Within 15 COR No action Reports: calendar days after STTA/Consult completion of ant Reports assignment or upon COR request

Geographic Information

Not relevant at this time.

X. ATTACHMENTS List of Deliverables

A. Reports/Deliverables: 1. Rapid Assessment Report [Draft, Approved December 8, 2020] 2. Rapid Assessment Presentation 3. Branding Implementation Plan and Marking Plan [Updated] 4. FY2020 Q1 Quarterly Performance Report and Financial and Accrual Report 5. FY2020 Property Report B. Products Produced During Reporting Period 1. Objective 1: a) Focus Group Discussion Guide – Vaccinations, Healthcare Workers [InfoSapeins, STO.001.1] b) Focus Group Discussion Guide – Vaccinations, Regular Citizens [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] c) Focus Group Discussion Guide – Land Reform [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] d) Master Focus Group Discussion Guide – Land Reform [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] e) Focus Group Discussion Transcripts [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] (1) Vaccinations (2) Land Reform f) Focus Group Discussion Recordings [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] (1) Vaccinations (2) Land Reform g) In-Depth Interviews – Healthcare Workers [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] (1) Recordings (2) Transcripts (3) Summaries h) In-Depth Interviews – Landowners [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1]

(1) Recordings (2) Transcripts (3) Summaries i) In-Depth Interviews – Farmers [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] (1) Recordings (2) Transcripts (3) Summaries j) Report on Focus Group Discussions and Interviews on Vaccination [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] k) Report on Focus Group Discussions and Interviews on Land Reform [InfoSapiens, STO.001.1] l) Social and Digital Media Monitoring Analysis Data [Plus One Agency; TCA-FFP- 002] (1) Vaccination (2) Land Reform m) Social and Digital Media Monitoring Analysis Summary [Plus One Agency, TCA- FFP-002] (1) Vaccination (2) Land Reform n) Social and Digital Media Monitoring Analysis Report [Plus One Agency, TCA- FFP-002] (1) Vaccination (2) Land Reform 2. Objective 2: a) Creative Ukraine Creative Industries Video Script and Concept [TBWA\Ukraine, TCA-IQS-002.4, STO2.1] b) Draft Vaccination Communications Campaign Concept [TBWA\Ukraine, TCA- IQS-002.4, STO2.2]

Public Outreach Documents

C. E-Malyatko (E-Baby) Campaign Videos and Visuals [Green Penguin, TCA-FFP-001] D. E-Driver’s License Campaign Videos and Visuals [Green Penguin, TCA-FFP-001] E. Creative Ukraine Creative Industries Video [TBWA\Ukraine, TCA-IQS-002.4; STO2.1] 1. English 2. Ukrainian F. Land Reform Campaign Out of Home (OOH) Visuals [Pleon Talan, TCA-IQS-002.1 STO1.1] G. Land Reform Campaign Videos [Pleon Talan, TCA-IQS-002.1, STO1.1] H. PitchUA 3 Website [MRM, TCA-TM-001]

I. PITCH UA 3 Press Release [TCA Staff + MRM, TCA-TM-001] J. PITCH UA 3 Press Note [TCA Staff + MRM, TCA-TM-001] K. PITCH UA 3 Launch Event Program [TCA Staff + MRM, TCA-TM-001]

Performance Data Table

The performance data table has not been completed yet, pending finalization of the MELP.

Sub-Awards Table

Enclosed as a separate attachment.