Environmental Communication, Learning and Outreach (ECO) Bi-Annual Status Report

The two primary ECO program objectives are to provide USAID staff and the broader development community with the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to design, implement, monitor and evaluate quality programs and to develop and enhance communications and information management systems that facilitate knowledge sharing and learning for improved development impact. The ECO implementation team is currently comprised of Training Resources Group, Inc. (TRG), RTI and Forum One Communications. The project period of performance (POP) is October 1, 2013 - September 29, 2018. Since October 2013, the ECO project has worked collaboratively with its counterparts to strengthen USAID's development impact by ensuring high-quality learning in the environment and climate change sectors. Task 1: Competency-Based Training focuses on providing USAID staff and the broader development community with the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to design, implement, monitor and evaluate quality programs. Task 2: Knowledge Management involves developing and enhancing communications and information management systems that facilitate knowledge sharing and learning for improved development impact. Task 3: Communications and Reporting involves providing communications and reporting support to USAID staff and the broader development community. Task 4: Facilitation involves providing facilitation support to USAID staff and the broader development community. The ECO project has worked to establish a firm platform of learning activities and approaches that should continue seamlessly into the new project. Activities and planning have been conducted knowing that there will be a continuity of operations and talent into the coming years. Over the last few years, ECO has seen and helped develop a firm foundation for sustainable learning operations. The M&E system and infrastructure, if continued, will allow USAID to be able to gather data promptly, analyze it, and make informed decisions. In this last Bi-annual Report, ECO provides some highlights from this shortened reporting period and a summary of key lessons learned over the course of the contract. Looking back over the almost five years of the project work, there are a number of lessons that emerge from the M&E and L quantitative and qualitative data. Captured in this report are a selection of those lessons. In Annex III: Five Lessons on Learning, a number of examples, tips, and lessons were framed around what ECO has learned about what facilitates learning and its application. In Annex IV: Five Learning Barriers, potential barriers were selected based on what ECO has learned about what poses obstacles to learning and its application. The ECO team has worked closely with USAID counterparts to decide what could be done given the time and budget remaining. Adjustments were made with each office to help them make difficult choices. The portfolio managers worked closely with their respective counterparts to decide what could be done given the time and budget remaining. The initial decision was made to complete most of the technical activities by July 31st, under the assumption that the follow-on project would be in place in May and there would be sufficient time for hand-over and transition.