CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT Q2 FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1 – MARCH 31, 2021 APRIL 30, 2021 This publication was produced for the United States Agency for International Development by East-West Management Institute, Inc. CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT Q2 FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 Prepared under USAID’s Cambodian Civil Society Strengthening Project Contract Number AID-442-C-16-00002 Submitted to: USAID/Cambodia on April 29, 2021 Contractor: East-West Management Institute, Inc. Disclaimer This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this document are CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT the sole responsibility of the East-West Management Institute and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT CONTENTS TABLE OF ACRONYMS …………….…………………………………………………………………….…………………ii PROGRAM OVERVIEW …………………………………………………………………………………………………....1 Q2 FY21 RESULTS AT A GLANCE………………………..…………………………………………………….……….2 PROGRESS UNDER EACH TASK ………………………………………………………………………………………...3 TASK 1: Support to Cambodian Civil Society …..….………………………………….……………..3 IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CCSS ……………………………………………………………………………17 TASK 2: Enhance Technical and Organizational Capacity of Civil Society……..……... 18 TASK 3: Analytical and Technical Services.…………………………………………………….…….22 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED/RESOLVED.…………………………………….………………………………….. 27 ANNEX A: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ….………………………………………………………..……………28 ANNEX B: NEW RESOURCES ON THE ODC WEBSITE ….......................................................35 ANNEX C: CEDT CASE STUDY ……………………………..……….…………..…….…………………….………. 39 ANNEX D: FIELD MONITORING VISIT REPORT ………………………………………………………………. 42 FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 i CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT TABLE OF ACRONYMS ACI EWMI’s Advocacy Capacity Index AGM Assistant Grants Manager AOR Agreement Officer Representative APS Annual Program Statement CBCLO Capacity Building of Cambodia’s Local Organizations Project CBO Community Based Organization CCC Cooperation Committee for Cambodia CCSS Cambodian Civil Society Strengthening Project CDP Capacity Development Plan CDRI Cambodia Development Resource Institute CIP Commune Investment Plan COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer Representative CPA Community Protected Area CPAR USAID Contractor Performance Assessment Report CRD constitutional rights defenders CSO civil society organization DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DGF CCSS’ Democracy and Governance Fund DRL State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor EWMI East-West Management Institute FIT Financial Improvement Team GAU Grants Administration Unit GESI Gender Equality and Social Inclusion GNA Grassroots Network Advisor GIS geographic information system GMP Gender Mainstreaming Policy GPP Good Practice Project GRC Grants Review Committee GUC grants under contract HRD human rights defenders IG informal groups INGO International Non-governmental Organization ISD™ Impact Strengthening Development Certification Program LANGO Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organizations LDF CCSS’ Legal Defense Fund M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO non-governmental organization NRM natural resource management NSSF National Social Security Fund OACA EWMI’s Advocacy and Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool OCAT Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool OCI EWMI’s Organizational Capacity Index OST Organizational Scanning Tool PEA Political Economy Analysis PIMS Portfolio Information Management System PMEP Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan PTAR Potential Transition Award Recipient USAID US Agency for International Development FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 ii CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Civil Society Strengthening Project (CCSS), Contract Number AID-442-C-16-00002, is a five-year contract awarded to the East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with a period of performance from June 27, 2016 to June 26, 2021 and now extended to July 31, 2021. The goal of the CCSS project is to increase the capability of Cambodian civil society to engage in democratic processes by representing citizen concerns. The objectives of the project are to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Cambodia, and provide analytical and technical services to USAID/Cambodia’s Office of Democracy and Governance to respond to opportunities for democratic development. Annual network meeting to reflect on project implementation, good practice, lessons learned and next steps, organized by organized by the Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT). In order to achieve these objectives, CCSS carries out three tasks: Task 1: • CCSS helps to inform CSO risk management strategies by providing free legal advice on compliance issues. Funds for these services are provided by the Legal Defense Fund. • CCSS supports CSOs to involve citizens in local democratic processes by providing grants through its Democracy and Governance Fund (DGF). For example, several sub-grantees facilitate citizen requests for Commune Investment Programs (CIPs), while others organize patrols of community forests and fisheries. Task 2: CCSS delivers organizational and technical capacity development assistance, through customized coaching for individual CSOs by its subcontractor VBNK, training and other means. Task 3: CCSS provides analytical and technical services to shed light on the civil society environment, for example through public opinion surveys. FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 1 CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT CCSS Q2 FY21 RESULTS AT A GLANCE • Legal Aid Cambodia provided legal advice on compliance issues to 131 CSOs • 1,178 (568 females) citizens were engaged in civic activities, despite the challenges of COVID-19 • Citizens raised 58 issues with subnational authorities Total and Average Visits • ODC website traffic continued to increase, as 600,000 555,390 428,711 measured by visits, 400,000 142,904 185,130 pageviews and return visits 200,000 • ODC’s Facebook likes also 0 Jan-Mar 20 Jan-Mar 21 increased to 27,548, Total Visits Avg. Visits compared to 23,989 in Q2 of FY20 • 17 commune councils took concrete action in response to citizen concerns • Officials held 11 public forums at the commune level • In capacity re-assessments, all five grassroots sub- grantees improved in the majority of the 11 categories. • Two of the groups improved in all the categories. FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 2 CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT PROGRESS UNDER EACH TASK1 TASK 1: Support to Cambodian Civil Society EWMI-CCSS supports CSOs in their efforts to manage risk by providing legal advice on compliance issues concerning Cambodian laws, such as the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO) and others under the Legal Defense Fund (LDF). This legal advice has been particularly useful to CSOs in light of the evolving legal framework and enforcement landscape, as evidenced by LANGO’s approval in 2015, tax requirements, Labor Law amendments, the Law on National Social Security Fund and many regulations. CCSS also provides legal representation and advice to address time- sensitive challenges to the activities and liberty of individuals. SUB-TASK 1.1: Legal Defense Fund Providing legal advice on compliance As the legal framework applicable to CSOs continued to evolve, Legal Aid Cambodia (LAC) provided legal advice to 131 CSOs to support them to manage their risks. Legal Assistance Topics In Q2 FY21, LAC delivered: • Three presentations in person and one online presentation for 157 (42 females) participants from 127 CSOs • Five individual legal consultations with four CSOs 1 For complete results on performance indicators see Annex A. FY21 QUARTERLY REPORT JANUARY 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2021 3 CAMBODIAN CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING PROJECT • LAC presentations and consultations covered various aspects of LANGO, Tax Law, LAC’s Facebook page reached 939 Labor Law, Law on Accounting and Auditing, accounts and gained 1,171 followers Law on COVID-19, the National Internet in Q2. Gateway and pension funds under the National Social Security Fund. In addition, LAC continued to produce and upload additional guidance documents to its Facebook page, which reached 939 accounts and gained 1,171 followers during Q2. SUB-TASK 1.2: Democracy and Governance Fund Along with legal support and capacity building, CCSS provides grants to a diverse portfolio of local NGOs to identify and expand opportunities to engage citizens in democratic processes. These grants enable CSOs to flexibly navigate in an ever-changing space – which gives them an opportunity to use new skills provided by CCSS while continuing to build their own capacity. The grants, legal support and capacity building all work together to ensure that CSOs are able to maximize their effectiveness.2 Ultimately, CSOs will be able to demonstrate that they contribute to a strong democratic Cambodia with engaged citizens and a responsive government, who together can meet the challenges and thrive as a middle-income country. CCSS sub-grantees have learned that it takes many steps to achieve their objectives, which in turn creates further