Quarterly Performance Report: Local Impact Governance Activity

The program is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and has a contract period of November 2, 2020, to November 1, 2025. The program's geographic coverage includes Central and Muchinga Provinces in Zambia, and its target beneficiaries include the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), civil society organizations, and the private sector. The program's activity goal is to help Zambia build a sub-national system of governance for devolved service delivery that is more responsive to citizen needs. The program has three objectives: Objective 1, Citizens Improve Their Collective Skills to Effectively Assess Service Delivery Needs and Performance and Constructively Engage with Government; Objective 2, The Subnational Governance System Becomes More Responsive to Citizen Needs, Generates and Accountably Expends Revenue, and Improves Service Delivery Outcomes; and Objective 3, The Program Generates Learning, Facilitates Problem Solving for Subnational Governance System for Devolved Services, Capable of National Scale. During the third quarter of FY2021, the program completed inception phase activities in April and May 2021 and submitted all required deliverables on or before May 31, 2021. In June 2021, the project focused on addressing USAID's comments on inception phase deliverables, planning for the implementation of activities included in Year 1 and Year 2 Annual Work Plans (AWPs) submitted to USAID for approval, and managed the third wave of COVID-19 and its impact on the project. The program partnered with its two sub-contractors, GeoPoll and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), to complete a baseline citizen perception survey and initiate community mapping in six partner districts, respectively. GeoPoll completed a baseline computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) citizen perception survey in Central and Muchinga Provinces, assessing citizen perceptions on local governance and service delivery topics using a sample of 1,000 respondents. The program's implementation progress is monitored through the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP), which includes indicators such as citizen awareness of the roles and responsibilities of actors within the subnational system of governance, citizen perceptions of local governance and service delivery, and the program's ability to generate learning and facilitate problem solving for subnational governance systems. The program's financial updates indicate that as of June 30, 2021, the program had obligations of $5,045,000 and average monthly expenditures of $142,685. The program's pipeline includes $3,903,518, which is expected to be spent over the next 27.4 months. The program's stakeholder involvement includes collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), civil society organizations, and the private sector. The program's management and administrative issues are addressed through regular meetings and communication with stakeholders. The program's planned activities for the next quarter include implementing activities included in Year 1 and Year 2 Annual Work Plans (AWPs) submitted to USAID for approval, managing the impact of the third wave of COVID-19 on the project, and continuing to monitor and evaluate the program's progress through the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP).