Quarterly Report: Year 5 Quarter 1

The quarter marked the start of planning and stakeholder engagement in preparation for ramping up external events in the second quarter. Much of the quarter was spent aligning IDEAL and BHA Activity Management on details of activities through concept notes, which were developed for activities new to IDEAL in Year 5. IDEAL delivered two in-person workshops in the first quarter: the Monitoring Sustainability Workshop in Washington, DC, and the Asia Emergency M&E Workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshops brought together participants from various organizations and countries to share knowledge and best practices in monitoring and evaluation. The Monitoring Sustainability Workshop aimed to develop a common understanding and framework for monitoring the quality and success of RFSA's sustainability strategies. The workshop was attended by 52 individuals representing 14 organizations and 17 RFSAs, with 88% of respondents indicating that the objective was met either fully or partially. The Asia Emergency M&E Workshop focused on increasing regional M&E support networks, generating a library of practical examples of M&E in emergency programs, and providing clarity on BHA's Technical Guidance for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting for Emergency Activities. The workshop was attended by 52 participants from 14 countries across 19 organizations, with 97% of survey respondents agreeing that the workshop helped improve skills and knowledge for key M&E topics related to their activities. IDEAL also made progress in planning for the Haiti and Mozambique M&E Workshops, which are scheduled for February 27 - March 2 and April 24 - 28, respectively. The IDEAL team held a consultation with the Haiti RFSA's M&E team and leadership in mid-December to discuss application of learnings from part one of the workshop and determine their priorities for part two. The IDEAL cooperative agreement received approval from BHA for a no-cost extension of one year, with a new end date of September 30, 2024. IDEAL filled all of its vacant positions in the first quarter, laying a strong foundation for the remainder of Year 5. The IDEAL team plans to provide scholarships to local organizations for the next emergency workshop in MENA, pending BHA approval. IDEAL's internal adaptive management and learning continued, with two pause and reflect sessions held in October and December. The sessions focused on reviewing Year 5 activities and corresponding timelines, identifying potential challenges, and setting new year's resolutions for 2023. IDEAL also continued to hold Lightning Learning sessions during All-Staff meetings, including topics such as GAYA's Win Win and Global Food Security Policy & Advocacy. The IDEAL team deployed its annual survey at the beginning of November, which collected data on purpose-level indicators and provided opportunities for respondents to expand upon quantitative responses. The survey results showed that 88% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of their work had improved as a result of engagement with IDEAL, while 66% cited the use of adaptive management or application of an adaptive management technique as a result of engagement with IDEAL.