STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN for Effective Public Procurement for Kyrgyzstani Taxpayers

The project aims to improve self-reliance of the Kyrgyz Republic by enhancing public procurement systems, increasing efficiency and transparency, and reducing corruption. The project has two primary objectives: to increase efficiency and transparency of public procurement and to enable civic engagement and oversight over public procurement. The project began in July 2020 and has been operating remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, the FAST team has been able to work uninterrupted on the project components without travel. The Strategic Communication Plan (SCP) is a crucial component of the project, as it ensures that all technical interventions, activities, and results are communicated to stakeholders in a timely manner. The SCP outlines the project's communication goals, implementation strategy, and tools to communicate results, outputs, and outcomes to wider audiences. The plan also aims to recognize USAID's profile and contribution in improving efficiency and transparency and enabling citizens' engagement in public procurement processes. The SCP is based on five key principles: efficiency, transparency, and accountability; stakeholder engagement and participation; results-based communication; collaboration and coordination; and monitoring and evaluation. The plan includes a wide range of communication activities, such as sharing information on findings of assessments, socializing changes, and creating a buy-in for project interventions. The project's stakeholders include the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of the Kyrgyz Republic, other government procurement entities, civil society organizations (CSOs), the supplier community, and other donor agencies. The SCP aims to ensure that all stakeholders fully understand the dynamics of the status quo, the prevailing challenges, the opportunities, and the need for economic change and their willingness and ability to participate and own the process. The project's communication process includes a range of activities, including sharing information on findings of assessments, socializing changes, and creating a buy-in for project interventions. The SCP also outlines the tools and tactics to be used in communication, including engagement with stakeholders, media outreach, and social media. The SCP will assist the project's staff in ensuring that USAID's profile and contributions to making an impact in the Kyrgyz Republic are adequately presented to the project's audiences. The plan will also help to ensure that the project's results, outputs, and outcomes are communicated effectively to wider audiences, while at the same time recognizing USAID's profile and contribution in improving efficiency and transparency and enabling citizens' engagement in public procurement processes. The project's communication goals include increasing awareness of the importance of public procurement reform, promoting the benefits of efficient and transparent public procurement, and encouraging civic engagement and oversight over public procurement. The SCP outlines the implementation strategy and tools to achieve these goals, including stakeholder engagement, media outreach, and social media. The SCP will be implemented over the period of January 2021 to September 2022, and will be monitored and evaluated regularly to ensure that the project's communication goals are being met. The plan will be reviewed and updated as necessary to ensure that it remains effective in achieving the project's communication objectives.