Quarterly Status Report: Support of the Urban Policy (SOUP) Project

The project's period of performance consists of the Base Year (October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016) and four Option Years. Option Year Two covers the period from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018. The SOUP Project entails training programs, urban analyses, evaluations of related USAID programs, as well as knowledge management and communications products. The project encourages buy-in from Agency staff and technical and regional bureaus and country missions, as well as from collaborating donors and host country partners, for the successful implementation of USAID's Urban Policy. The ECODIT Consortium, led by ECODIT LLC, is the prime contractor for the SOUP Project. The consortium includes International City/Country Management Association (ICMA) as the major subcontractor and several Resource Partners (RPs) who support discrete activities during the project. The team is led by Mr. Steve Anlian, Chief of Party (COP)/Senior Urban Training Manager, and Ms. Roula Attar, ECODIT's Home (HO) Office Program Manager. During the reporting period, the project team held ongoing meetings with the USAID Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and the USAID Activity Manager for Tasks A, C, and D. Task A, Training, involves the development and delivery of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on urban resilience, urban water, urban health, and urban food security. The project team has made significant progress in developing and delivering these courses, with some courses being postponed to facilitate input from other USAID offices. Task C, Knowledge Management, involves maintaining the UrbanLinks website and Resources Library. The project team has continued to update these resources during the reporting period. Task B, Evaluations, is not planned for this Option Year. The project has made significant progress in achieving its objectives, including the development and delivery of training programs, urban analyses, and knowledge management products. The project team has also maintained strong communication with the USAID Contracting Officer's Representative and the USAID Activity Manager for Tasks A, C, and D. The SOUP Project has the potential to make a significant impact in promoting sustainable urban service delivery in developing countries. The project's focus on training, urban analyses, and knowledge management products will help to scale up development impact and achieve core development objectives such as reducing extreme poverty in developing countries. The project's success will depend on the continued support of the USAID Contracting Officer's Representative, the USAID Activity Manager for Tasks A, C, and D, and the project team. The project team will continue to work closely with these stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the project's objectives. The project's budget and level of effort (LOE) are being closely monitored to ensure that the project stays within budget and meets its objectives. The project team will continue to provide regular updates on the project's budget and LOE to the USAID Contracting Officer's Representative and the USAID Activity Manager for Tasks A, C, and D. Overall, the SOUP Project is making significant progress in promoting sustainable urban service delivery in developing countries. The project's focus on training, urban analyses, and knowledge management products will help to scale up development impact and achieve core development objectives.