PHOTO CREDIT: USAID OW4C USAID/CAMBODIA ONE WINDOW FOR CITIZENS (OW4C) PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORT 1 APRIL – 3O JUNE 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 April – 30 June 2021 Submitted: July 15, 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 DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY TOOLS 6 PUBLIC OUTREACH 6 ACTIVITIES BY PROVINCE 6 MONITORING TOOLS 8 OW4C PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN 9 OPERATIONS 10 REPORTING 10 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 10 OPERATIONS 10 TECHNICAL 10 CHALLENGES AND PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS 10 NEW CHALLENGES 10 CHALLENGE 1 10 PLANS FOR NEXT QUARTER 11 CIVIC TECH TOOLS 11 PUBLIC OUTREACH 11 BATTAMBANG 11 BANTEAY MEANCHEY 11 KAMPONG CHHNANG 11 MONITORING 11 ii | Periodic Progress Report – USAID/Cambodia OW4C – April to June 2021 usaid.gov ACRONYMS API Advocacy and Policy Institute COP Chief of Party COR USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative COVID-19 Corona Virus Disease 2019 GiZ The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit InSTEDD Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases, and Distasters I-lab Southeast Asia 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 NGO Nongovernmental Organization 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 PSOD Phnom Srey Organization for Development SBAR Small Business Applied Research TI Transparency International USAID United States Agency for International Development WE Act USAID Women’s Entrepreneurs Act Project iii | Periodic Progress Report – USAID/Cambodia OW4C – April to June 2021 usaid.gov 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 April – 30 June 2021 reporting period include: • The OW4C Civic Tech Tools – branded as Pidor the Smart Villager – have served 4,900 individual citizens accessing over 7,000 services via the project’s Facebook chatbot and interactive voice response tools. • OW4C’s Pidor the Smart Villager was launched in Kampong Chhnang Province. • Project social media has reached 413,417 Cambodians through our two Facebook pages, directly engaging 23,612 citizens. • OW4C produced two animations. One engages citizens on how to access the OW4C tools, the other providing information specifically on how to provide feedback on OWSO services. Designed for social media, the videos are also playing in the waiting area of the Kampong Chhnang provincial OWSO. • OW4C conducted 29 virtual door-to-door online sessions in Kampong Chhnang, Banteay Meanchey and Battambang province reaching 690 citizens. • OW4C’s infomediary training on "Media and Report on Transparency and Accountability of Public Services” was conducted virtually in Banteay Meanchey and Kampong Chhnang Provinces. 1 | Periodic Progress Report – USAID/Cambodia OW4C – April to June 2021 usaid.gov • The project convened a consultation with Battambang Provincial authorities, the Ministry of the Interior and district administration and OWSO officials to discuss challenges district officials are having in implementing suggested improvements to OWSO services. 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 a sustained COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia. To date, preventative response actions have yet to contain the spread of the virus and the project is following government recommendations, both national and local that discourage in-persons gatherings of groups 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 emphasized 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 Gender Inclusiveness Panel on 1 April. • OW4C participated in the USAID/Cambodia Democracy and Governance Partners meeting on 29 April. • OW4C participated in the USAID/Cambodia Implementation Partners meeting on 28 May. Ministry of the Interior: • The Ministry of the Interior participated in the Battambang OWSO Consultation meeting held on 9 June. • On 23 June OW4C met with the Ministry of the Interior to learn more about the planned technology investments and features of the e-government strategy promulgated in early June. Provincial Governments: During the reporting period, the project engaged the three provincial administrations where OW4C has activities. Highlights include: • Battambang: On 9 June OW4C conducted a sub-national consultation workshop. Bringing together representatives from the Battambang provincial and district governments, ombudspersons and the Ministry of the Interior, OW4C piloted OWSOs were able to present 2 | Periodic Progress Report – USAID/Cambodia OW4C – April to June 2021 usaid.gov progress to date in implementing citizen suggested service improvements, and present to the provincial government and Ministry of the Interior structural or procedural challenges preventing them from doing so. • Banteay Meanchey: On 17 June OW4C conducted a virtual project orientation with the PoiPet District Deputy Governor and other key officials. • Kampong Chhnang. The OW4C conducted a virtual project orientation meeting with the provincial authorities on 9 April. 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 engaged with ISAC in the following activities: • On 2 April OW4C hosted a coordination meeting to discuss the overlap of ISAC’s work on district services and OW4C’s on OWSOs, specifically regarding scorecards. ISAC will not be conducting scorecards until 2022. The projects agreed to coordinate scheduling of scorecards as well as messaging to the district authorities when using scorecards