Consolidation and Enhanced Livelihoods Initiative – North/South (CELI N/S) Final Report FY 2014

During FY 2014 – Q4, CELI N/S advanced in implementing project activities, including closing out a project activity with the University of Antioquia that held training and capacity building workshops for more than 400 community leaders, 700 public servants, and 111 elected council members in 15 target municipalities. The purpose of these workshops was to help civil society actors exercise their legally sanctioned oversight functions of elected and other municipal officials, and to assist public servants and elected officials in public planning and accessing and administering public resources. Section IV details project advances by programmatic component and crosscutting initiative during the quarter. CELI N/S also continued its focus on helping the rural sectors of the 16 prioritized municipalities of Antioquia, Córdoba, and Tumaco (Nariño) advance toward sound economic growth and restructure public and private investment towards their historically neglected rural communities. To this end, CELI N/S increased committed investment in six distinct agricultural value chains by nearly US$1.9 million, bringing total committed investment to US$15.5 million in 19 distinct value chains. Additionally, CELI N/S's project activities have contributed to leveraging a total of US$107 million in public and private investment for the 16 prioritized municipalities of Antioquia, Córdoba, and Tumaco (Nariño). Specifically during the quarter, CELI N/S helped to leverage US$7.8 million in public funds and US$5 million in private funds. Section III details specific information on project investment and leveraged funds. During FY 2014 – Q3, CELI N/S invoiced US$3.1 million in CLIN 2 and CLIN 3, bringing total invoicing during the life of the contract to US$28.6 million. CELI N/S also submitted 46 activities for review and approval, including 42 grants and four non-grants, for implementation in the 16 target municipalities of Antioquia, South of Córdoba, and Tumaco (Nariño). This brings the total approved activities since project start-up to 511, representing approximately US$43.6 million in approved USAID funds. The regional and national context during the fourth quarter of FY 2014 was marked by ongoing peace negotiations in Havana between the rebel group FARC and the Government of Colombia. While a final agreement has yet to materialize, several events took place during the quarter that point to a drawdown of Colombia's fifty-year armed conflict, including the creation of three commissions to study the conflict's origins, to incorporate a gender perspective into the final agreement, and to negotiate disarmament and a bilateral ceasefire. President Santos used his inaugural address to defend the peace process and set an agenda over the next four years that supports social investments in education, poverty alleviation, and inequality reduction, which he argued are critical policies for transitioning the country from conflict to peace. Amid mounting political and public pressure to speed up the negotiating process, both parties in Havana appeared to make progress on the topic during the quarter, especially after the visit of three delegations of victims to Havana. Security continued to remain a top concern for project staff during the quarter, especially given that media and regional news reported on an agreement between the rebel group FARC and the criminal band Clan Úsuga in CELI N/S territories.