Quarterly Report #3: April 1 – June 30, 2015

A-00024. The services aimed to strengthen the design, management, and evaluation of regional and bilateral education programs in LAC. The primary objectives of the contract were to support USAID/LAC Missions in planning, designing, and implementing new programs and activities, monitoring and evaluating the performance of LAC regional and Mission education programs, supporting organizational learning and knowledge management, and collecting, analyzing, and communicating data about education and programming in LAC. The contract was for two base years with three option years. The report describes major activities in the third quarter of the contract, which spanned from April 1 to June 30, 2015. The report concludes by noting the expected activities for the next quarter, July 1 to September 30, 2015. SSG Advisors made significant progress in the third quarter. The team sent weekly written project updates, held weekly calls with LAC/RSD, and submitted the third quarter accruals report. The team also received an increase in obligated funding, totaling $1,277,543.24. However, SSG Advisors identified a challenge related to budget realignment and requested clarification from the Contracting Officer to avoid exceeding individual budget ceilings. SSG Advisors provided support to various projects and activities in the third quarter. The team prepared workshop materials for speakers and participants for the Miami Regional Education Workshop, coordinated on-site logistics, and submitted the post-workshop report. SSG Advisors also developed inputs for the envisioned solicitation document for the Nicaragua Youth Employment Project Design Activity and provided technical support to the USAID/Honduras Education team to successfully complete program design and procurement activities. The team conducted in-country data collection for the Dominican Republic Final Performance Evaluation of the Effective Schools Program, submitted the draft evaluation report, and delivered the final debriefing via teleconference to USAID. SSG Advisors also identified the Team Leader and Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Expert for the Nicaragua Youth Assessment and FADCANIS Evaluation and prepared for in-country data collection, which was scheduled to begin in July. In the next quarter, SSG Advisors will submit accruals and technical reports at the end of the quarter, continue to submit weekly written project updates, and hold weekly calls. The team will also continue recruiting a pool of LAC education specialists for future activities. SSG Advisors will submit the final evaluation report for the Dominican Republic Effective Schools Program and deliver a debriefing via teleconference to the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic (MINERD.