Quarterly Report: Iraq Administrative Reform Project

This assistance was provided through hands-on training and workshops. The project aimed to broaden the precedent set by GoI partners piloting modern procurement techniques learned from Tarabot. Capacity building assistance was initiated for the Ministry of Planning (MoP), which included direct training and involving MoP procurement officers as trainers and advisors in workshops and technical assistance provided to other GoI entities. The Ministry of Planning developed a procurement capacity building training plan for 2015, including 25 courses, and invited targeted government officials to participate in these workshops. The Ministry of Planning officially announced the field visits program to 12 ministries and 5 Governor Offices to assist them in applying standard bidding documents on pilot projects. This hands-on training for Ministry of Planning staff would also assist the GoI entities with the application of the bidding documents. A national conference on standard bidding documents was planned for February 03, 2015, and would be held in Karbala. USAID-Tarabot marked a landmark achievement in reforming the way citizens interface with their government through the launch of a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) Service Center in Dahuk and the Social Safety Net (SSN) in the Kurdistan Region. The OSS initiative and the opening of the first center set a precedent and laid key groundwork for reform that would overhaul the way citizens experience government services. Iraqis began to see the fruit of these labors as the service center, designed for streamlined and automated service delivery, opened its doors with others soon to follow suit. The SSN system brought simplicity and efficiency to the distribution of government social benefits for a growing number of Iraqi beneficiaries. USAID-Tarabot began preparation for the comprehensive study on Iraq's oil sector, assembling a team consisting of expatriate and Iraqi oil sector experts. A retired senior government official with extensive experience in the Iraqi oil sector expressed interest in joining the team, and additional Iraqi advisors were identified and were in the hiring process. The project held meetings with the Ministry of Oil/State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), focusing on the problems and challenges in implementing projects by SCOP. A list of the problems and challenges would be prepared by SCOP, where Tarabot would assist in assessing needs and proposing solutions. USAID-Tarabot partnered with the Ministry of Planning to support the Government of Iraq in making use of its investment budget through fair and transparent procurement systems. These reforms would improve service delivery by lending efficiency and transparency to the procurement process, creating an environment conducive to fair and open competition in the tendering and awarding of contracts, and building the confidence of the private sector in the government's bidding process. The project worked with the MoP to deliver complementary capacity building activities and systems reform with the ultimate goal of establishing a unified procurement system aligned with international standards. The government needed to make concrete reforms to bring the expertise of international firms upon which the success of complex large projects often rested. Capacity building for the Ministry of Planning was a key component of the project, with a focus on improving the transparency and efficiency of government procurement. The Ministry of Planning developed a procurement capacity building training plan for 2015, including 25 courses, and invited targeted government officials to participate in these workshops. The project aimed to establish a unified procurement system aligned with international standards, which would improve service delivery and create an environment conducive to fair and open competition in the tendering and awarding of contracts.