Jordan Fiscal Reform Bridge Activity Quarterly Report: October – December 2015

The project aims to consolidate and build upon Jordan's critical macroeconomic reform gains made over the last decade, with a view to achieving robust and inclusive growth in Jordan. JFRBA focuses on three Priority Areas: enhancing policy advice and macroeconomic analysis, promoting public financial management, and building capacity to structure and vet public-private partnerships. The project has a broad mandate to work with a wide range of institutions in support of fiscal and financial stability of the Kingdom. The project has minimum requirements that must be delivered by July 31, 2016, including building capacity within the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for research, economic policy, and macro and fiscal forecasting techniques, operationalizing the PPP Unit, and rolling out the Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS) to 100 percent of the central government budget and to pilot independent institutions. In addition to these essential requirements, the project has seven objectives, including improving effective policy analysis and execution, improving efficiency of public resources through stronger Public Financial Management (PFM), implementing Monitoring and Evaluation methodologies within the Government of Jordan, enhancing revenue mobilization through improved revenue administration, building Public Private Partnership capacity, strengthening efficiency in trading across borders, and ensuring Jordan's foreign aid is better aligned with fiscal and economic reform objectives. The project is organized into seven teams, each focusing on a specific area: Team A: Tax Revenue Mobilization, Team B: Public Financial Management, Team C: Fiscal Policy and Ministry of Finance, Team D: Customs Administration and Trade Facilitation, Team F: Government Financial Management Information System, and Team G: Public Private Partnerships. Each team is responsible for achieving specific indicators and deliverables, which are tracked and reported on in the quarterly report. The report provides a breakdown of each team's progress, including significant achievements and activities carried out during the quarter, as well as a status update on how far along each team is in achieving their indicators. Technical information about the project, including use of funds during the quarter and contract deliverables, can be found in Chapters IV and V of the report. The report also includes six appendices, which provide additional information on the project's performance indicators, foreign assistance and custom indicators, and capacity building and outreach events. Overall, the JFRBA project aims to support the Government of Jordan in achieving fiscal stability and promoting economic growth, through a range of activities and interventions focused on public financial management, policy advice, and public-private partnerships. The project's progress and achievements are tracked and reported on in the quarterly report, which provides a comprehensive overview of the project's activities and outcomes.