Resilience, Evaluation, Analysis and Learning (REAL) Annual Report

The REAL Associate Award aims to identify, synthesize, adapt, and share the highest quality information and tools to build capacity and establish best practices among USAID Missions, implementing partners, and host country governments working together in resilience programming. The REAL Associate Award brings together an experienced and capable program management team together with the USAID RFS staff, and a commitment to efficient, inclusive, and transparent processes that bring new thinking and new networks to resilience programming. The REAL Associate Award focuses on carrying out assessments and evaluations, providing strategic analyses, developing practical guidance, training and other field support to address the needs of various stakeholders in the resilience programming community of practice. Since the inception of the REAL Associate Award, consortium members have worked closely with RFS to leverage and build on rapidly expanding knowledge in the following areas: Generation of Key Resilience Evidence, Thought Leadership Resilience Measurement and Analysis, and Application of Knowledge for Adaptive Management of Resilience Programs. In Year 4 of the REAL Associate Award, partners worked closely with RFS to achieve annual performance objectives. Particular success was realized in each of the following areas: Generation of Key Resilience Evidence, Thought Leadership on Resilience Measurement and Analysis, and Application of Knowledge. REAL partners developed and facilitated a resilience short course on RMS Guidance Note, completed and presented evidence and learning on sequencing, layering, and integration of resilience strengthening activities, and worked with RFS to develop and circulate responses to Frequently Asked Questions generated through the REAL Resilience Measurement Short Course series. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, REAL partners have collaborated on effective facilitation of roundtable discussions on analyzing and strengthening resilience amid protracted crises, and hosted interactive webinars on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) applied to resilience measurement, and lessons learned through design and implementation of the RMS. REAL partners have also advanced a mutually beneficial partnership with the Sahel Collaboration and Communication (SCC) Activity to share and promote applicability of resilience measurement and analysis tools and approaches. The REAL Associate Award has continued to demonstrate thought leadership on frontier issues in resilience measurement in consultation with RFS. REAL partners will continue to develop concise technical briefs, capacity strengthening opportunities, and knowledge sharing events to promote adoption of best practices in resilience measurement and analysis among key stakeholders at the global and national levels.