SCALE Award Report - Quarterly

The program aims to improve the impact, sustainability, and scalability of FFP's activities in agriculture, natural resource management, and livelihoods. During Quarter 4 of Year 2 (Q4Y2), SCALE's activities under the four knowledge areas included knowledge capture, knowledge generation, knowledge application, and knowledge sharing. In the knowledge capture area, SCALE released assessment findings from the PAHAL climate services work, the World Vision ENSURE learning document on enhancing community resilience, and the SCALE alternative livelihoods survey results. The results from the agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) survey were also finalized and informed new SCALE activities related to agriculture in emergencies. The knowledge generation area focused on finalizing the Make Me a Change Agent (MMCA) Training of Trainers (ToT) guide, incorporating agriculture and WASH. In the knowledge application area, a three-month follow-up survey of MMCA training was conducted, and training on permagardens and mentorship field training visits on resilience design in the DRC were held. The knowledge sharing area included a youth engagement in alternative livelihoods event in Washington DC, a presentation on climate services and garden impact study at the IDEAL Nepal resilience learning event, and a webinar on building household resilience with inclusive markets and financial systems. SCALE's Adaptive Program Management involved developing and approving the SCALE year 3 workplan, outlining activities and targets for the year. The workplan refined alternative livelihoods activities based on information collated through the alternative livelihoods survey and the youth engagement roundtable discussion. The results from the agriculture and NRM survey informed new SCALE activities related to agriculture in emergencies, including developing a community of practice focused on agriculture in emergencies. The SCALE Technical Committee (TC) meeting was held on December 18, where SCALE updated the TC on its Q4 activities under the four knowledge areas and shared key reflections from year 2. The TC discussed the core technical topic areas that SCALE will focus on in year 3 and potential locations for the planned regional resilient agriculture event. The meeting also included reflections from the group, including an observed increased willingness by FFP to allow for adjustments in program implementation, an increased effort to collaborate across DFSA programs within countries, and agreement that Ethiopia could be a good location for the regional resilient agriculture event. The case studies and lessons learned section of the report included a case study of the Sabal DFSA in Nepal, which reviewed outcomes of the program's alternative livelihoods activities, its cost-effectiveness, and its development-to-emergency pivot in the wake of the 2015 earthquake. The alternative livelihoods survey results were also finalized and shared via the FSN Network, capturing 69 respondent surveys and 14 interviews, and identifying two priority areas requiring focused support: market-based approaches (linked with sustainability) and youth engagement in alternative livelihoods. The testing impact of agricultural technologies section of the report included the review process to select the SCALE Evidence of Impact Technical Support Award, which was finalized. Early next quarter, discussions will be held with the selected project to refine research questions and identify the individual/organization that will support the research implementation process. The reliable and accessible high-quality information section of the report included the adapted Make Me a Change Agent (MMCA) guide, which underwent final review and formatting during Q4. This will be released once formatting is finalized next quarter in English and French.