Second Quarterly Report: DABS Public Awareness Campaign

The project's goal is to expand the electrical grid in Afghanistan through a sustainable business model, improving and increasing the availability of affordable power to key population centers, and thereby providing a catalyst for economic growth. The project began with national surveys of knowledge and attitudes towards DABS' planned construction and electrical power activities, assessing the economic and security situation. Sayara Strategies, the contractor, created a multi-faceted campaign using a broad array of different media tools to convey DABS' messages clearly. The communication approach used in the campaign includes TV and radio spots, SMS, billboards, pamphlets, booklets, public events, and village-level road shows. During the second quarter of the project, Sayara produced two documentaries, five TV spots, five radio spots, two billboard designs, two magazine and newspaper advertisements, 10 designs of information packs and booklets, SMS messaging and contest designs, and two newsletter issues. The documentaries and radio spots were broadcasted, a billboard sign was displayed, 100,000 SMS PSAs were sent, the newsletters were distributed among DABS clients and partners, and advertisements were placed in a magazine and newspaper for a month. The main challenge to the implementation of DABS PAC is the severe security situation in many of the targeted areas, particularly in Helmand. Sayara's production team faced this security challenge when they traveled to Kajaki to film the facilities of the dam for one of the documentaries. However, DABS officials at the national, provincial, and local level contributed to ensuring the safety of the crew. The project's performance management plan clearly determines the objective of the program, its desired outcomes and outputs, as well as a set of indicators to measure the different components of the campaign. The indicators include increased percentage of Afghans demonstrating knowledge of PTEC and other DABS' energy projects in post-campaign polls, and percentage change of participants in governance at the national and subnational level. The project's implementation challenges include the complex security situation in the targeted areas, which discouraged some guests from participating in stakeholder coordination meetings organized by Sayara and DABS in Kabul. However, the project's planned performance for the next quarter includes continued implementation of the public awareness campaign, with a focus on increasing the percentage of Afghans demonstrating knowledge of PTEC and other DABS' energy projects. The project's success stories and photos are showcased in the report, highlighting the impact of the campaign on the target communities. The report also includes a list of acronyms used in the project, including DABS, GIRoA, NEPS, PAC, PTEC, SEPS, and USAID.