CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROGRAM (CSSP) Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2017 Quarterly Report Quarterly Period: October 1 – December 31, 2016 Submission Date: January 30, 2017 Cooperative Agreement Number: A.I.D – 608 – LA- 15 - 00001 Submitted to: USAID/Morocco AOR Alae Eddine Serrar Submitted by: Hervé de Baillenx, Chief of Party Counterpart International 39, Rue Abou Derr, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco Tel: +212 537 27 38 50 Email: [email protected] This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development, Morocco (USAID/Morocco). 1 PROGRAM OVERVIEW Civil Society Strengthening Program Activity Title A.I.D – 608 – LA- 15 – 00001 Cooperative Agreement Number Name of Prime Implementing Partner Counterpart International International Center for Non Profit Law (ICNL) Name of International Subawardee January 26, 2015 Activity Start Date January 25, 2019 Activity End Date October 1 – December 31, 2016 Reporting Period Morocco (target regions) Geographic Coverage 2 3 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AO Agreement Officer AOR Agreement Officer Representative APS Annual Program Statement CAP Communal Action Plan CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy COP Chief of Party CSO Civil Society Organization CSSP Civil Society Strengthening Program DQA Data Quality Assessment DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DG Democracy and Governance ECNL European Center for International Law EPEOGA Entity for Parity, Equal Opportunity & Gender Approach FAA Fixed Amount Award FOG Fixed Obligation Grant GOM Government of Morocco GC&C Grants, Contracts & Compliance ICNL International Center for Non-profit Law HOC House of Councilors HOR House of Representatives ISO Intermediate Support Organization LWA Leader with Associates MELP Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan MoU Memorandum of Understanding MP Member of Parliament MCRPCS Ministry in Charge of Parliament and Civil Society M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO Non-Governmental Organization OD Organizational Development OPI Organizational Performance Index PMP Program Monitoring Plan RFA Request for Applications RFP Request for Proposals ToR Terms of Reference USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government 4 Table of Contents PROGRAM OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 2 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... 4 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 7 1.1 Political Context .......................................................................................................................7 1.2 Activity Description..................................................................................................................7 1.3 Summary of Key Accomplishments during QR1 of FY17 ................................................8 1.4 Summary of Major Challenges, Learning and Adaptive Management during QR1 .....9 2. ACTIVITY PROGRESS ................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Progress Narrative ...................................................................................................................9 2.2 Measurable Results to Date................................................................................................. 20 3. CROSS-CUTTING CDCS THEMES ............................................................................... 23 3.1 Gender & Social Inclusion ................................................................................................... 23 4. STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.............................................................................. 24 4.1 Collaboration and Coordination with Other Key Stakeholders and/or Knowledge Sharing with Other USAID Activities ................................................................................ 24 5. LESSONS LEARNED.................................................................................................... 24 5.1 Challenges ................................................................................................................................ 24 5.2 Lessons Learned ..................................................................................................................... 24 5.3 MEL Update ............................................................................................................................. 25 6. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT MODIFICATIONS .............................................................. 25 7. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES ........................................................ 25 7.1 Staff changes ............................................................................................................................ 25 7.2 Budget issues ........................................................................................................................... 25 8. BRANDING, OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS ................................................... 25 8.1 Communication Strategy and Branding Awareness ....................................................... 25 8.2 Success Stories ....................................................................................................................... 26 5 9. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER ....................................................... 26 10. SELECT PHOTOS OF PARTICIPANTS AND ACTIVITY SITES ......................................... 26 ANNEX A: Q1 FY17 EVENTS ............................................................................................... 30 ANNEX B - INDICATOR PROGRESS TOWARDS TARGETS ................................................... 39 ANNEX C: Q1 FY17 TRAININGS .......................................................................................... 42 ANNEX D: Q2 FY17 AGENDA – MAIN EVENTS (FRENCH ONLY) ......................................... 43 ANNEX E: SUMMARY OF ISO STRENGTHENING NEEDS BASED ON OD ASSESSMENT RESULTS (FRENCH ONLY)......................................................................................................... 46 ANNEX F: GROUP TRAINING PLAN FOR ISOS AND COALITIONS ....................................... 50 ANNEX G: HANDOUT – ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDEX IMPLEMENTATION: THE STEP BY STEP PROCESS ............................................................................................. 52 6 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Political Context In October 2017, parliamentary elections took place in Morocco. They were the second legislative elections after the constitutional reform of 2011 and illustrated the increasingly bipolar political landscape in Morocco, confirming the preeminence of two political parties while historical parties declined. Participation was low, with only 43% of about 16 million registered voters who headed to the polls to pick representatives for 395 seats at the House of Representatives (HoR). The ruling Islamist Justice & Development Party (PJD) came again first with 125 seats, the Authenticity & Modernity Party (PAM) came second with 102 seats while Istiqlal Party (PI) won 46 seats. However, almost three months after the legislative elections, Morocco remains without a government. Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane was designated by King Mohammed V to form a government. He has led consultations with several political parties but has so far failed to record any breakthrough in the formation of a coalition cabinet. The delay in the formation of a new government is slowing down the work of many communes and regions, is preventing the vote on a national budget and, as far as CSSP is concerned, is hampering work with the Ministry in Charge of Relations with Parliament and Civil Society (MCRPCS) and the HoR. Nevertheless, the presidents and other members of the councils of CSSP partner communes Drarga, Tetouan, Fez, Temara and Safi were elected to the parliament and there have been no similar issues to the national level prohibiting their ability to work locally. This is an opportunity for the program as they can share the program’s approach at the parliamentary level. At a regional level, decrees Nos. 2.16.403, 2.16.402 and 2.16.401 defining the format and mechanism of the petition presented at the regional, provincial and local level and the documents to be provided were promulgated and published in the official bulletin on October 6, 2016. The promulgation of these decrees enabled CSSP to launch technical assistance to local and regional authorities to set up the petition system at the local level. The royal speech at the Parliament's opening session in October 2016 focused on citizens' access to central services and territorial administration. All administrations, including local government, are called upon to improve their relations with citizens and promote mechanisms for participation and consultation. This speech constituted a great support to our CSSP program in particular in the improvement of the services of territorial administrations towards the citizens. In parallel with these main events, the organization of the UN climate summit COP22 (November 7-18, 2016) took place in Marrakech with a significant participation and mobilization of CSOs. A great number of local CSOs and coalitions, including some CSSP grantees, took part in this COP22 and organized several side events on climate change advocacy. 1.2 Activity Description CSSP is a 4-year program