Quarterly Report 31 December 2015

Building relationships with other agencies promoting violence prevention remained a priority, with regular meetings and field coordination activities with the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). This collaboration led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CSP partner Fe y Alegría and INL on December 2, 2015. CSP also participated in a high-level group of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on violence prevention, attended by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), GIZ (German International Cooperation), World Bank, European Commission, and Mercy Corps. Additionally, CSP met with visiting staff from the US Center for Disease Control, specifically Senior Advisor, to share information about the program approach to violence prevention. CSP staff learned about the CDC's violence prevention programming and brought this knowledge to meetings with the NGO El Refugio de la Niñez. The CSP implementation team continued to build its capacity, with a focus on organizational capacity self-assessment for three partners and development of a capacity building plan. Field teams were almost complete, and partners began the task of mapping intervention areas. FUNDAESPRO mapped 37 communities and 11,635 dwellings in the quarter, identifying 35 community organizations in intervention areas. CSP is developing a project identity, and the communications team supported a number of visibility events this quarter, highlighted by the formalizing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CSP and the Municipality of Villa Nueva, witnessed by US Ambassador to Guatemala. Revised branding and marking plans, as well as a Graphics Standards Manual, were submitted to USAID for approval. Key accomplishments during this reporting period include mutual collaboration and cooperation strengthened with a Memorandum of Understanding between Municipality of Villa Nueva and CSP, and detailed mapping of intervention areas. The community-based mapping process, which uses community-based field staff to map each sector in each neighborhood, has been successful in collecting geographic, demographic, and institutional data about intervention areas and promoting wide participation in Micro-Assemblies. During the reporting period, CSP also initiated its Public Private Partnerships to promote integrated violence prevention programs with LA Galaxy/Herbalife, which donated $7,500 to improve sports and recreational activities and infrastructure for at-risk youth. CSP made progress in formalizing the Research Council membership and structure, and developed a scope of work with the participation of FLACSO and submitted the scope of work to USAID. The project also planned the first partner-wide seminar on the phenomenon of urban violence in Guatemala and adapted the Organizational Capacity Index for Municipal Violence Prevention Commissions, which will be tested next quarter.