Local Solutions Support Laos, FY21 Annual Report

The project's focus shifted from supporting non-profit associations to academic institutions, with the Faculty of Economics and Business Management (FEB) at the National University of Laos (NUOL) as the primary partner. This change was necessitated by the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MOHA) inability to support the project. The Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) government underwent significant national political changes during FY21, including the structural reshuffling and convening of the Lao People's Revolution Party. This led to changes in the decision-making structures of the ministries with which the project was trying to collaborate. The project team adapted to these changes by pivoting towards establishing a new government partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) through FEB at NUOL. The project's title was changed from Local Solutions Support to the Study and Modeling of Management Capacity and System Strengthening (SMCS) Project to better align with Lao PDR's education sector development priority. Despite the name change, the substance of the Task Order remained largely unchanged, with academic institutions now being the primary focus of local organizational support. Operational and programmatic technical activity highlights during FY21 included concluding the Project MOU with MOES, recruiting and onboarding key and non-key personnel, defining the grant administration process, and customizing and sharing organizational capacity assessment tools. The project team customized and translated RTI's capacity assessment tool, participatory local organizational assessment (PLOCA), into the Lao language and developed the PLOCA facilitation guide. The project team also worked on finalizing the grant strategy and grant types with USAID as well as RTI's US and Asia Regional offices. Additionally, the team is working on Grant Management Manual customization, which is expected to be complete by the end of November 2021. The project's focus on academic institutions and capacity development support to organizations is expected to have a positive impact on the education sector in Lao PDR. The project's financial performance is also noteworthy, with the team working on finalizing the recruitment for various posts, including a Finance Officer, Grants Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist, Gender Officer, Communications Officer, and a Capacity Development Assistant. The project's budget and financial management are being closely monitored to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with USAID's rules and regulations. In terms of country context, the Lao PDR government's commitment to providing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow RTI to start project activities is a significant development. The project's focus on capacity development support to academic institutions is expected to have a positive impact on the education sector in Lao PDR, and the project's financial performance is being closely monitored to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with USAID's rules and regulations. The project's implementation is expected to have a positive impact on the education sector in Lao PDR, with a focus on capacity development support to academic institutions. The project's financial performance is being closely monitored to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with USAID's rules and regulations. The project's focus on academic institutions and capacity development support to organizations is expected to have a positive impact on the education sector in Lao PDR.