Quarterly Report: October – December 2020

The program's original objective was to improve governance in 40 Colombian municipalities affected by the nation's armed conflict, through five program components: decentralization, public financial management, tertiary roads, citizen participation, and electoral reform. On April 23, 2019, RGA was awarded a six-month cost extension to June 21, 2020, which added a sixth component and adjusted RGA's territorial focus to concentrate on 10 subnational governments (SNGs) in three border departments—Arauca, La Guajira, and Norte de Santander—to help them cope with the challenges created by the influx of Venezuelan migrants and Colombian returnees in host communities. On June 17, 2020, the program was awarded a second cost extension to June 21, 2021, which added a seventh program component, shifting RGA's focus to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention, containment, and recovery, and to service provision improvements for the migrant population. The amendment also broadened the project's geographic focus to implement activities in 14 target municipalities in six departments affected by the Venezuelan migrant crisis. In December 2020, RGA reached an agreement with USAID to expand its scope of work to include activities in Bogotá to strengthen targeted capacities in the Bogotá government to address and manage the Venezuelan migrant crisis. RGA developed a strategy to promote economic reactivation at the local level, focusing on four work lines: implementing biosecurity protocols, promoting local consumption, assisting project formulation, and promoting the adoption of economic incentives. Through this strategy, the program assisted six target municipalities to implement and disseminate biosecurity protocols, supported the implementation of strategies aimed at fostering local consumption, and assisted the formulation and approval of 15 public investment projects that will contribute to economic reactivation through hiring a local workforce. RGA also provided support to draft and strengthen municipal planning and financial instruments, focusing especially on 2021 municipal budgets and Annual Tax Management Plans (PAGTs). The program assisted its 14 target municipalities in drafting and obtaining approval for 2021 municipal budgets, emphasizing resource allocation in six key areas: education, health care, vulnerable population investment, economic reactivation, COVID-19 response, and migration. For example, 10 target municipalities allocated US $10.76 million to fund economic reactivation activities and strategies in their 2021 municipal budgets. The program's support to SNGs to promote economic reactivation at the local level and to draft planning and financial instruments has contributed to the implementation of strategies aimed at fostering local consumption and economic reactivation. The program's assistance to SNGs has also helped to strengthen their capacities to address and manage the Venezuelan migrant crisis. RGA's focus on COVID-19 prevention, containment, and recovery, and to service provision improvements for the migrant population has also contributed to the program's overall objective of improving governance in Colombia. RGA's quarterly report covers the program's activities between October and December 2020, corresponding to the first quarter of the 2021 fiscal year. The report provides an overview of the national context, information about RGA progress, accomplishments, and impacts, a summary of RGA coordination with USAID implementing partners and international donors, progress on program indicators, and a summary of activities scheduled to take place in the second quarter of 2021. The report also includes a success story, "Women Take over to Fight Gender-Based Violence," and eight annexes that provide detailed information on selected program elements.