USAID/ENGAGE ENHANCE NON-GOVERNMENTAL ACTORS AND GRASSROOTS ENGAGEMENT SEMI-ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 1 OCTOBER 2019 – 31 MARCH 2020 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. AID-121-A-16-00011 SUBMITTED BY PACT, INC. CONTENTS Abbreviations 3 I. Executive Summary 5 Achievements, Lessons and Adaptation 6 II. Analysis 9 III. ENGAGE Activities 28 Objective 1: Enhance civic education 28 Objective 2: Foster effective national, regional, and local civic 32 coalitions and initiatives to promote democratic reforms Objective 3: Improve organizational capacity of partner CSOs 52 Objective 4. Develop local capacity to ensure long-term civic engagement in democratic reforms 57 IV. Cross-Cutting Considerations 61 V. Coordination with Other USAID Implementing 62 Partners 2 ABBREVIATIONS AC Anti-Corruption AntAC NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center ARMA Asset Recovery and Management Agency CATI Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews CD Capacity Development CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CEC Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine CEDEM Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law CEP Civic Engagement Poll CLA Collaborating, Learning, and Adaptation CLT Civic Literacy Test CPLR Centre of Policy and Legal Reform CSO Civil Society Organization DG East USAID Democratic Governance East Activity DIF Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation DRM Domestic Resource Mobilization EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ENGAGE USAID Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement EU European Union HACC Higher Anti-Corruption Court HCJ High Council of Justice HQCJ High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine ICT Information and Communications Technology IFCN International Fact-Checking Network IFES NGO International Foundation for Electoral Systems IMF International Monetary Fund IR Intermediary Results IREX NGO International Research and Exchange IRF International Renaissance Foundation ISO Intermediary Support Organization IT Information Technology J2SR Journey to Self-Reliance KIIS Kyiv International Institute of Sociology LGBTQI Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex Persons MOES Ministry of Education and Science MOYS Ministry of Youth and Sport MP Member of Parliament MRD Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine NABU National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine NAPC National Agency for Prevention of Corruption NDI National Democratic Institute NEC New Europe Center 3 NPI Network Performance Index ONA Organizational Network Analysis OPI Organizational Performance Improvement OPU Office of the President of Ukraine OSCE The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OTI Office of Transition Initiatives PJSC Public Joint Stock Company PWD People with Disabilities RPR Reanimation Package of Reforms SACCI USAID Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions Program SAPO Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office SBI State Bureau of Investigations SPA School of Policy Analysis SSU Security Service of Ukraine TAPAS Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration Services TIU NGO Transparency International Ukraine UCBI USAID Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative UCIPR Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research ULA Ukrainian Leadership Academy UNDP United Nations Development Programme UPLAN Ukrainian Public Law and Administration Network URC Ukraine Reform Conference USAID United States Agency for International Development UTT Ukrainian Toronto Television 4 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Under the Enhance Non-Governmental Actors and Grassroots Engagement (ENGAGE) activity, Pact supports civil society in Ukraine with the goal to in- crease citizen awareness of and engagement in civic activities at the national, regional, and local levels. Pact’s activities lie in the larger USAID Civic local issues and influence national-level Oversight Project and the Anti-Corruption Project policies; and networks and coalitions to build and are aimed at strengthening democratic on civic education results and increase civic governance at the highest level (Development education in campaigns. Objective 3). As part of USAID’s Ukraine Country • Objective 3: Improve organizational capacity Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), of partner CSOs. Pact sub-awards strengthen ENGAGE also seeks intermediary results (IR) of CSOs’ technical and organizational capacity, greater citizen engagement in good governance particularly their ability to communicate more (IR 3.1) and a government that is more responsive effectively with constituencies and the media. and accountable to citizens (IR 3.2) • Objective 4: Develop local capacity to ensure long-term civic engagement in democratic The ENGAGE activity uses a focused approach reforms. Pact will lay the foundation for a to engage citizens in Civil Society Organizations’ conducive ecosystem for civil society by (CSOs) activities and civic actions at the local developing an actionable vision for CSO and national levels. Through a mix of innovative sustainability. approaches and proven methods, ENGAGE focuses efforts at both the grassroots level to educate and activate citizens to engage in civic initiatives, as well as at the national and subnational levels to improve organizational capacities, build coalitions, and support advocacy and watchdog initiatives. While ENGAGE works throughout Ukraine, the South and East are geographic priorities. The objectives of ENGAGE are: • Objective 1: Enhance civic education. The activities under this objective support the Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) to develop and pilot a civic education curriculum, as well as CSO-led civic education initiatives. Partners raise awareness among citizens of their civic rights and responsibilities and support provides them with the tools and opportunities to become more active citizens, including in battling corruption. • Objective 2: Foster effective national, regional, and local civic coalitions and initiatives to promote democratic reform. Pact supports national CSOs to engage and integrate local-level counterparts; local and regional activists and organizations to address 5 ACHIEVEMENTS, LESSONS AND ADAPTATION Over policy people were engaged directly changes in ENGAGE-supported 6 adopted 20,000 events/activities 7.5% of whom were Over reached for the ­rst policy time changes 2 pending 130 events/activities conducted An estimated people reached via traditional 16,700,000 and online media Highlights of Results and Achievements successful infotainment initiative “#@)₴?$0 with Key programming highlights and findings from Michael Shchur”, by the CSO Ukrainian Toronto the first half of FY20 implementation: Television (UTT). During the first half of FY20, UTT produced 22 episodes that were traditionally • Six policy changes adopted and two broadcasted on three major national television pending; channels (UA:PBC, Hromadske, and TV24) and • An estimated 16.7 million people reached via on social media. The episodes generated great traditional and online media; interest from society and the media, as evidenced • Over 130 events/ activities by 95 mentions and links to the program on conducted; various information platforms, as well as about • Over 20,000 people were engaged directly 11.7 million program views on UTT’s official in ENGAGE-supported events/activities, YouTube channel (an average of over 530,000 7.5 percent of whom were reached for the views per episode). The number of subscribers first time. to UTT’s official pages increased by 12.5 percent (+45,000) on YouTube and 15.5 percent (+21,000) Objective 1: Enhance civic education on Facebook. Compared to the previous reporting This year, Pact took time to reflect on period, the number of comments on YouTube achievements and identify current challenges videos increased by 37,200 and the number of and possible gaps in civic education. Pact shares increased by 67,127. conducted several rounds of consultations with civic education stakeholders to prepare a sectoral Objective 2: Foster effective national, regional, analysis on teaching civic education in Ukraine and local civic coalitions and initiatives to and to offer recommendations to international promote democratic reforms donors on future possible interventions. ENGAGE core partners continued taking initiative USAID/ENGAGE designed a complex response to convene CSO coalitions pursuing civil society- to the need of increasing understanding and led agendas across different reform areas. This recognition of the importance of civic education resulted in successful advocacy for policy changes among school administrators, teachers, and supporting the country’s pro-European pace. parents, which was highlighted by both internal ENGAGE significantly contributed to civil society and external reviews last year. and government dialogue, which was halted after Pact continued to support the flagship and highly last year’s elections. Pact supported Reanimation 6 Package of Reforms (RPR) to create several Pact obtained greater results in raising awareness meeting points to reignite reform dialogue. As a on a broader level to better involve citizens (and result, dialogue around key reforms was restored particularly youth) in anti-corruption efforts, and civil society experts are involved in the inclusion, and global environmental concerns. discourse with the Government and Verkhovna Pact’s regional coordinators in Sumy, Kharkiv, Rada. Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia energized and Use of creative social media content can be mentored locally-based newly emerged horizontal Over very effective in reaching wide audiences, networks and