Quarterly Partners Meeting – Kasai Oriental: Report submitted October 2016

The meeting aimed to promote USAID's Development Objective #2 (DO2), which focuses on improving lives through coordinated development approaches in select regions. The meeting brought together five participants from USAID/DRC, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC), and nine implementing partners. Each partner presented their work plans, highlighting their projects and activities in the region. The presentations included E2A (Evidence To Action), MEASURE Evaluation, IHP Plus (Integrated Health Program), ACCELERE! Activity 1, SAFE (Appropriate Care for Children and Families), Congo Democratia, President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), SIFPO (Support to International Family Planning Organizations), and ELIKIA. Following the presentations, participants broke into working groups to identify potential partnerships, synergies, or areas of collaboration. Examples of collaborative activities included organizing meetings of the Malaria Task Force, supporting monthly reviews of analysis of data on malaria, and working on nutrition for infants and young children. The meeting also included panel discussions on improving coordination, including creating a coordination committee, developing a scope of work for coordination, and sharing guidelines with project managers. The meeting concluded with a plenary session to present the results of the working groups and a closing session to wrap up the meeting. The MECC project was introduced as the coordination mechanism for much of the effort in the province, and the role, responsibilities, and parameters of the MECC Regional Coordinator were presented. The meeting also included a case study on partner collaboration, which provided guidance on what partner collaboration could or should look like. The meeting was facilitated by USAID, and the participants included heads of bureau, technical specialists, and M&E officers from the implementing partners. The meeting was held at Hotel Kabe de Luxe in Mbuji Mayi, and the agenda included presentations, working group sessions, and plenary sessions. The meeting aimed to promote coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, and the participants identified potential areas of collaboration and developed recommendations for improving coordination. The meeting concluded with a sense of cooperation and a commitment to work together to achieve the goals of USAID's Development Objective #2.