Quarterly Progress Report #12 - RPCD

The partnership achieved several major milestones, including the completion of all publications, the production of the Technical Publication Series, Annotated Bibliography Series, and Research Highlights, and the implementation of two Partnership Forum National Workshops entitled "Turning Research Into Action" in Jordan and Egypt. The RPCD also made significant progress in its research grants program, launching three main research grants and three grants resulting from the ACWUA event in January. Almost all grantees submitted their first milestones during the quarter. Additionally, the RPCD continued research for missions in Morocco and Yemen, as well as on a regional scale for OMEP. Despite the severe political unrest in Egypt, which led to the evacuation of non-essential USG personnel and their dependents, the RPCD continued to operate effectively. FHI 360, the implementing partner, followed USG policy and decisions on the posting and evacuation of personnel, and the RPCD Regional Program Director, Matthew Pietz, was relocated to Turkey to remain in the same region as the seven countries in the RPCD portfolio. The RPCD office was closed for several days in the early weeks of July to prevent staff from attempting unsafe travel to the office. Staff worked from home on these days, and the team continued to meet and exceed its targets during the quarter. The RPCD also made contingency plans for the National Workshop in Egypt and the next meeting of the PF Leadership Summit, which were delayed and relocated due to the political situation. The RPCD continued planning for its close out in February 2014, sharing its closeout plan with its Agreement Officer's Representative (AOR) and identifying the recipients for disposition of program inventory. The closeout plan was approved by the AOR on September 13, 2013, and the RPCD closeout team is working according to the plan to ensure a successful process. As part of the closeout, the RPCD has also worked to preserve the technical materials and products of the program in an attractive and easy-to-access format. These will be shared toward the end of the program, and may be useful for PF members, USAID, or other stakeholders with an interest in research for development. The team is also working on a documentary to collect PF members' feedback on the Forum activities, and to document lessons learned for future programming. Staff changes occurred during the quarter, with Projects Manager Sherine El Traboulsi leaving the RPCD in July to pursue her PhD at Oxford University in England. Her work was distributed among RPCD staff, and the team continued to operate effectively despite the change. The Partnership Forum (PF) continued to play a major role in the RPCD's activities, with the election of the three technical committees that will coordinate forum activities. The elections were planned and agreed upon by PF members at the Launch event in May in Amman, Jordan, and the report detailing the accomplishments, outputs, and decisions of that event was finalized during the quarter. The RPCD also continued to support the dissemination of regional research on development issues, share best practices and lessons learned from international development programs, and provide a forum for knowledge sharing and intellectual innovation. The partnership's progress and achievements during the quarter demonstrate its commitment to building a sustainable network of research institutions in the MENA region.