Economic and Community Revitalization Activity (ECRA)
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Final Report For Economic and Community Revitalization Activity (ECRA) Period Covering: May 2001 – May 2004 Funded by U.S. Agency for International Development Cooperative Agreement # 160-A-00-01-00103-00 Submitted by: Michael S. Bowers Gretchen Ansorge Country Director/Chief of Party Senior Program Officer – Balkans [email protected] [email protected] 503.796.6837 January 20, 2005 Table of Contents Economic and Community Revitalization Activity (ECRA) Section Page No. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………… i ECRA Implementing Partners…………………………………………………….. ii 1. Executive Summary of Program Purpose……………………………………… 1 2. Summary of Major Program Accomplishments/Achievements………………. 2 IR 3.1.2 Community-Based Economic Programs Create Jobs, Income and Outputs…………………………………………...... 3 IR 3.1.3 Increased Community Reintegration…………………………................ 4 IR 3.1.4 Information Dissemination and Outreach Promote Return of Refugees…………………………...................... 5 IR 3.1.5 Market-based Solutions Meet Housing Needs of War-affected Communities……………………………………….... 6 3. Program Performance…………………………………………………………… 8 3.1 Economic Development and Growth……………………………………….. 8 3.1.1 Microloan Portfolio…………………………………………………. 11 3.2 Community/Social Cohesion……………………………………………….. 13 3.2.1 Small Grant Projects………………………………………………… 13 3.2.2 Information Dissemination………………………………………….. 15 3.2.3 Community Committees……………………………………………. 15 3.3 Policy Implications…………………………………………………………. 16 3.4 Replication Potential………………………………………………………... 17 3.5 Institutional Capacity Building for ECRA Partners………………………... 18 3.5.1 Qualitative Results and Other Positive Changes……………………. 20 3.5.2 Institution Building…………………………………………………. 22 3.5.3 Internal Evaluation………………………………………………….. 24 3.5.4 Challenges and Lessons Learned – Capacity Building……………... 25 4. Housing Component……………………………………………………………… 26 4.1 Component One – Owner-Controlled Reconstruction……………………….. 26 4.2 Component Two – Self-Selected, Permanent Accommodations…………….. 28 4.3 Component Three: Development Credit Authority (DCA) Program: Home Purchase and Property Improvement Loans……………….. 29 5. Client Feedback/Community Involvement……………………………………... 34 5.1 Participatory and Inclusive Program Design………………………………… 34 5.2 Getting Feedback from Clients and Community…………………………….. 34 5.3 Building Capacity for Community Feedback and Involvement……………... 35 6. Partnerships and Coordination………………………………………………….. 36 7. Changes to Program Design……………………………………………………... 38 8. Problems Encountered…………………………………………………………… 39 9. Lessons Learned………………………………………………………………….. 40 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms AED: Academy for Educational Development AFP: Association of Fundraising Professionals APN: Agencija za pravni promet i posredovanje nekretninama (Agency for Legal Issues and Real Estate) ASB Arbeiter-Samariter Bund ASSC: Areas of Special State Concern BDS: Business Development Services CA: Cooperative Agreement CAES: Croatian Agricultural Extension Service CECOP European Confederation of Workers’ Co-operatives, Social Cooperations and Participative Enterprises CC: Community Committee CNB Croatian National Bank CNF: Co-operating Netherlands Foundation CIRP: Community Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project DCA: Development Credit Authority ECRA: Economic and Community Revitalization Activity EOP: End of Project EU: European Union EUR: Euro (currency) GOC: Government of the Republic of Croatia HBOR Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development HRK: Croatian Kuna (currency) ICOSI Institute of International Social Cooperation IMF International Monetary Fund IP: Implementing Partner IR: Intermediate Result ISLP: International Senior Lawyers Project J.D.: Juris doctor LA: Local Association LCP: Livestock Credit Program LGRP: Local Government Reform Program LWF: Lutheran World Foundation M&E: Monitoring and Evaluation MFI: Micro Finance Institution MOF: Ministry of Finance MOU: Memorandum of Understanding MPWRC: Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction NCE: No-Cost Extension NGO: Non-Governmental Organization NHS: New Housing Solutions NPA: Norwegian People’s Aid NRC: Norwegian Refugee Council ODPR: Office for Displaced Persons, Returnees and Refugees OSCE: Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe PBZ: Privredna banka (bank) Zagreb Q&A: Questions and Answers i PVO: Private Voluntary Organization RCO: Regional Contracting Office RFA: Request for Applications SME: Small and Medium Enterprise (10-200 people) SMG: State Mortgage Guarantee SO: Strategic Objective SOW: Scope of Work TA Technical Assistance TIRF: Training Intervention Request Form UNDP: United Nations Development Program UNHCR: United Nations High Commission for Refugees USAID: United States Agency for International Development USD : US Dollar (currency) VAT Value Added Tax VB: Village Board WL: World Learning ECRA Implementing Partners CCI: Centar za civilne inicijative (Center for Civil Initiatives) CFP: Centar za mir (Center for Peace, Non-Violence, and Human Rights) CESI: Centar za edukaciju i savjetovanje žena (Center for Education and Counseling of Women) CRS/MikroPlus: Catholic Relief Services DOS: Dalmatinski odbor solidarnosti (Dalmatian Solidarity Committee) FLAG: Firm Level Assistance Group, LLC ICMC/DEMOS: International Catholic Migration Commission IRC: The International Rescue Committee NUPZZ/IAACF: Neovisna udruga poljoprivrednih zadruga i zadrugara (Independent Association of Agricultural Cooperatives & Farmers) OGI: Organizacija za građanske inicijative (Organization for Civil Initiatives) SDF: Serbian Democratic Forum Stope Nade: Stope Nade (Steps of Hope) Suncokret: Suncokret (Sunflower) UI: The Urban Institute ZaMirNET: ZaMirNET ii 1. Executive Summary of Program Purpose This is the Final Report, covering the period of May 2001 to May 2004. Mercy Corps was awarded the Economic and Community Revitalization Activity (ECRA) under #160-A-00-00-00103-00 Cooperative Agreement ("the Agreement") on May 11, 2001, by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Regional Contracting Office (RCO). ECRA supports USAID/Croatia's Strategic Objective 3.1 "Accelerated Return and Sustainable Reintegration of War-Affected Areas." The Intermediate Results (IR) associated with this Strategic Objective include: IR 3.1.2 Community-Based Economic Programs Create Jobs, Income and Outputs IR 3.1.3 Increased Community Reintegration IR 3.1.4 Information Dissemination and Outreach Promote Return of Refugees IR 3.1.5 Market-Based Solutions Meet Housing Needs of War-Affected Communities This report summarizes our activities and overall progress during the period noted above. This report is provided in accordance with the Agreement Section 1.6.1 (a), Final Program Reporting. The goal of ECRA was to assist the people of targeted partnership municipalities in three roughly distinct geographic regions of the war-affected areas of Croatia through competitively awarded sub-grants to international and Croatian organizations, to undertake integrated community-based programs that accelerate and sustain market-led economic growth and community development, thereby accelerating sustainable return. The strategy comprised several key elements, including: Targeted and concentrated program/project efforts to ensure maximum impact and maximum potential integration with other economic, social service, and community- based initiatives in these areas. Activities were prioritized to have the greatest potential for achieving measurable results in a cost-effective manner for those with the greatest needs and/or the largest number of project participants possible, including economically active returnees, ethnic minorities, youth and women. As demonstrated by the final ECRA demographics, the program as a whole succeeded in drawing a wide range of participants. ECRA communities and organizations demonstrated strong commitment to and tolerance for ethnic diversity and equal access to economic opportunities and social services. ECRA interventions that developed human capital through capacity building ultimately strengthened local initiatives and NGOs, which further fostered participatory decision-making in the communities in which we worked. Implementing partners and municipalities which proved to have greater diversity and community-driven activities ultimately succeeded in most ECRA activities. By the end of the program, communities were demonstrably better able to address their needs by including a broader level of community involvement and taking on more self-management responsibility. Coordination, Collaboration and Leveraged Resources was achieved through program planning and maximization of impact in creating economic opportunities, improving the quality and availability of legal and other social services, and strengthening community involvement. The program was less successful in providing effective cross-border return information other then the approved projects focusing on traditional cross-border 1 activities. To the extent possible, program interventions were integrated with existing activities of other donors, such as the EU and UNDP, and were highly effective in working with other assistance providers, such as ASB, APN, and the Ministry of Reconstruction and Public Works. Mechanisms were put in place to maximize program performance, ensuring meaningful interaction between and among implementing partners. From May 2001 to March 2004 the ECRA Team organized regular field coordination meetings of its implementing