LAC Education Support Contract: Quarterly Report Q2 FY 2020

The LAC Education Support Contract is funded by USAID/LAC and ends on September 2023. The Contract is divided into three main tasks: 1) Sector Assessment, Design, and Implementation Support, 2) Monitoring and Evaluation of Education Programs, and 3) Preparation for Education Skills-Building Workshops. During the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2020, DevTech received approval from USAID on the Rapid Assessment Education and Risk Analysis (RERA) report conducted in the Dominican Republic and commenced a translation of the same. A new activity was assigned to DevTech under Task 1, a RERA to understand the impact of the migration of Venezuelans on the Colombian education system. Under Task 2, Monitoring and Evaluation of Education Programs, there were no activities conducted in this period. Under Task 3, Preparation for Education Skills-Building Workshops, there were also no activities conducted in this period. The objectives of the RERA in Colombia are to provide a "snapshot" of Colombia's education system, its interaction with contextual risks, and key challenges to providing equitable, quality education to all school-aged children, including native Colombian, Venezuelan migrant, and Colombian returnees in receptor communities impacted by the Venezuelan migrant crisis. The RERA aims to gain a broader understanding of the resilience of affected school communities, identify barriers and opportunities to better integrate migrants and other school-aged children who are not accessing education into the Colombia education system, and inform future USAID education activities to support affected school communities. DevTech initiated recruitment for the RERA Core Team, including the Lead Evaluator, James Rogan, and three local consultants – an Education Specialist, a Conflict Specialist, and a Research/Logistics Assistant. DevTech also put out a request for proposals for facilitation and data collection support for firms to support this activity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DevTech drafted a remote plan for field data collection, using expertise from the RERA team on implementing this type of assessment in difficult access areas. An initial plan was presented to USAID/Colombia on March 16th and discussed with the Ministry of Education during the March 31st meeting. The RERA in Colombia will be conducted in line with the guidelines, principles, and tools provided in the USAID RERA Toolkit. The RERA will be conducted in two phases, including an online survey and remote interviews. DevTech aims to conduct data collection in May and have preliminary findings available shortly thereafter. The RERA will provide valuable insights into the impact of the Venezuelan migrant crisis on the Colombian education system and inform future USAID education activities to support affected school communities. Annex A contains information on Progress to Targets. Work was initiated on a new Activity, a Rapid Education and Risk Assessment in Colombia, that aims at understanding the impact of Venezuelan migrants on primary through secondary education in the most affected school communities in Colombia. USAID shared a final scope of work for the education diagnostic activity in Venezuela under Task 1, projected to start in Q3 of FY2020.