PHOTO CREDIT: USAID OW4C

USAID/ ONE WINDOW FOR CITIZENS (OW4C) PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORT 1 JANUARY – 31 MARCH 2021

Contract Number: 72044219C00001

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

USAID/Cambodia One Window for Citizens (OW4C) Periodic Progress Report

1 January – 31 March 2021

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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACRONYMS III INTRODUCTION 1 SUMMARY OF PROGRESS ON ACTIVITIES 2 TECHNICAL ENGAGEMENT 2 INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENTS 2 COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENTS 3 LEARNING ENGAGEMENTS 4 ADAPTING 4 CIVIC TECH TOOLS 5 INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE AND FACEBOOK CHATBOT TOOLS 5 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY DASHBOARD 6 PUBLIC OUTREACH 6 ACTIVITIES BY PROVINCE: 7 MONITORING TOOLS 9 OW4C PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN 11 OPERATIONS 12 EXPANSION TO KAMPONG CHHNANG 12 USAID PAYMENT VERIFICATION PROCEDURE 12 REPORTING 12 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 12 OPERATIONS 12 TECHNICAL 12 CHALLENGES AND PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS 13 NEW CHALLENGES 13 CHALLENGE 1 13 PLANS FOR NEXT QUARTER 14 CIVIC TECH TOOLS 14 PUBLIC OUTREACH 14 14 BANTEAY MEANCHEY 14 KAMPONG CHHNANG 14 MONITORING 14

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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

EU European Union

GiZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

ISAC USAID Innovations for Social Accountability Cambodia Project

ISAF Implementation Plan for Social Accountability in Cambodia

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

OWSU Royal Government of Cambodia One Window Service Unit

SBAR Small Business Applied Research

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WE Act USAID Women’s Entrepreneurs Act Project

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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 Cambodia’s district ombudsperson role. NGS has also 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 January – 31 March 2021 reporting period include:

 OW4C Civic Tech Tools – branded as Pidor the Smart Villager – reached the milestone of 4,000 Cambodian citizen-users since launching in August 2020.

 OW4C launched Pidor in Banteay Meanchey.

 Project social media has reached 127,170 Cambodians through our two Facebook pages, directly engaging 9,854 citizens.

 Results from the annual Battambang household survey show project impact on increasing citizen knowledge on OWSO services and increasing citizen feedback on services.

 Results from the second round of OWSO Accountability Working Group meetings in Battambang see actions taken on 54% of the recommended improvements identified by citizens via the OWSO scorecards conducted last year.

 OW4C opened its fourth office in Kampong Chhnang.

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

OW4C achievements are set against a backdrop of operational challenges caused by two COVID-19 events in Cambodia. The first was an outbreak in Thailand in January that led to the return of thousands of Cambodians to Battambang and Banteay Meanchey Provinces resulting in restrictions on the size of gatherings allowed in both provinces to facilitate Government of Cambodia testing, monitoring and quarantine of returnees. This was followed by the “February 20th Event” that led to the communal transmission of the UK strain of the virus. Identified first in , it quickly spread to other provinces. To date, preventative response actions have yet to contain the spread of the virus and the project is following government recommendations that:

 discourages in-persons gatherings,

 limits travel between provinces, and

 encourages working from home.

NGS is balancing our commitment to keeping our staff safe during these times, while continuing to move the program forward as local conditions and/or technology allow.

SUMMARY OF PROGRESS ON ACTIVITIES

TECHNICAL ENGAGEMENT

Year Two of the project focuses on an expansion of the piloting of the OW4C 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 the expansion of Pidor to new provinces, OW4C undertook active outreach and engagement with the following institutional stakeholders to assure the cooperation with, and success of, the project.

Institutional Engagements

USAID:  OW4C’s Chief of Party (COP) attended the USAID/Cambodia Partners Meeting on 12 January.

 OW4C participated in the USAID/Cambodia Democracy and Governance Partners meeting on 28 January where the project presented its proposed public dashboard that will share data from the OW4C tools.

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Ministry of the Interior: On 28 January OW4C met with the Ministry of the Interior to update them on the project and provide them an overview of the planned public dashboard. The Ministry was favorable of the project’s progress and had no objections to the dashboard design.

Provincial Governments: During the reporting period, the project engaged the three provincial administrations where OW4C has activities. Highlights include:

 Battambang. OW4C conducted five OWSO Accountability Meetings in the province. Due to the 20 February Event, the meetings for the municipal and provincial Battambang working groups were adapted from an in-person format to virtual meeting format with success.

 Banteay Meanchey. On 30 March, OW4C conducted a virtual project orientation to the provincial authority of Banteay Meanchey. A total of 42 participants from provincial and municipal government staff, the Ministry of the Interior, OWSO, One Window Service Unit (OWSU), the provincial and district ombudsperson, and local social accountability NGOs attended.

 Kampong Chhnang. The OW4C Program Manager focused on developing the understanding of provincial and municipal administrations on the project and its tools. The culmination of these efforts will be virtual project orientation meeting with the authorities planned for 9 April 2021.

Collaborative Engagements

USAID, The World Bank, GiZ, and the European Union all have social accountability programs that aim to support the voice of Cambodian citizens and increase the transparency and accountability of the delivery of government services. The OWSOs are a sub-set of the larger social accountability landscape and therefore OW4C’s work is conducted in close collaboration with other programs to eliminate redundancies of program and/or create confusion for Cambodian officials.

USAID Innovations for Social Accountability Cambodia Project (ISAC): OW4C participated in the following ISAC activities:

 “Introductory Data Literacy” workshop (23 – 25 February).

 Virtual Tech Meet up (26 March).

Implementation Plan for Social Accountability in Cambodia (ISAF): ISAF is in the midst of planning the next phase of its program, which intends to expand conducting social accountability scorecards to district and municipal services, including OWSOs. OW4C has built an open conversation with World Vision, the coordinating agency, in their planning for this transition to eliminate possible overlap or conflict between the two programs. OW4C participated in ISAF’s Phase II Design Workshops on 11 March and 25 March.

OWSO Coordination Group: An informal working group (composed of GIZ, Transparency International, Action Aid, and OW4C) – designed to coordinate and collaborate OWSO-related programming – held its quarterly meeting on 1 March. OW4C was appointed to serve as its chair for the coming year.

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Advocacy and Policy Institute (API): In addition to being a project partner, API is a leading NGO in the social accountability community in Cambodia. As such, they are implementing other USAID, EU and other donor-funded projects. In their commitment to higher level transparency and accountability goals, during the quarter API promoted the OW4C project and the OW4C tools through the following initiatives:  On 15 January, API attended an annual meeting of the local councilor association with over 100 chiefs of commune and district councilors from all communes and districts in Banteay Meanchey. At the meeting, API was provided the forum to showcase the OW4C project and promote its Civic Tech Tools.

 On 22 February, OW4C was invited to join API USAID WE Act project team members to present the OW4C Pidor Smart Villager Tech tool to 53 street vendors (42F) in .

Battambang NGO and Project Community: On 19 March, OW4C attended the Battambang NGO network meeting designed to promote learning and sharing among civil society networks.

Learning Engagements

Year Two Quarter 1 OW4C Reflection and Learning Workshop: Held on13 January, OW4C focused its quarterly reflection on the project’s learning questions and identified data and knowledge gaps in answering the questions, and steps to address those gaps.

ISAF Learning Workshop on Digital Solutions and Innovations in Social Accountability in Cambodia: On 3 February, OW4C presented its learnings from the OW4C’s tech tools at the learning workshop coordinated by ISAF. The COP also served as a panelist for a discussion session on Citizen Monitoring and Feedback.

Adapting

Actions taken by the Royal Government of Cambodia in January in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand, and then again after the 20 February Event, led to tightening restrictions on public events and gatherings. Planned January meetings of the OWSO Accountability Working Groups in Battambang were rescheduled to February. The planned late February OWSO Accountability Working Group meetings for municipal and provincial Battambang were further impacted by the 25 February action by the government encouraging working from home, starting with a significant number of government officials doing so. OW4C was able to leverage technology to conduct these meetings virtually (Provincial Battambang OWSU1 working group held on 17 March and Municipal OWSO on 29 March) – connecting provincial, OWSO, and Ministry of Interior officials with district ombudspersons, OWSO chiefs, OW4C staff, and civil society to review the progress of implementing citizen recommended actions to improve the OWSOs. With the exception of Thma Koul, all working groups planned for the period were conducted.

1 Previously referred to by OW4C as Provincial OWSOs, the One Window Service Unit (OWSU) is the official name for the provincial-level office providing One Window Services.

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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. Pidor the Smart Villager is an interactive voice response (IVR) phone line and Facebook chatbot that quickly directs 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 in Battambang on 27 August 2020 and the close of the previous reporting period (31 December 2020), there were 6,068 visitors to our tools and 3,620 unique users2. During the current reporting period, the usage of the tools increased to reach:

 6,773 visitors

 4,017 unique users (48% female)

 5,503 services delivered3

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

During the January – March 2021 period, there were 705 users of the civic tech tools, with 489 unique users accessing 538 services. The most popular service requested was information on OWSO services (82%), followed by user feedback (12%) and ticket tracking (6%).

Pidor the Smart Villager Chatbot Enhancements: During the quarter OW4C mapped out the user experience for requesting services that are served by both the district OWSO and the provincial OWSU (based on size of business, property, etc.). OW4C also finalized the script for the OWSU services with the Ministry of the Interior and updated Pidor to now provide information services for the OWSU in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey.

2 Defined as a citizen that accessed the tool and completed a services request (e.g., information on OWSO services or ticket tracking, or provided feedback on OWSO services). If a user accessed more than one service, the user is only counted as unique user once. 3 Defined as a OW4C tech tools user that completes a request for either information on OWSO services, enters a request for application status, or provides feedback on OWSO services.

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IVR Enhancements: To increase the IVR’s functionality for Cambodian citizens the following updates were made to the platform during the quarter:

 The Pidor IVR was tested and is now available via the mobile network Metfone (0889888159).

 The voice recording for the IVR was updated to now include OWSU services.

Design and Development of a Public Accountability Dashboard

While the proposed public dashboard is moving through the USAID approval process, the focus of NGS technical partner InSTEDD was on fine-tuning the functionality of the dashboard by enhancing the overall user experience and interface. The following are key design improvements carried out:

 Updated the pop-up welcome message for a first-time visitor to the dashboard to include the new Smart (087999393) and Metfone (0889888159) IVR numbers.

 Improved the summary visualization with value labels now included embedded in the graphics.

 Added hints (a description of what the visualization means) to each visualization.

 Added a floating social media panel for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, which increases the accessibility to the OWSO data from other platforms. A counter mechanism was also added to track sharing via these platforms.

 Added multiple-province search filter to the dashboard.

OW4C conducted an in-house training on 10 March for OW4C staff to better understand and be able to use and promote the dashboard once launched.

PUBLIC OUTREACH

Public outreach goals for the reporting period were to expand community outreach programs in Battambang and to engage and build relationships with the social accountability and OWSO-centered communities in Banteay Meanchey and Kampong Chhnang Provinces. As detailed in the Technical Engagement section, these activities were slightly delayed due to the following challenges:

 Battambang and Banteay Meanchey: Compliance with increased COVID-19 prevention measures put in place by the Royal Government of Cambodia in January in response to the mass immigration of Cambodian’s returning from Thailand due to the outbreak there in January.

 Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Kampong Chhnang: Compliance with COVID prevention measures issued after the 20 February Event.

With the above external challenges – OW4C’s Social Media campaigns maintained active outreach and engagement with Cambodian Citizens.

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 The OW4C Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/USAIDOW4C reached 83,266 citizens, engaging4 7,221 (9%).

 Pidor the Smart Villager page: https://www.facebook.com/pidorow4cbot reached 43,904 citizens and engaged 2,633 (6%). Of those that engaged with the Pidor chatbot, 21% used the tool. Of those that used the tool, 70% completed the access of a function provided by our tech tool.

Activities by Province:

Battambang:

 OWSO Accountability Working Group Meeting: There were five (5) working group meetings conducted in Battambang.

OWSO Accountability Working Group Meetings Held 1 January – 31 March 2021

Date Working Group Participants Format

22 January Russey 25 In Person

9 February Kamrieng 22 In Person

10 February 24 In Person

17 March Battambang OWSU 32 Virtual

29 March Battambang OWSO 29 Virtual

 In these meetings, participants reviewed the progress of scorecard action implementation status with local authority and followed up the OWSO/OWSU/DO responded actions to the citizens’ feedbacks. Collectively from the five (5) working groups there were actions taken on 28 of the 54 improvement actions since their last meetings. In addition, OWSO/OWSU leaders and officials promised that they will look to continue to improve staff behaviors, service procedures, and document management through awareness raising at staff meetings and training.

4 Engaged is a Facebook analytics measure defined as someone that has liked, shared, or commented on a posting.

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The meetings also identified issues that require engagement of higher government levels to address.

 Public Forums: OW4C conducted four (4) Public Forums at Sangkats , Wat Kor, Ouchar and Chamkar Samroang in Battambang province, engaging 80 participants. The forums provide information to citizens on how to use the Pidor IVR and Chatbot and provides a space for citizens to raise their concerns/issues on OWSO services and provides space to OWSO and district/municipal response. There were 21 questions raised by participants to authorities during these forums touching on issues such as National Identifications, land title confirmation/land registration, public transportation, and business services. Fifteen (15) questions were answered by either the OWSO chief or the district ombudsperson during the forum. The remaining questions were not responded to, as they are outside of the OWSO's authority (such as canal construction, correcting a name on a land title, and land border conflicts).

Banteay Meanchey:

 Community Scorecard Training: On 15 -16 February, OW4C conducted a training on community scorecard to 25 youths (18 female). The purpose of the training was to build understanding on the role and responsibilities of the OWSO and ombudspersons office, the basic concept and principles of social accountability, and knowledge of how to facilitate a community scorecard.

 OWSO Community Scorecard: Between 15 – 19 February, OW4C conducted community scorecard meetings three (3) Sangkats in Krong Serei Sophon. Two (2) scorecard meetings engaged users of OWSO services and one with OWSU users. A total of 62 participants (41 female) attended. The objectives of the scorecard meetings were to assess OWSO’s performance, to identify problems and solutions and to recommend improvements to OWSO and OWSU services. Based on the result form scorecard, many activities were raised by service user such as: more regular internal OWSO and OWSU meetings to strengthening on working hours, staff attitudes and performance; and instruct citizens on OWSO and OWSU services with clarity. The project team will bring scorecard results to discuss with relevant stakeholder during initial OWSO Accountability Working Group meeting at municipal and provincial level scheduled for May/June.

 Infomediary Workshop: OW4C conducted an infomediary workshop in Banteay Meanchey on 11 February. Twenty-one (21) participants (8 female) were provided training on governance topics related to transparency and accountability and skills development on media standards, storytelling, short news story writing, and photography.

Kampong Chhnang:

 OW4C Project Orientation to Youth: On 12 January, OW4C conducted an orientation for 20 youths (12 female) in . The orientation aimed to introduce youth to the project activities and recruit those interested to work as a volunteer with OW4C project. As the result, 18 youth (12 female) volunteered to work on community-based activities with the project.

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 OWSO Community Scorecard Training: OW4C carried out a community scorecard training on 23 - 24 February for 20 youth volunteers (13 female). The purpose of the training was to build understanding on the role and responsibilities of the OWSO and ombudspersons office, the basic concept and principles of social accountability, and knowledge of how to facilitate a community scorecard.

MONITORING TOOLS

OW4C undertook multiple Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) initiatives during the January – March 2021 period.

Year Two Quarter 1 OW4C Reflection and Learning Workshop: Held on13 January OW4C focused its quarterly reflection on the project’s learning questions and identified data and knowledge gaps in answering the questions, and steps to address those gaps.

Battambang Annual Household Survey: Commencing with the Year One baseline survey conducted in Battambang in January 2020, OW4C will conduct an annual survey to measure the change the project has affected in the knowledge, attitudes towards and use of the OWSOs by Cambodian citizens. Conducted from 22-26 February, OW4C conducted 589 interviews with citizens in the five (5) target districts in Battambang Province where OW4C works. The purpose of the survey was to address the following key questions:

 What is the changed pattern of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of targeted beneficiaries of and on the services provided by OWSOs from the 2020 baseline to 2021?

 What are the current main influential factors, challenges, and recommendations of beneficiaries in accessing the public services delivered by OWSO, compared to the 2020 baseline?

The findings show OW4C achieving positive results in its approach to test the theory of change (see Figure 1). Key results include an increased knowledge of OWSO services and more citizens exercising their right to provide feedback on the services they received.

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Figure 1: Change in Knowledge of, Attitudes towards, and Behaviors of Battambang Citizens OWSOs.

Banteay Meanchey Baseline: The baseline survey was conducted from 1 - 6 February in Serie Sophon and Poi Pet in Banteay Meanchey Province with 461 citizens. The purpose and approach of the baseline is the same as the exercise conducted annually in Battambang. The baseline results collected where similar to those collected in Battambang in 2020 and will serve as a measure of the project’s progress between 2021 and the end of the project.

Social Accountability and Technology Landscape Report: OW4C contracted a consultant to refresh and expand the scope of the initial landscape mapping conducted by OW4C in December 2019. The consultant will focus on technologies being tested within the social accountability space, the government’s planned investments for e-governance at the provincial and district levels, and any related lessons learned. In addition, the consultant will conduct a review of the current e-governance testing at both the provincial and district level OWSOs being conducted by the Ministry of the Interior in Kampong Cham. The findings are anticipated to be released in April 2021.

Revised MEL Plan: During the reporting period, OW4C submitted a proposed revision of the MEL plan that incorporated the lessons learned and captured during the OW4C Year One Annual Reflection meeting, changes in the project’s geographic scope, and requests from USAID on indicator reporting. The revised MEL plan was approved by USAID on 31 March and is reflected in the reporting of the project’s performance indicators in the section below.

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OW4C PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN

Year 2 1 October Q1 Q2 Y2 to date Life of Project Indicator Notes OW4C Performance Monitoring Plan 30-Sep-21

Baseline 2019 Target Actual Actual 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

1.1: # of tech innovations supported through USG assistance on OW4C. 0 1 - - - 3 2 Standard Indicator: STIR-10

1.2 # of innovations supported through USG assistance with demonstrated 0 - - - - 1 - Standard Indicator: STIR-11 uptake by the public and/or private sector. 1.3: # of beneficiaries accessing ICT-based solutions supported through USG 0 12,754 3,684 489 4,173 28,231 4,017 Standard Indicator: DR 4-1 assistance on OW4C. 1.4: % of beneficiaries who can name at least three one window services for 25% increase which information is available via USG supported civic tech solution by 26% - 44% - 50% 44% Custom from baseline OW4C.

1.5: # of participants that take part in the civic tech solution design, 0 27 - 0 - 64 49 Custom development, and/or validation.

Objective 2: Initiate Public Outreach to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability 2.1 # of individuals receiving civic education through USG-assisted - 45 Standard Indicator DR 3.2 – 0 25 - 100 718 programs (OW4C) (m=14,f=31) 5 2.2 # of citizen journalist and youth trained on accountable media practice 21 0 116 34 55 270 92 Custom supported by OW4C. (m=13, f=8) Objective 3: Develop Monitoring Tools to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability

3.1: % change in satisfaction with the provision of local government services 68% - n/a - 85% - Custom through OWSOs in Battambang.

3.2: # of accountability issues reported on by infomediaries to the public n/a 15 - 0 - 35 - Custom Objective 4: Implement Complementary Activities/Tools to Support Enhanced Awareness and Accountability 4.1: # of events or activities designed to engage community members in the prioritization of needs and activity identification to be addressed through the n/a 8 - 3 3 31 15 Custom OWSOs. 4.2 # of mechanisms for external oversight of public resource use supported by n/a 2 n/a n/a 2 2 2 Standard DR 2.4 USG assistance

4.3 % of actions implemented by OWSO and related authorities to improve services based on OW4C activities/OW4C OWSO Accountability Working 0 72% - 54% - 82% 54% Custom Group.

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OPERATIONS

Expansion to Kampong Chhnang

During the quarter, the project established its operations in Kampong Chhnang Province. The OW4C Program Manager and Project Officer both started work on 25 January and attended staff orientation covering essential employee benefits, policies, procedures, project background, and tech tool orientation. The office in Kampong Chhnang was formally opened on 1 February. OW4C’s Operations Manager travelled to Kampong Chhnang to establish the office’s operating and finance systems and to provide direct orientation to the Administrative Assistant, who started on 1 February.

USAID Payment Verification Procedure

As part of their standard good practices, on 16 and 17 March, the USAID/Cambodia Mission conducted a payment verification of OW4C for expenses incurred and billed to USAID in January 2021. OW4C welcomed the opportunity to review our policies and procedures and the resulting recommendations.

Reporting

NGS met the reporting requirements during the 1 January – 31 March 2021 period.

Report Delivery Date Status

Year Two First Quarterly Progress Report 15 January 2021 Approved

Year Two Second Semi-Annual Work Plan 15 February 2021 Acknowledged as received

Quarterly Level of Effort Report 15 March 2021 Acknowledged as received

Revised MEL Plan 31 March 2021 Approved

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

OPERATIONS

 Kampong Chhnang office opened and fully staffed.

 Project experienced only minor delays to planned programming despite challenged presented by COVID prevention measures taken by the Royal Government of Cambodia.

TECHNICAL

 4,017 citizens have now used the Pidor IVR and Facebook chatbot tools.

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 There is an active dialogue between the citizens and the OWSO service providers and related government officials.

o OW4C facilitated five (5) public forums engaging 80 citizens in Battambang with their District Ombudsperson, OWSO representative and key officials. During these meetings, 21 issues were raised by citizens and all that were within the scope of OWSO services (15) were addressed.

o Collectively from the five (5) OWSO Accountability Working Groups held in Battambang during the reporting period, 28 of the 54 improvement actions have been implemented since their last meetings.

o OW4C’s annual household survey in Battambang shows a 25% increase in citizens providing feedback on OWSO services through both traditional means and OW4C’s tech tools (11%).

 OW4C annual household survey indicating positive impacts from the collective activities implemented by the project to date, including:

o 26% increase in citizens with knowledge of the OWSO

o 69% increased knowledge by citizens of the actual services offered at the OWSO

o 22% increase in citizens accessing OWSO services

CHALLENGES AND PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS

NEW CHALLENGES

Challenge 1

COVID-19 is a continuing challenge in Cambodia. However, through the end of calendar year 2020, the country only had minimal cases that were identified and isolated. On 20 February 2021, there was a super-spreader event that has led to the first communal transmission of COVID in Cambodia. This has led to the suspension of public gatherings and travel between provinces5. OW4C moved OWSO Accountability Working Groups to a fully virtual format during this quarter. The project is monitoring the situation and developing strategies on how to adapt activities should restrictions to prevent COVID continue.

5 On 13 April a two-week curfew and restricted travel between provinces was extended through to 28 April 2021.

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PLANS FOR NEXT QUARTER

CIVIC TECH TOOLS

 Launch of the civic tech tools in Kampong Chhnang (April)  Launch and roll out to the public dashboard (April/May)  Pilot test a Telegram Group to provide regular feedback updates from the OW4C citizen feedback information directly to the OWSO Accountability Working Groups (May)  Install and test the ticket tracking service of OW4C's civic tech tools with OWSO-MIS at Kampong Chhnang and Banteay Meanchey provinces (April/May)

PUBLIC OUTREACH

Battambang

 Conduct the OWSO Accountability Working Group for (delayed from Q2 due to COVID restrictions) (April)  Conduct a consultative workshop with the provincial government to review progress and observations from OWSO Accountability Working Groups progress (May)  Conduct OWSO Accountability Working Group meetings (June) Banteay Meanchey

 Tech Tool online training to youth group (April)  Door to door dissemination (May)  Poi Pet Scorecard exercise (May)  Conduct Public Forums (June) Kampong Chhnang

 Tech Tool online training to youth group (April)  OW4C project orientation to provincial level  Door to door dissemination (May)  Score card meeting (May)  Public Forum (June)  OWSO Accountability Working Groups (June)

MONITORING

 Year Two Quarter 2 Reflection and Learning Workshop (April)  Mid-term Evaluation (May/June)

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