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

The project's period of performance consists of the Base Year and four Option Years, with Option Year One covering the period from October 1, 2016, through September 30, 2017. The project's objective is to encourage the adoption and application of urban-based approaches within various phases of the Agency's Program Cycle, particularly within the context of important Congressional Earmarks for initiatives such as Global Climate Change (GCC), Global Health Initiative (GHI), and Feed the Future (FtF). The SOUP Project includes training programs, urban analyses, evaluations of related USAID programs, as well as knowledge management and communications products. The project delivers a series of inter-related activities to support USAID's Land and Urban Office (LU) to demonstrate to internal and external audiences that sustainable urban service delivery is vital to making progress in key development sectors such as climate change, health, education, food security, and economic growth. The project encourages collaboration with Agency staff and technical and regional bureaus and country missions, as well as from donors and host country partners, for the successful implementation of USAID's Urban Policy. The ECODIT Consortium for the SOUP Project consists of ECODIT, the prime contractor, and International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the major subcontractor. Resource Partners (RPs) include ICF International (ICF), Macfadden and Associates, AECOM, Mott MacDonald, Global Communities (GC), World Learning, IMC Worldwide, Development Transformations (DT), and the World Resources Institute (WRI). ECODIT cooperated with the following partners this quarter to support various activities: WRI provided Dr. Robin King, the co-author of the Mozambique Case Study, and Mott MacDonald provided a climate adaptation and clean energy expert, Mr. Douglas Hinrichs, as peer reviewer for the study. Throughout the reporting period, ECODIT and ICMA held ongoing in-person and telephone meetings with the USAID Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), Mr. Anthony Piaskowy, and with Mr. Jeremy Green, USAID Activity Manager for Tasks A, C, and D. SOUP Project COP Steve Anlian communicated more frequently by email and telephone, meeting at least once per month with the COR, and held other meetings intermittently on specific tasks, including regular semi-weekly conference calls with ICMA cognizant staff. Significant accomplishments by task and deliverable include: * Task A: Urban Policy and Planning - ECODIT and ICMA held meetings with the USAID COR and Activity Manager to discuss project progress and address implementation issues. * Task B: Evaluation - WRI provided Dr. Robin King, the co-author of the Mozambique Case Study, and Mott MacDonald provided a climate adaptation and clean energy expert, Mr. Douglas Hinrichs, as peer reviewer for the study. * Task C: Knowledge Management - ICMA continued to take the lead in implementing activities within this task, including the development of knowledge management products. * Task D: Communications and Outreach - ICMA continued to take the lead in implementing activities within this task, including the development of communications products. * Task E: Analysis and Research - Mott MacDonald provided support through its climate adaptation and clean energy expert, Mr. Douglas Hinrichs, and consultation from an individual contractor, Mr. Steven Segerlin, an Urban Economist. The SOUP Project has made significant progress in promoting sustainable urban service delivery in developing countries. The project's integrated systems approach has delivered a series of inter-related activities to support USAID's Land and Urban Office (LU) to demonstrate to internal and external audiences that sustainable urban service delivery is vital to making progress in key development sectors. The project has encouraged collaboration with Agency staff and technical and regional bureaus and country missions, as well as from donors and host country partners, for the successful implementation of USAID's Urban Policy.