PCS Q1 Progress Report: Program Cycle Support (PCS) Associate Award

The PCS objective is to collaborate with BHA, USAID Mission staff, other food security mechanisms, and implementing partners (IPs) to provide facilitation and capacity strengthening support at key points during the lifecycle of BHA-funded resilience food security activities. These efforts aim to support IP efforts to design and implement evidence-based, effective, and efficient activities that result in substantial and sustainable food and nutrition security gains. During the reporting period, PCS focused on finalizing the award team, establishing internal systems and ways of working, and developing guiding documents such as the Year 1 work plan and M&E plan. Achievements during Q1 included gaining agreement on the schedules and priorities for the Zimbabwe Gender Consultations and Inception Workshop, the Madagascar Culmination Workshop, and completing a significant amount of pre-workshop technical assistance (TA) with IPs ahead of these events that will take place in Q2 and Q3 of FY21. The PCS team provided technical assistance to the Zimbabwe RFSA partners to strengthen their capacity to fix basic weaknesses in their Theory of Change (TOC) and launch the identification of priority information gaps to explore in the refinement year. The team also coordinated and provided logistical/technical support for the pre-consultation sessions with each RFSA partner on December 7th. Additionally, PCS provided in-depth TA to the Zimbabwe RFSA partners to strengthen their capacity to fix basic weaknesses in their TOCs and launch the identification of priority information gaps to explore in the refinement year. In Madagascar, PCS worked with the Country Team and the RFSA teams to finalize the agenda and timeline for the virtual Madagascar Culmination Workshop and pre-workshop TA for partners. The Culmination Workshop will take place March 1-11, 2021, for Maharo and April 12-15, 2021, for FIOVANA. PCS also communicated with BHA Technical and Program Quality (TPQ) staff to ensure engagement of relevant individuals in the culmination process. The PCS team made progress this reporting period with establishing a system to make previous materials and lessons learned from previous cycles of R&I, as well as new or updated tools and resources available to BHA. PCS conducted an exercise to map existing R&I event files and a proposed taxonomy for a shared filing system with BHA moving forward. PCS plans to work with BHA next quarter to implement the new system. Spending during Q1 represented only 8.59% of PCS' Year 1 budget. The PCS team focused substantial effort this reporting period to adapt and develop new materials for virtual delivery of technical assistance and the Inception Workshop itself. This included testing online platforms and tools, developing session plans, and determining how to use a TOC in a virtual setting.