Quarterly Report Year 4 Quarter 4

The report focuses on the Caribbean Energy Initiative Regional Gender Analysis, which started at the end of August. Panagora Group, the contractor, began Phase I of the analysis by developing an inception report outlining the methodological approach, data collection tools, team composition, and implementation timeline. The report was submitted on September 4, 2020, and received feedback from USAID on September 9, 2020. The team leader and an energy specialist conducted a desk study, reviewing selected literature from 13 CEI countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. The team prepared preliminary findings in an interim report, submitted on October 9, 2020, which includes a recommendation to focus data collection in eight countries and presents a list of key informants and proposed focus group discussions. The report also highlights that there were no activities conducted in support of performance monitoring during this quarter. Additionally, there were no capacity development activities conducted, and no active subcontracts were managed. Panagora Group continued remote management of the MEL Platform contract, with William Cartier as the Chief of Party. The home office team provided contract and financial management support, as well as management support to the CEI gender analysis team. As of September 30, 2020, costs incurred totaled $4,662,477, which amounts to 96.8% of the $4,815,337 in obligated funding. Panagora Group filed its annual corporate tax return this quarter with DGII and is currently working with the tax authorities to confirm its exemption of corporate taxes under the bi-lateral agreement. The report includes budget information, including obligation to the prime contractor, funds disbursed by line item, and percent of obligated funding spent.