Annual Performance Report: Strengthening Higher Education Access in Malawi Activity (SHEAMA) FY 2019

The activity is led by Arizona State University (ASU) in partnership with Winrock International and Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd. The goal is to enable 14,940 students to attend tertiary education, with 5,976 being adolescent girls and young women or otherwise vulnerable/disadvantaged, and 3,735 studying STEM subjects. SHEAMA will cultivate Malawian universities' Open and Distance Learning (ODL) capacity, both on campus and in centers distributed throughout the country. The system will address immediate needs and be positioned to grow quickly as energy and internet infrastructure become more reliable. In the interim, SHEAMA will introduce and leverage affordable, user-friendly technologies and evolving innovations to overcome impediments that currently leave 50,000 secondary school graduates each year without access to higher education. The activity will bring change management principles to create leaders at all levels of engagement, including government, university, faculty, instructional designers, and business actors. SHEAMA will work closely with five University Partners to ensure strong engagement of stakeholders at different levels. The activity will also co-design courses for the marketplace with business and introduce adaptive business approaches for the ODL Centers to ensure they are responsive to market forces and sustainable. Implementation of SHEAMA began on December 4, 2018, and will continue until December 3, 2022. The activity is funded by USAID's Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and is aligned with the United States Government's (USG) priorities in Malawi. The activity's geographic coverage is Malawi, with a focus on increasing access to higher education for adolescent girls and young women. SHEAMA's approach is based on a systems approach, which ensures that all stakeholders understand and value ODL. The activity will introduce and leverage affordable, user-friendly technologies and evolving innovations to overcome impediments to access to higher education. The activity will also bring change management principles to create leaders at all levels of engagement and ensure strong engagement of stakeholders at different levels. The activity's implementation progress is being monitored and evaluated through the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP). The plan outlines the activity's performance indicators, which include increasing access to higher education for adolescent girls and young women, improving the quality of higher education, and increasing the employability of graduates. SHEAMA's integration of crosscutting issues and USAID Forward priorities is a key aspect of the activity. The activity is addressing issues related to gender equality and female empowerment, policy and governance support, local capacity development, and private sector engagement. The activity is also working closely with the Government of Malawi to ensure that the activity's outputs and outcomes are aligned with the country's development priorities. The activity's stakeholder participation and involvement are critical to its success. SHEAMA is working closely with the University Partners, the Government of Malawi, and other stakeholders to ensure that the activity's outputs and outcomes are aligned with the country's development priorities. The activity is also engaging with the private sector to ensure that the activity's outputs and outcomes are relevant to the needs of the market. The activity's management and administrative issues are being addressed through the Activity Management Plan. The plan outlines the activity's organizational structure, personnel, and financial management arrangements. The plan also outlines the activity's risk management arrangements and contingency plans. The activity's lesson learned is that strong engagement of stakeholders at different levels is critical to the activity's success. The activity's team has learned that public universities must be responsive to market demands and market forces. The activity's team has also learned that adaptive business approaches are necessary to ensure that the ODL Centers are equipped to be responsive to market forces and are sustainable. The activity's planned activities for the next quarter include operational activities, such as monitoring and evaluation, and implementation of the activity's outputs and outcomes. The activity's team is also planning to engage with the private sector to ensure that the activity's outputs and outcomes are relevant to the needs of the market. The activity's financial management is being addressed through the Federal Financial Report. The report outlines the activity's financial performance, including income and expenses, and provides an update on the activity's financial status. The activity's success stories are being documented through the Success Stories report. The report outlines the activity's achievements and provides examples of how the activity's outputs and outcomes are making a difference in the lives of Malawians. In conclusion, SHEAMA is a critical activity that aims to increase Malawi's skilled and employable workforce, particularly among adolescent girls and young women. The activity is led by Arizona State University (ASU) in partnership with Winrock International and Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd. The activity's approach is based on a systems approach, which ensures that all stakeholders understand and value ODL. The activity is working closely with the University Partners, the Government of Malawi, and other stakeholders to ensure that the activity's outputs and outcomes