KCI Monthly Report January 1-31, 2011

KCI increases the capacity of city officials to manage the city's resources, both human and material, to improve the level of services, to enable the participation of Kabul citizens in the determination of services to be provided, and to communicate with citizens so they are aware of the improvements and credit the city administration with these accomplishments. KCI also assists the city staff to markedly improve the level and quality of services provided, and increases the ability of the city to generate its own revenues so as to fund the increased level of services that new management capacity makes possible. In January 2011, KCI achieved several milestones. Nineteen Service Delivery Fund project concepts were presented to the Steering Committee of Kabul Municipality, and three Service Delivery Fund projects are in the contracts and procurement pipeline. The baseline Organizational Management Assessment was completed, and data from 2200 respondents to the KCI baseline public opinion survey have been compiled and submitted to the National Research Center for analysis and recommendations. The Mayor approved the Municipal Management and Capacity Improvement Task Force (MMCITF) recommendations that Kabul Municipality adopt two internationally recognized training and certification curriculum for staff training: the International Computer Driver's License program (ICDL) and the Project Management Institute program (PMI). The embedding of KCI program staff in the Kabul Municipality and the implementation of the Working Group/Task Force process has enabled KCI to initiate coordination of donors interested in supporting Kabul Municipality. Donors such as the DFID-funded Harakat and the CIDA-funded Afghanistan Technical Assistance Program (ATAP) program are regularly attending Working Group meetings, while others such as the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the World Bank, CANDEM, ISAF, Task Force Fury, Task Force Kabul, European Union, the Turkish Government, and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) attend the weekly coordinating meetings chaired by the Mayor to leverage KCI funds. The result has been elimination of the duplication of effort by donors intending to assist the City with the same road or the same park, and cooperation on projects with one donor performing one function and another donor a different function. The Municipal Management and Capacity Improvement Plan (MMCIP) is a key component of KCI's capacity-building efforts. The Organizational Assessment was completed, and a Final Report and an appendix of the data collected during the assessment have been delivered to KCI for review. Specific recommendations were presented to the Procedures Working Group and the Training Working Group and will guide their contributions to the design and implementation of the MMCIP. The Training Working Group moved forward in developing a training needs and skills assessment for all 1458 employees of Kabul Municipality, and KCI assisted in the development of a self-administered survey questionnaire which Working Group members then distributed to all departments. All of the surveys were returned within the month, and KCI has prepared a database for analysis of the skills and training needs and to serve as a tool for tracking delivery of training and the application of new skills on the job. The Working Group prioritized the Sanitation Department, Greenery Department, and Streets and Maintenance Department as the first three departments for analysis and created a plan to address their training needs.