Management Support and Technical Analysis Services (MSTAS) Project Quarterly Report October 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014

The project's strategic goals include supporting USAID's economic growth and trade-related activities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), providing logistical and administrative support for the planning, knowledge management, communication, and outreach for all technical divisions of AFR/SD, and generating new approaches, providing outreach, and broader cross-sectorial oversight. The MSTAS project has two major implementation areas: technical analysis and knowledge management. In the technical analysis area, the project team prepared a Performance and Monitoring Plan (PMP) incorporating a monitoring and evaluation framework for the three USAID African Trade and Investment Hubs. The PMP defines a standard system of indicators that can be compared across the three Hubs to measure their performance and progress towards reaching the overall development objective of increased trade and investment. The project team also completed an analysis of the progress of 49 African countries toward achieving poverty reduction goals in pursuit of AGOA eligibility. The report provided background information to USAID on the current country policies on reducing poverty, compiled from official government sources, including U.S. embassy cables and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The document introduced standard reporting for poverty and human development indicators for countries seeking AGOA eligibility. In the knowledge management area, the project team updated and revised case studies on various topics, including the African Apparel Sector, Borderless Alliance: Breaking Down Barriers to Trade in West Africa, and ICT: Powering Trade Across Borders. These case studies examined the activities of the West African Trade Hub, the Borderless Alliance, and the role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in reducing the time and costs associated with importing and exporting. The project team also participated in the East African Chamber of Commerce 6th Annual Trade and Investment Conference, where they made investment contacts between American and African investors. Additionally, the project team recruited a team of wildlife conservation program evaluation experts to conduct the final evaluation of the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group Cooperative Agreement with the USAID Africa Bureau. The MSTAS project has achieved significant results, including the finalization of the TOR and the initiation of two evaluations. The project has also provided logistical and administrative support for the planning, knowledge management, communication, and outreach for all technical divisions of AFR/SD. The project's activities and deliverables have contributed to the achievement of the project's strategic goals and have supported USAID's economic growth and trade-related activities in SSA.