Quarterly Progress Report: Solutions for Peace and Recovery: Q4 2016

The project's goal is to increase social cohesion through inclusion of women and marginalized groups in community-based conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery in seven priority territories of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The project aims to build upon existing capacities in conflict analysis and mediation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in North and South Kivu. The SPR project will endeavor to map and assess CSO capacity, provide training, and co-design conflict analysis tools and frameworks with CSO partners. Additionally, the project will increase context-specific conflict research and analysis in target areas, including conducting a literature review and gap analysis and assisting CSOs to produce targeted local conflict analyses. To implement participatory solutions, the project will engage communities to identify existing and potential women leaders and recruit and support women leaders throughout the life of the project. The project will also provide safe spaces for women and marginalized group members to develop skills to participate in decision-making. Furthermore, the SPR project will support CSO-led advocacy efforts to change local government officials' and traditional authorities' opinions toward women's participation. The project will also attempt to redress gaps in access to livelihoods and facilitate the development of community action plans. Management Systems International (MSI) partners with International Rescue Committee and International Alert under this contract. The project offices are located in Goma and Bukavu, DRC. The project is currently undergoing a start-up following award, and staff will be onboarded in the coming months. The project faced normal delays in acquiring visas to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for start-up. As a result, project start-up began in early October 2016 and is currently ongoing. MSI has sent a letter of support to the Embassy of the Democratic Republic in Congo in Washington, DC, requesting the expedited visas of MSI and partner staff members. The SPR team plans to finalize several project deliverables during Q1 2017, including the Year 1 Workplan, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, First Do No Harm Analysis, Activity Database, Grants Manual, GIS System, and Web-Based File Management System. The team will also finalize subcontract agreements with International Rescue Committee and International Alert partners and work to establish SPR as an integrated team. Additionally, the team will focus on finalizing the recruitment of project staff in Bukavu and Goma during this quarter, as well as the establishment of office and logistical infrastructure in both office locations.