Nigeria Northeast Connection Activity Quarterly Report FY21Q4

The program targets communities not yet under the control of violent extremist organizations, mitigating grievances that make communities vulnerable to violent extremism, building social cohesion, and responding to emergent risks from VEOs and conflict. Activities fall under two complementary components: conflict mitigation, social cohesion, and countering violent extremism (CVE) programming, and conflict and violent extremism research, analysis, and coordination. The program will facilitate partnerships between diverse local actors, enhancing inter- and intra-community networks, to address unresolved grievances, governance weaknesses, social divisions, marginalization, and environmental shocks. Interventions will identify and implement at the ward level within each target local government area (LGA). The program will work in 15 LGAs throughout Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states over the life of the project, targeting seven LGAs in Year 1 and ramping up programming to the full 15 LGAs by Year 2. During the third quarter of FY21, the program continued to make significant progress in grant development, kicking off implementation under several different activity streams. The program finalized the Social Network Analysis (SNA) and implemented its first issue-specific Political Economy Analysis (PEA), while conducting critical conflict and VEO analytic elements. The team also leaned into its learning efforts, conducting a Pause, Reflect and Adapt activity to support state portfolio planning and began developing the framework for the upcoming Strategy Review Session (SRS) with USAID. The program's senior leadership and program managers continued meeting with key stakeholders and state and local officials across the BAY states to follow-up on plans and discussions made last quarter and connect with new potential partners and community champions, particularly youth. The team also conducted outreach to local government officials, community leaders, and other stakeholders to build relationships and gather information on the needs and concerns of the target communities. The program's progress in grant development and implementation is a significant step towards achieving its objectives. The completion of the SNA and PEA will provide valuable insights into the social and economic dynamics of the target communities, while the conflict and VEO analytic elements will inform the program's CVE programming. The Pause, Reflect and Adapt activity will support state portfolio planning and inform the program's workplan development. The program's focus on building relationships with local government officials, community leaders, and other stakeholders is critical to its success. By engaging with these individuals and groups, the program can gather information on the needs and concerns of the target communities and build trust and credibility with local actors. This will enable the program to tailor its interventions to the specific needs of the communities and ensure that its activities are effective and sustainable. The program's geographic focus is on the BAY states in northeast Nigeria, where communities are experiencing ethnic intolerance, community tensions, systemic discrimination, political exclusion, shrinking civic space, limited opportunities for civic participation, economic exclusion of vulnerable groups, and environmental shocks impacting communities' livelihoods. The program's target LGAs were selected based on their accessibility, existing or previous investments, communities' willingness to engage, as well as those that met program objectives. The program's implementation is ongoing, with the team continuing to work on grant development, implementation, and learning efforts. The program's progress will be closely monitored and evaluated to ensure that it is meeting its objectives and making a positive impact on the target communities.