Niger Education and Community Strenghening (NECS) Quarterly Narrative Report No. 1, June - September 2012

The project aims to improve educational opportunities for children and strengthen links between local communities and state structures. Following the success of the suspended IMAGINE project, NECS proposes a two-pronged approach to encourage student-friendly schools and enhance the quality of education through improved local language reading instruction. The project will be implemented in all seven regions of Niger, with a focus on increasing access to quality education in schools and improving reading instruction in primary schools. Strategic Objective 1 will achieve two intermediate results: an improved physical and social environment for students and increased community participation in education. Strategic Objective 2 will increase student grade reading achievement by improving reading instruction and promoting a culture of reading in communities. During the June-September quarter, all activities were focused on start-up activities due to the rainy season and staff recruitment. Major accomplishments during this period include the recruitment of key staff for the Coordination Team and consortium members, office rental and equipment, start-up workshop with partners, and finalization of the first draft of the Performance Management Plan (PMP) and submission to USAID for feedback. The quarter was marked by the arrival of Maurice Ouedraogo, the Country Program Manager (COP), and Edgar Mason, the Activity Officer (AOR), who joined the project team. Visits from USNO, Mathematica, and Plan USA's team members provided support with project start-up and preparation of a workshop planned in October with the Ministry of Education. Courtesy visits to MCA and the Minister of Education were also initiated to introduce the COP and provide an update on activities. Logistics activities included renting offices in Niamey and Konni, acquiring office equipment and supplies, and launching the process to purchase vehicles and motorcycles for the coordination and regional offices. Development of subagreements with Aide et Action and VIE was also completed, and meetings and workshops were held to work on start-up activities, including an impact evaluation workshop led by Mathematica and a workshop to prepare the start-up activities of the project. Monitoring and evaluation activities included the development of the PMP draft and submission to USAID, development of the Annual Work Plan, preparation of several tools and templates for data collection, and preparation of a workshop on the selection of villages and identification of assessment indicators for the NECS Project. The project also conducted an environmental assessment to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.