USAID GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY PROJECT MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 SEPTEMBER 2016 This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Tt DPK for the USAID Government Integrity Project, contract number AID-519-C-16-00001. USAID GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY PROJECT MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 Contracted under Contract No. AID-519-C-16-00001 Pursuant to Section F.6 of the Contract DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. USAID GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY PROJECT 2 MONTHLY REPORT ACRONYMS ADM Gestión documental y archívística Archives and Data Management COMURES Corporación de Municipalidades de la República de El Salvador Municipal Corporation of the Republic of El Salvador CEG Comisiones de Etica Commissions of Government Ethics CSO Organización de la sociedad civil Civil Society Organization FY Fiscal Year FUNDE Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo GOES Gobierno de El Salvador Government of El Salvador IAIP Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública Institute for Access to Public Information I+D Innovation & Design, Tetra Tech DPK’s Salvadorian subcontractor IIM Institutional Integrity Model ISDEM Instituto Salvadoreño de Desarrollo Municipal Salvadorian Institute for Municipal Development LAIP Ley de Acceso a la Información Pública Access to Information Law LCAM Ley de la Carrera Administrativa Municipal Administrative Municipal Career Law MOP Ministerio de Obras Públicas Ministry of Public Works OGP Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto Open Government Partnership OMBS Online Merit-based system PGR Procuraduría General de la República Public Defenders’ Office MARD Ministerio de Medio Ambiente Ministry of Environment CNR Centro Nacional de Registro National Registry Center STP Secretaría Técnica y de Planificación de la Presidencia (STP) Technical and Planning Secretariat of the President’s Office TEG Tribunal de Etica Gubernamental Government Ethics Tribunal Tt DPK Tetra Tech DPK UAIP Unidad de Acceso a Información Pública Public Information Office USAID United States Agency for International Development USAID GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY PROJECT 3 MONTHLY REPORT INTRODUCTION Tetra Tech DPK (Tt DPK) was awarded contract AID-519-C-16-00001 to implement the USAID Government Integrity Project on March 3, 2016. The purpose of the project is to work in partnership with the Government of El Salvador (GOES) for effective implementation and compliance with regulations that enhance transparency and accountability in government. This report constitutes the project’s September 2016 bulleted monthly report and outlines the main programmatic and administrative tasks undertaken. The month of September was characterized by the completion of a high volume of key activities initiated in August, particularly with the Institute for Access to Public Information and the continuation of others as described below. PROGRAMMATIC TASKS Project Work Planning o The Planning for fiscal year 2017 (FY17) continued with two day long sessions on September 8 and 9. Tt DPK’s home office Contracts Management Director, Rebecca Silva, participated in the workshop. A presentation of the initial proposal of activities for FY17 was shared with the Project COR. o On September 9, the COR, the Project COP and Tt DPK’s Contract Management Director met to discuss planning and budgeting in the coming years. Discussions focused on the need to take into consideration the approved budget, which allocates $1.4 Million to CLIN I activity costs (excluding long-term staff), $1.7 Million to CLIN II activity costs, and $1.9 Million to Grants Under Contract over a three year base period, when developing the project work plan in order to meet the required project results within the budget line items assigned in the contract. These discussions resulted in the following implementation strategy: • Use long-term project staff to implement technical programming to the extent possible; • Use the relatively limited activity costs allocated to CLIN I strategically and only where interventions clearly contribute to achieving project results; • Explore opportunities for CLIN II activities to complement successful CLIN I strategies and group these ideas in one or two proposals over the life of the project to minimize administrative burden on the USAID contracting office; and • Use the grants fund wherever possible to achieve project results and carefully manage and account for in-kind project contributions to grantees to ensure they are properly reported to the grants line item. Strategic Training Program o The Project has conceived a strategic program to systematically train key public officials in selected central and local government agencies, as well as civil society organizations, in subject matters that promote a culture of public integrity El Salvador. To this end, the Project has developed three of five initial modules that will make up this program, including a module on transparency (in collaboration with the IAIP), one on ethics (in collaboration with the TEG) and one on the training of trainers. The fourth module will be designed for civil society organizations and will be executed once USAID approves the scope of work for the subcontract which will develop the module. The fifth module focuses on accountability and is 4 being developed in collaboration with the Secretaría de Participación Ciudadana, Transparencia y Rendición de Cuentas and the IAIP. Institutional Integrity Model o The Project team and I+D have tailored Tt DPK’s proprietary Institutional Integrity Model (IIM) to the context of El Salvador. The IIM uses an organic systems-oriented methodology to foster a culture of integrity within government institutions as an effective means to enhance outcomes of large-scale reform initiatives. The Salvadorian version of the IIM has six components: transparency, ethics, anticorruption, citizen participation, human resources and accountability. It incorporates El Salvador’s ethics and transparency laws as well as local and international best practices. The next phase, to be led by FUNDAUNGO in conjunction with the Project team, will be to adapt the model to the municipal context. Objective 1 Institute for Access to Public Information (IAIP) o IAIP’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan: The Project has continued its support in the development of the IAIP’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. On September 29, citizens that have exercised their right to the access of information were invited to participate in a focus group to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the IAIP’s services. IAIP citizen users praised the treatment they received from IAIP officials, thanked the IAIP’s role on appeals, and described how they were able to protect their rights when denied access to public information by a government and/or local institution. Additional focus group sessions will be held in October 2016. o Confidential information guidelines: During the month of September, the legal expert hired to draft the Guidelines to Confidential Information submitted a first draft after an initial review with the IAIP.1 This activity will continue during the month of October. o Transparency and Information Technology: The international consultant specialized in the use of technology for increased transparency, Mr. Ricciardi, submitted his final report after validating it with the IAIP and including the IAIP’s comments. The main recommendations stemming from the report include: a) use social media and mobile phones; b) make the IAIP’s data available to the public in open formats; c) place citizens at the center of any technological innovation efforts; d) be an innovative pioneer in the use of technology rather than the leader; and, e) engage civil society organizations in order to increase their credibility and technical knowledge. o Technology platform: The Project’s local subcontractor, I+D, recommended changes to the scope of work that the IAIP will use to procure the design and development of their information technology platform that the Project will support. o E-learning platform: I+D submitted the final capacity assessment on the training and technology departments within IAIP to upgrade their e-training module. Among others, changes to the IAIP’s e-training module software were also implemented by I+D to allow the IAIP to tailor their training reports to their specific needs. o Training Strategy Roadmap: I+D submitted the final report on the training strategy roadmap for the IAIP. The recommended roadmap includes: a) implement training as a 1 This deliverable provides guidelines to manage, maintain, protect and provide security for confidential information. Although the rule is that all information is public, the LAIP establishes that there is certain information that is confidential in nature. Establishing under what circumstances information has this characteristic is key to the IAIP. 5 strategic process; b) design the training program based on priorities; c) design the IAIP’s general training strategy to cover a medium term period; d) establish an annual training calendar; e) design and implement the training of trainers program; f) influence the National Educational System to advance the access to information and transparency culture; g) design courses with a competency-based approach; h) consolidate the design and implementation of e-learning. o Mapping of Strategic Processes: I+D has delivered the final report of the mapping