Local Solutions Support (LSS) Laos Quarterly Report: April 1 – June 30, 2021

The project's primary activities during quarter three (Q3) of the 2021 fiscal year (FY) focused on securing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Faculty of Economic and Business Management (FEB) at the National University of Laos (NUOL). The LSS team, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), completed the final consultation with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and NUOL. MOES recommended revising the project name from Local Solution Support to Study and Modelling of Management Capacity and Systems Strengthening (SMCS). RTI and NUOL are working on final updates to the project documents and have requested a date for the official MOU signing. The LSS team also held consultations with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) to establish a partnership where the project can build the capacity of business support organizations. This corresponds with a recent Prime Minister objective in forming an economic advisory board to advise on growing the country's economy and making Lao more competitive in the global market. The project team initiated and continued recruitment of various project positions, including Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning; Communication; Gender and Social Inclusion; Grant Management; Financial and Admin Management; Communication; Operation Assistant; and Admin and Finance Assistant. Terms of Reference for all positions have been finalized, and job vacancy advertisements are soon to go public. The LSS project team developed resource materials for an organizational leadership development program, strategic planning and management, resource mobilization, financial management, and participatory local organization capacity assessment. The team also continued planning implementation modalities and capacity development teams for LSS, refining the training ideas and methods of implementing for SMCS along the topics of leadership development program, strategic planning and management, and participatory local organization capacity assessment. During this quarter, the LSS team co-organized and delivered the Training of Trainers for planned partners and National Institute of Nutrition Organizational and Capacity Strengthening (NIN) project teams. The team also administered and analyzed a USAID/Laos training priority survey to gauge USAID/Laos staff capacity development priorities and preferences. Unfortunately, the second wave of COVID-19 in Lao PDR has led to an increase in cases since April, which has adversely impacted the project's ability to engage government officials and plan in-person events. The number of cases has risen from less than 100 to nearly 2,500 (as of July 9, 2021), including an outbreak at the National University of Laos. The LSS project team has worked closely with NUOL/FEB to re-design the project, ensuring that the design is in line with the Lao government's socio-economic development priorities. Several meetings and consultations have taken place, including a meeting with the NUOL's President to present the project and seek his support, a meeting with the Minister of Education and Sports to introduce the revised project document and get advice for continued pursuit of the MOU, and a follow-up meeting with the Director General of the Department of External Relations at MOES to discuss the MOES Minister's advice and how to integrate it into the project document. The LSS project team has also continued to refine capacity development resource materials, including facilitator's guides, training handouts, and PowerPoints, for an organizational leadership development program, strategic planning and management, resource mobilization, financial management, and participatory local organization capacity assessment. The team has further refined the training ideas and methods of implementing for SMCS along the topics of leadership development program, strategic planning and management, and participatory local organization capacity assessment. The LSS project team has made significant progress in quarter three, despite the challenges posed by the second wave of COVID-19. The team has secured the support of key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and has made significant progress in refining capacity development resource materials and planning implementation modalities and capacity development teams for LSS.