Monthly Progress Report: February 2021

The strategy focuses on improving the economic growth and delivery of services in the country. SCALE's purpose is to develop local economies in the province of Malaita, with the goal of supporting further growth at the provincial and national levels. The initiative will drive the expansion of market access and supporting infrastructure. To achieve this, SCALE will support three main objectives: improving the enabling environment for trade and investment, strengthening the agribusiness sector, and enhancing natural resource governance, particularly in the forestry sector. The SCALE-A&E contract will acquire qualified architectural and engineering services to support these objectives. The contract will complete analyses, feasibility studies, design, and design oversight of small-scale infrastructure projects that will accomplish these objectives. The task report outlines the sectoral analyses, planning, and draft design standards. Task 1.1 involves consultations at the national, provincial, and local levels, project scoping, collection and analysis of data, strategy development, operational planning, training analysis, and prioritization of projects, sectors, and partners. Task 1.2 focuses on assessing the infrastructure conditions, while Task 1.3 involves assessing the food, energy, and water nexus infrastructure conditions. The program has also shown a strong adoption of composting and crop rotation methods, with women-headed households showing higher adoption rates for these practices. The general updates section reports on the progress of the program. The recruitment process for the Country Program Manager (COP) is ongoing, with the proposed interim COP proposed as the Home Office Program Manager. The program has also recruited a short-term local consultant, a Senior Engineer, who will coordinate with major donors to add value to the mutual program. The replacement planning and data consultant is in advanced stages of recruitment, and the Malaita Field Engineer has been interviewed and is expected to start on March 15. The program has engaged with the Malaita Provincial Secretary, chief planning officer, and their teams, and has tasked a local consultant with gathering all the necessary information, including digital maps, statistics, and statistics. The program has also met with stakeholders to introduce SCALE and confirm the status and details of the projects planned to progress. The program has also involved mapping the stakeholders currently present in Malaita, which has been tasked to the Malaita Field Engineer. The data and analysis section reports on the progress of the program in collecting and analyzing data. The program is continuing to develop stakeholder contacts, receiving limited lists from the Malaita National Provincial Development Committee (MNPDC). The program is also extracting and assimilating specific data from various sources, including the National Transport Fund (NTF) Annual Work Plan (AWP) for Malaita projects, the 30-year strategic plan (Solomon Water), and the 5-year Action Plan (Solomon Water). The other section reports on the progress of the program in various areas, including office, legal, registration, and registration. The program is working out of a temporary office and is beginning to identify a new office space. The program has also procured legal representation and is pursuing registration as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) under the guidance of the legal representation. The program has also awarded a transport service contract to a local company to facilitate movement and procurement around Honiara. The planned section outlines the upcoming activities of the program. The program plans to meet with the World Bank (WB) and GPTech on March 8, and to continue stakeholder outreach. The program also plans to coordinate with the provincial government of Malaita for the April workshop, and to share the presentation produced for the initial meetings with provincial stakeholders who did not attend the workshop. The program also plans to develop an information system and GIS scoping, design, and piloting, and to develop an online platform to access data and communicate progress. The challenges section reports on the difficulties faced by the program. The program has faced challenges in traveling around Honiara, which has constrained progress. The program has also faced growing start-up demands on the small Honiara team, which has created challenges for the workload. The program is resolving this by recruiting in-country experts. The program has also faced internal recruitment and procurement process challenges, which have caused considerable delays. The program is mitigating these challenges by supporting the roll-out of the program and reducing process delays with the Solomon Islands Government (SIG).