HICD Activity Quarterly Report # 04

The purpose of the activity is to achieve lasting results in the human and institutional capacity development of key strategic partner institutions in Georgia. These institutions play an important role in achieving the country's development objectives, including governmental, non-governmental, and private sector entities. The HICD Activity aims to increase the organizational integrity, operational effectiveness, and long-term viability of these key partner organizations. This, in turn, will anchor the country's reform efforts across all development sectors. The activity complements existing technical assistance activities by providing organizational development expertise and advisory services in the areas of skills enhancement and systemic improvements. The HICD Activity draws on its local subcontractors to carry out performance assessments, which inform the development of individualized plans for each institution. These plans are tailored to address specific capacity gaps and needs, and are designed to promote long-term sustainability and self-reliance. The activity also provides training and organizational and management services to select organizations, while developing the capacity of Government of Georgia (GoG) agencies, local civil society organizations (CSOs), and private sector institutions to provide similar services. During the reporting period, the HICD Activity made significant progress in developing the Center of Excellence (CoE) for HICD services. The CoE membership increased from 32 to 72 new members, and the HICD CoE Manager developed a membership matrix and member services and benefits matrix. The activity also conducted CoE members needs assessment sessions, which involved focus group discussions and a follow-up survey. The data collected from these sessions will inform the development of services and benefits for CoE members. The HICD Activity also developed recommendations for IQS holders based on Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) results. Individualized plans were developed for each IQS holder, and an approach was drafted for each development topic and subtopic. The activity has also started working on expert scopes of work (SoWs), which will include online courses and personalized guidance by the HICD Activity team. In addition, the HICD Activity closely coordinated with partner organizations to incorporate the agreed-upon monitoring and evaluation (M&E) approach into the LT and ST HICD process. The activity conducted a total of 18 introductory meetings with partner organizations and service providers, and developed one-page Activity Monitoring Spreadsheets for each ongoing HICD program. The Mission resumed visa processing procedures, and the HICD Activity received the first J-1 visa processing request from USAID Implementing Partner, Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI). The activity prepared all the required documents and submitted them to USAID, but the second check/step was not completed due to COVID-19-related backlogs in the Training and Exchange Automated Management System (TEAMS). The HICD Activity Quarterly Report #04 describes the primary activities for each of the project's four components and the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) activities. The Results Reporting Table and Financial Report are included in Annexes A and B, respectively.