Quarterly Progress Report: April-June 2023

The program is designed to support the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bosnia and Herzegovina Mission in monitoring and evaluating the progress of its development programs in the country. MEASURE II is organized around three components: Technical Assistance to the Mission and Implementing Partners' Staff, Evaluations, Surveys, Assessments, and Special Studies, and Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting. During the reporting period from April 1 through June 30, 2023, MEASURE II provided extensive technical assistance to the Mission related to USAID/BiH's Performance Management Plan (PMP) and Activity monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plan. The program continued to produce evidence to inform USAID/BiH's decision-making through evaluations, assessments, and analyses. MEASURE II also conducted collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA) activities within the Mission and its Implementing Partners (IPs). Under Component 1, MEASURE II proposed a revision to the USAID PMP based on the changes in USAID's development programming, Activity implementation, and learning from various MEASURE II research tasks. The program assisted the Mission in preparations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Performance Plan and Report (PPR). MEASURE II also provided one-on-one MEL assistance/consultations to two Activities and assisted eight IPs and five Agreement Officer's Representatives (AORs)/Contracting Officer's Representatives (CORs) in using the BIHPERFORM system. Under Component 2, MEASURE II completed and submitted the 2022 National Survey of Citizens' Perceptions in Bosnia and Herzegovina report (NSCP-BiH), the Judicial Effectiveness Index of Bosnia and Herzegovina (JEI) report, and finalized and published the Reconciliation Assessment report and Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) Report in the local language. During this reporting period, MEASURE II completed the data collection and analysis for the Energy Policy Activity (EPA) performance evaluation and Small Grants Evaluation and began drafting the evaluation reports. MEASURE II also began preparations for the performance evaluation of USAID's Developing Sustainable Tourism Activity. Under Component 3, MEASURE II continued to oversee activities under the Partnering for Excellence in Evaluation and Research (PEER) grant implemented by the School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo (SEBS). During this reporting period, MEASURE II's support to SEBS focused primarily on finalizing PEER's research papers, planning for the dissemination of research products, and sustainability planning for the Center of Excellence (COE) established under the grant. In this reporting period, the final two research papers prepared under the grant received the Mission's approval, and SEBS began planning the kick-off event to present the research products and the COE to the wider public. MEASURE II also began exploring opportunities for collaboration with USAID's Technical Assistance Project for Economic Growth (TAP EG) Activity and agreed to participate in an event organized by USAID's IP Institute for Youth Development KULT. The program's activities are guided by the 2016 Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Law, which emphasizes the importance of rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities in achieving progress towards USAID's development goals. MEASURE II's efforts are focused on strengthening the Mission's results-oriented programming and Activity implementation, and the program is committed to fostering a results-oriented culture and continuing efforts to strengthen its MEL systems.