Annual Progress Report: USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity

The project focused on strengthening the capacity of the School of Government at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (SOG/UEH) and the Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF). The project submitted a revised monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) Plan and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). Pause-and-reflect (P&R) learning sessions were conducted with SOG/UEH and SVF in February 2021 to reflect on entrenched issues, monitor progress against desired outcomes, address obstacles to strengthen outcomes, and identify lessons learned from implementation. USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity developed tailored MEL systems and updated business models for SOG/UEH and SVF. These tools will provide the partner institutions with a better understanding of and the ability to respond to market needs, enabling them to measure outcomes of the economic governance and reform-oriented capacity development services they deliver to provincial officials. Drawing on the findings from earlier gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) assessments, the project worked with SOG/UEH and SVF to prioritize GESI activities and incorporate these into institutional capacity strengthening plans. Training, mentoring, and coaching were provided to SOG/UEH lecturers on mainstreaming GESI into their curricula. The project also conducted the third GESI assessment, which improved the capacity of the partner institutions to integrate GESI considerations into their work and tailor provincial offerings when designing, delivering, and monitoring the impact of capacity development services for provincial officials. During this period, USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity co-facilitated the third round of Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) assessments for SOG/UEH and SVF. SOG/UEH's scores increased over the baseline in all categories, with an average increase of 22.68%. SVF's scores also increased over the baseline in all categories, with an average increase of 18.27%. The project successfully met the target of percent of organizations with improved performance and exceeded the acceptable quality level of 14% increase over the baseline at the end of Year 2. To begin the development of tailored capacity development services for provincial officials, USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity trained SOG/UEH and SVF on methodology for market needs assessment (MNA) in Year 1. SOG/UEH and SVF decided to conduct a joint pilot MNA in Dong Thap province, which was scheduled for August 2020. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, part 1 of the pilot exercise was implemented in October 2020 and focused on key informant interviews with provincial government officials. Part 2 of the pilot was not conducted in February 2021, as scheduled, due to the evolving context of COVID-19 in Dong Thap. This will be conducted in the first quarter of Year 3. The project also delivered a train-the-trainer certificate program aimed at building the capacity of provincial trainers to deliver courses using interactive and innovative teaching methodologies. To improve SOG/UEH's capacity in designing and delivering high-quality capacity development services that meet the needs of provinces in economic governance, the project co-developed a new training course named "Facilitative Provincial Government to Strengthen Economic Competitiveness." The project organized training of trainers (TOT) for SOG/UEH's lecturers on this course. In Year 2, the project co-designed a second new training course named "Innovation and Digital Transformation" with SOG/UEH. USAID approved the design of the course on May 26, 2021. A detailed curriculum and training materials for the course were submitted to USAID on September 27, 2021. The project faced significant challenges during this period, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the implementation of some activities. A core institutional partner, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), informed the project that it will resume cooperation with Chemonics International Inc. when the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and normal operations can be resumed. The project continued to make progress in implementing its institutional strengthening approach, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project's efforts to develop tailored capacity development services for provincial officials, improve the capacity of partner institutions, and address entrenched issues will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the project's outcomes.