Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (Lavi)
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LIBERIA ACCOUNTABILITY AND VOICE INITIATIVE (LAVI) QUARTER 2 REPORT YEAR 2 JANUARY – MARCH 2017 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by DAI. 0 JANUARY 2016 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency LIBERIA ACCOUNTABILITY AND VOICE INITATIVE (LAVI) QUARTER 2 REPORT YEAR 2 JANUARY - MARCH 2017 Program Title: Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) Contract Number: AID-669-C-16-00003 Sponsoring USAID Office: USAID/Liberia Contractor: DAI Date of Publication: April 30, 2017 USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) QUARTER 2 YEAR 2 REPORT ii ACRONYMS ACAT Advocacy Capacity Assessment Tool AGENDA Actions for Genuine Democratic Alternatives AMEP Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan APS Annual Program Statement CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CDI Center for Development Innovation CDP Capacity Development Plan CODRA Community Development and Research Agency Comprac Community of Practice CLA Collaborating, Learning and Adapting COP Chief of Party CSDF County Social Development Funds CSO Civil Society Organization CUPPADL Citizens United to Promote Peace & Democracy in Liberia CWG Concessions Working Group DAI Development Alternatives Inc. DEN-L Development Education Network-Liberia EOI Expression of Interest EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAM Finance and Administration Management FDA Forestry Development Authority FDG Focus Group Discussions FY Fiscal Year GEC Grant Evaluation Committee GOL Government of Liberia ICAT Institutional Capacity Assessment Tool ICCM Inclusive Citizens Compliance Monitoring ICT4D Information and Communications Technology for Development IHRC International Human Rights Commission IREDD Institute for Research and Democratic Development KII Key Informant Interviews KM&L Knowledge Management and Learning LACC Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) QUARTER 2 FY2017 REPORT ii LAVI USAID/Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative LEITI Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative LMC Liberian Media Center LSA Liberia Strategic Analysis Project ME&L Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MIA Ministry of Internal Affairs NBC National Bureau of Concessions NCSCL National Civil Society Council of Liberia NRM Natural Resource Management P4DP Platform for Dialogue and Peace PIDS Performance Indicators Database System PMC Project Management Committee RF Results Framework RFP Request for Proposal RFQ Request for Quotes RHRAP Rural Human Rights Activists Programme SOW Statement of Work SDI Sustainable Development Institute SP Service Provider STTA Short-Term Technical Assistance TAMIS Technical Administrative Management Information System USAID United States Agency for International Development WONGSOL Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) QUARTER 2 FY2017 REPORT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms............................................................................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................. iv Background and Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 5 Detailed Activities and Results ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Program Management .................................................................................................................................................. 7 A.) Administrative and Operations Management ................................................................................. 7 b.) Technical Program Support ............................................................................................................. 9 2. Technical Program Implementation .......................................................................................................................... 9 C.) Objective 1: Strengthen Horizontal and Vertical Linkages Among Actors Engaged in Similar Issues ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 D.) Objective 2: Increase Organizational Capacity of Targeted CSOs to Participate in Issue-Based Reforms ............................................................................................................................................... 17 E.) Objective 3: Promote the Development of Ongoing Capacity Development Services on the Local Market ................................................................................................................................................ 19 F.) Objective 4: Ensure that Learning and Methodologies Are Shared and Applied by Other Development Actors ............................................................................................................................ 20 3. Project Monitoring and Evaluation .......................................................................................................................... 23 G.) Ongoing Data Collection and Evaluation ...................................................................................... 23 H.) Host Learning Reviews and Mechanisms ...................................................................................... 24 Annexes ............................................................................................................................................................................. 25 USAID Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) QUARTER 2 FY2017 REPORT iv BACKGROUND AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DAI Global, LLC (DAI) was awarded the five-year, $17 million Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative (LAVI) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on November 25, 2015. LAVI will strengthen multi-stakeholder partnerships to advocate for and monitor policy and accountability reforms. It contributes to the overall goal of USAID/Liberia’s civil society and media interventions to increase the influence of citizens and media in the governance of public goods and services. The program also supports Development Objective 1 in USAID/Liberia’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for more effective, accountable, and inclusive governance. LAVI is comprised of four complementary objectives: . Increased horizontal and vertical linkages among actors engaged in similar issues; . Increased organizational capacity of targeted civil society organizations (CSOs) to participate in issue-based reforms; . On-going capacity development services available on the local market; and . Learning and methodologies shared and applied by other development actors. Over the life of the program, DAI will achieve LAVI results by delivering customized technical assistance to CSOs, local service providers, and advocacy networks and coalitions. LAVI will achieve its objectives through grants, local and international short-term technical assistance (STTA), and capacity development to service providers (SPs). During Quarter 2 of Year 2, the LAVI project made the following progress towards its technical objectives: Objective 1 – Strengthen Horizontal and Vertical Linkages Among Actors Engaged in Similar Issues After months of research at the national level and in all 15 counties, the LAVI NRM Coalition validated its Information Gathering report findings on the monitoring and management of the County Social Development Funds in Liberia. This information was used in a four-day Policy Advocacy and Inclusive Citizen Compliance Monitoring Workshop at which the NRM Coalition developed a comprehensive framework that included advocacy goals, objectives, strategies, messaging, and activities. The NRM Coalition mobilized its resources to begin the roll out of its advocacy, citizen compliance monitoring, media, and capacity strengthening activities throughout the country. Complementary government activities, focused on citizen-government engagement, were implemented by NBC, FDA, EPA and LEITI, including the facilitation of several community-level dialogues, environmental social impact assessments, and town hall meetings in concession affected communities. In Quarter 2, LAVI made progress on identifying the topic for its next Thematic Funding Window, the launch of which will begin in Quarter 3. Objective 2 – Increase Organizational Capacity of Targeted CSOs to Participate in Issue- Based Reforms Based on LAVI operational and advocacy capacity assessments, eight of LAVI’s partners developed capacity development plans (CDPs) that reflect the mutually agreed upon gaps and recommendations from the assessments and include the partners’ self-identified priority areas for LAVI support. Seven capacity development grants were approved by USAID in March 2017 to implement the CDPs. Common areas prioritized by partners included monitoring and evaluation, gender mainstreaming, and finance and administration. LAVI and LAVI partners including P4DP, Accountability Lab Liberia, DEN-L, and LMC hosted several capacity development trainings for the NRM Coalition in direct support of their advocacy work in Quarter 2. Topics included M&E basics,