Quarterly Performance Report FY2023 Q1: USAID Social Contract Activity in Kosovo

from December 13, 2021, to December 12, 2026. The activity aims to introduce sustainable practices for public participation to improve Kosovo citizens' quality of life and strengthen their partnership with the municipal government. The Social Contract Activity encompasses a systems thinking approach to lower behavioral, institutional, and environmental barriers and amplify existing facilitators for public participation while bridging the communication gaps between communities and municipalities. The activity will be implemented in two phases. During Phase 1 in Years 1-3, the team will work with five partner municipalities and their respective community stakeholders to co-develop, test, and evaluate public participation action plans, known as Social Contract Agendas. During Phase 2 in Years 3 through 5, the team will scale up public participation plan processes and successful practices to an additional 10-14 municipalities while providing limited support to and monitoring of the five partner municipalities. In the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023, the Social Contract Activity achieved several key milestones. The team presented assessment findings and recommendations to the Mayor of Prishtina, held the third and fourth Advisory Council meetings, produced and broadcasted five Social Contract Agenda videos, and conducted Social Contract Agenda workshops with the five partner municipalities. The team also conducted field visits to verify the identified top community issues selected during the Social Contract Agenda workshops and developed a Communication Campaign to publicize the content of the Social Contract Agendas. The Work Plan for Year One comprises three components: Component 1, Using Evidence to Inform Stakeholder Learning and Activity Management; Component 2, Support Municipal Governments in Engaging Communities to Identify and Implement Valuable, Effective, and Feasible Public Participation Practices; and Component 3, Organize and Incentivize Community Groups to Participate in Identifying and Implementing Public Participation Practices. The team has made significant progress in implementing these components, including completing municipal surveys and analysis of the survey data, holding assessment findings validation sessions with officials and citizens in all five municipalities, and finalizing the project Communications Plan. The Social Contract Activity team has also made several trips to Kosovo to support the implementation of the activity. In October, Program Management Officer Ms. Molly Knapp traveled to Kosovo to support preparation for the first Social Contract Agenda workshop for the Municipality of Gjilan, and Mr. Josh Martin traveled to Kosovo to conduct a mock workshop session and co-lead the first Social Contract Agenda workshop with the Municipality of Gjilan. In November, Program Manager Ms. Elizabeth Bleuer traveled to Kosovo to provide technical and operational support to the program on the Year 1 self-assessment performance report. The Social Contract Activity has made significant progress in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023, and the team is on track to achieve its goals and objectives. The activity is expected to have a positive impact on Kosovo citizens' quality of life and strengthen their partnership with the municipal government.