RG Quarterly Performance Progress and Financial Report

The RG Activity aims to enhance good governance, public financial management, and effective service delivery in 27 conflict-affected municipalities. The Activity will strengthen the capacity of Colombia's public institutions at the national and local levels to transparently and accountably plan, finance, and deliver key public services, while empowering citizens to ensure government accountability. The RG Activity will be implemented through continuous contextual analysis to adapt to the changing conditions of the targeted regions. The Activity will use applied, problem-based political-economic analysis (PEA) to identify the dynamics, including power structures, formal and informal rules, and relationships, at the national and municipal levels. PEA will be continuously conducted during Activity implementation to inform strategic interventions to achieve all programmatic objectives. During the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2021, the RG team focused on developing the Annual Work Plan (AWP) as the primary contractual tool for project management and implementation. The team held meetings with key counterparts and local partners to produce the comprehensive work plan for the first year, which was submitted to USAID on December 7, 2020. Simultaneously, RG started critical strategic actions to ensure rapid engagement with key stakeholders at national, subnational, and territorial levels. RG established its operational and management structure for implementation during Q1 FY2021. DAI hired an experienced Colombian HO Project Team Director and mobilized operational and technical start-up teams within ten days of award. The RG Activity has worked to mobilize staff as quickly as possible. By the end of Q1, RG was already assessing the 27 municipalities and operating in all regions through proposed subcontractor Pastoral Social. The RG Activity has been monitoring the COVID-19 emergency closely to ensure all staff and beneficiaries' safety. Currently, the RG technical team is exploring the most appropriate ways to carry out future activities, such as training in rural areas where connectivity is weak. Alternative ways to reach out to target populations might include limiting the number of training participants, using mobile phones to distribute information, and distributing print material. The Sistema General de Regalías (SGR) Reform was implemented in October 2020, with the Law 2056 of 2020 reformed the SGR, and on December 31, 2020, issued the Decree that established the operating parameters of the SGR after the reform. The reform's main changes are the elimination of the Órganos Colegiados de Administración y Decisión (OCADs) at the municipal and departmental level and the mandatory incorporation of a Royalties Investment Plan in all Municipal Development Plans. The reform makes it possible to prioritize investments in education, health, and infrastructure in RG municipalities and simultaneously opens an opportunity for civic engagement to define the prioritized interventions. The RG Activity designed its activities regarding SGR funds' mobilization based on the reform and will engage with the National Planning Department (DNP) to support the incorporation of the Royalties Investment Plan in Municipal Development Plans in RG municipalities. Local updates include the removal of Roberto Payán Mayor, Juan Carlos Sinisterra, on December 7, 2020, due to election irregularities. The municipality has an acting mayor, which delays the possibility for RG to establish a long-term relationship with the local government.