SCALE Award Report - Quarterly

The program is implemented by Mercy Corps and Save the Children and is designed to support the FFP community and other implementing partners. During the second quarter of year two, SCALE continued to implement various activities across four knowledge areas. In the knowledge capture area, field work was completed for two case studies, one on climate services and the other on alternative livelihoods in Nepal. A short report on agriculture and natural resource management in emergencies was drafted, and a survey was released to collect further information. Additionally, the evidence of impact call for technical research support was extended. In the knowledge generation area, the youth-led labor market assessment guidance and adaptive thinking in agriculture and natural resource management paper were released. The Make Me a Change Agent (MMCA) Training of Trainers (ToT) guide was revised to incorporate agriculture and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) components. The revised guide was piloted in two locations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Uganda. In the knowledge application area, the MMCA ToT was delivered in the DRC, and an on-going mentorship program on resilient agriculture was implemented in the DRC. Initial engagement was made with the FFP mission and Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) senior staff in Niger and Burkina Faso. Discussions began with the three DFSAs from Bangladesh on the MMCA ToT. In the knowledge sharing area, a resilient agriculture knowledge sharing event was successfully completed in Washington, D.C. The majority of planned activities for the quarter are on target. SCALE and the TOPS Program were made possible by the generous support and contribution of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The SCALE Technical Committee met in July 2019 to discuss ongoing activities and plan for future initiatives. The committee identified and tested technical best practices, including the assessment of the Promoting Agriculture, Health, and Alternative Livelihoods (PAHAL) DFSA climate services work in Nepal. The assessment included training regional agriculture team members on participatory tools and processes and gathering insights from farmers and stakeholders on challenges and opportunities related to climate information access, awareness, and use. Agriculture in emergencies was also a focus area, with a shortened brief of the in-depth review of agriculture and natural resource management in emergencies report drafted and a survey sent to the implementing community to expand input and corroborate findings. Alternative livelihoods were also explored through a case study of the Sabal DFSA in Nepal, reviewing outcomes of their alternative livelihoods activities, cost-effectiveness, and development-to-emergency pivot taken after the 2015 earthquake. Testing the impact of agricultural technologies was also a priority, with the initial Request for Proposals (RFP) for SCALE Evidence of Impact Technical Support revised to adjust the deadline and extend eligibility to all implementing partners. Initial feedback suggests that these changes have been successful in attracting applicants. Capacity strengthening was also a key focus area, with the adapted MMCA guide piloted in the DRC and Uganda. The document is currently being revised based on feedback received from participants, and will be released in English and French in the third quarter of year two. Development of the ToT materials for the Resilience Design in Smallholder Farming Systems Approach will continue in the third quarter. The program also made connections with Burkina Faso and Niger teams, initial meetings were held with FFP mission staff to ensure they were aware of the programs and identify support needs from the FFP perspective. Follow-on calls with award staff are planned for the third quarter. Discussions began with the three DFSAs from Bangladesh on the MMCA ToT, and the DFSAs expressed interest in the MMCA training for agriculture and WASH technical staff and trainers.