Iraq Administrative Reform Project Quarterly Report January 1–March 31, 2014

It was prepared by Management Systems International. Advancing Decentralization is a key focus area for the project. The amendment of Article 45 of Law 21 has enabled Iraq to progress towards administrative decentralization. USAID-Tarabot is working with central and provincial level partners to facilitate the implementation of amended Article 45 of Law 21. A regional conference was held in Babil, attended by over 180 people, including high-level officials from governorate offices, provincial councils, and ministerial directorates. The conference aimed to coordinate the implementation efforts of five provinces and examined the legal and constitutional framework for decentralization. Recommendations and a roadmap were drafted based on the discussions. Championing Systems and Services in Wasit is another significant achievement. The governor of Wasit pledged to expedite the implementation of the One-Stop-Shop service center and offered to fund its development out of the governorate's own budget. The governorate has been a champion of Tarabot's project management efforts and has committed to applying PMI processes for its project cycles. The governor expressed his willingness to allocate 2 billion Iraqi dollars to support Tarabot's work in Wasit and called for the formation of a committee to discuss the implementation of the One-Stop-Shop in all 17 directorates of municipalities. Enabling Economic Analysis is another milestone achievement. Tarabot commemorated the completion of an input-output analysis framework for the Iraqi economy with a launch conference on March 3rd. The event was attended by the Deputy Ministers of Planning and more than 100 key government officials. This new tool establishes the relationship between input resources in the Iraqi economy and was completed after nearly 30 months of effort by USAID-Tarabot. The National Policy Management Component is working to support the development of a national policy framework for administrative decentralization. The component is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Planning and the Central Statistical Organization to develop a framework for decentralization. The framework will provide a roadmap for the implementation of decentralization and will help to identify the necessary resources and capacity building needs. The Administrative Decentralization Component is working to support the implementation of decentralization at the provincial level. The component is providing technical assistance to the governorates of Babil, Wasit, Najaf, Diwaniyah, and Karbala to develop their capacity to implement decentralization. The component is also working with the Ministry of Planning and the Central Statistical Organization to develop a framework for decentralization. The project administration is working to ensure the effective management of the project. The project is being implemented in accordance with the terms of the contract and the project management plan. The project administration is also working to ensure the security and safety of project staff and to provide support to project staff in the field. The project has made significant progress in the second quarter of FY 2014. The project has advanced decentralization, championed systems and services in Wasit, and enabled economic analysis. The project has also made progress in the National Policy Management Component and the Administrative Decentralization Component. The project administration is working to ensure the effective management of the project and to provide support to project staff in the field.