Sri Lanka Supporting Regional Governance Program (SuRG); January – March 2012 Quarterly Report

The program was designed to support regional governance in the Eastern Province and Polonnaruwa District by focusing on four program components: social equity, local governance, community empowerment and transformation, and open dialogue. After the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) in May 2009, SuRG expanded its programming to include targeted initiatives in the Northern Province. In December 2010, USAID extended the contract base period from February 2011 to June 2012. A modification to Section C of the contract and the budget was signed in July 2011, reflecting changes in the operating environment in Sri Lanka and USAID programming priorities. The modification stipulated that Tetra Tech ARD award grants to the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, the American University, Women in Need, and the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce. Option year funds increased the total budget to $13,920,762, and the contract end date was extended until February 28, 2013. SuRG's 23 grantees and local subcontractors implemented a wide range of activities across all four program components this quarter. These activities built on or continued work initiated earlier in the program, including follow-up grants to eight of the nine organizations in the east and Polonnaruwa, which received awards under the first round of SuRG's Annual Program Statement (APS) in 2010. The four organizations who received grants in the second round of the APS continued implementation of their activities in the east, and Social Equity (SE) grantees all began work on follow-up grants this quarter. USAID-directed grants to the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and American University, as well as State Department/Women's Global Issues grants to Women in Need and the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce, continued implementation of their activities. A new grant was awarded that builds on SuRG local government participatory governance activities in the Polonnaruwa and Ampara districts. SuRG capacity building for partners and stakeholders was also ongoing this quarter, including quarterly and district workshops, residential training programs, and sponsorship of a gender and development training program in Madurai, India. The Social Equity team conducted a training for lawyers from the east on legal issues regarding land in a post-war environment, and the LG program conducted a training on sustainable processes for members of Participatory Governance Forums (PGF). Planning was finalized for LG training and technical assistance in the north, with meetings held with key regional and national officials and a subcontract signed with EML Consultants to implement the program. However, the program cannot get underway until the Presidential Task Force approves the program, and both SuRG and USAID have been advocating for approval with local and national officials.