Syria Essential Services II Quarterly Performance Report

The program aims to stabilize conflict-affected communities through two overlapping and complementary objectives: restoring essential services and expanding livelihoods opportunities, and strengthening governance institutions in moderate-opposition influenced areas. SES II accomplishes these objectives primarily through technical and material assistance that increases the ability of local councils or other emerging governance institutions to restore, rehabilitate, and expand the delivery of essential services and support basic economic livelihoods. Throughout Year 4, Quarter 1 (Y4Q1), the program implemented activities in and Governorates in northeastern Syria (NES), where SES II has been operating since late 2017. The security environment in NES became relatively less volatile throughout Y4Q1, with a marked decrease in the frequency of attacks perpetrated or suspected to be perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS). This is due to anti-ISIS operations implemented by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the International Coalition, mostly in eastern and the Lower Middle Euphrates River Valley (MERV) in . While the SDF and the International Coalition were successful in eliminating or arresting many members of ISIS sleeper cells throughout the last three months, attacks perpetrated by ISIS members targeted figures associated with the Self Administration—mostly local figures working for Civil Council (DCC) committees—with more acuteness. The most significant contextual development during Y4Q1 was an agreement between the United States (US) and Turkey to establish a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border. After months of talks between US and Turkish officials, the US Embassy in Ankara announced on 7 August that the US and Turkey had agreed to set up a joint operations center to coordinate implementation of the safe zone, which would serve to allay Turkish security concerns and preserve the US’s and SDF’s ability to conduct counter-ISIS operations in the region. As initial steps, the US and Turkey conducted joint ground patrols and reconnaissance flights in the safe zone area. The SDF also took significant steps to implement the safe zone agreement. It deconstructed defensive fortifications, filled in trenches and tunnels, and removed heavy weapons and People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces from the area. Despite some increased tension, none of this directly impacted SES II implementation. Nearly all SES II activities implemented in Y4Q1 were still ongoing at the end of the quarter. Across all program components, SES II implemented 20 activities, two of which were completed and 18 of which were ongoing at the end of Y4Q1. Eight of the 20 implemented activities were essential services activities that supported the rehabilitation of electrical infrastructure in NES. Throughout the quarter, SES II supported the Civil Council (RCC) and DCC to implement four activities each, worth a total of . One activity was completed by the end of the quarter—the rehabilitation of power transmission lines between two power stations in . The other seven activities include the rehabilitation of three major power stations, power transmission lines, and substations in residential and commercial areas. The one completed activity directly benefits 65,613 individuals in the Upper MERV. The ongoing activities will directly benefit an estimated 928,410 individuals. SES II implemented six activities worth to support livelihoods in the vegetable, fish, olive, and dairy value chains in and in Y4Q1. One of the six activities was completed by the end of the quarter, though it should be noted that four were awarded toward the end of the quarter and, so, were still in the nascent stages of implementation. Through SES II’s livelihoods activities in the last quarter, the program supported three local Syrian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and one regional governance entity, as well as actors within the value chains mentioned above. The one completed activity directly benefits 38 women and indirectly benefits 152 individuals in . Capacity development programming in the last quarter comprised six activities—all still ongoing at the end of the quarter—worth all implemented in and outside Syria. Activities in support local and regional governance entities to improve coordination and stakeholder engagement. Other activities build capacity in basic operational issues, such as workplace safety. One of the activities implemented outside Syria is meant to enhance the capacity of a Syrian civil society organization (CSO) to conduct research and analysis on political and military developments in Syria, while the second is an assessment of another Syrian CSO ahead of an anticipated grant. These activities will directly benefit 592 staff and members of the local authorities and Syrian CSOs. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities in Y4Q1 included standard grant milestone monitoring and results monitoring. SES II also implemented a Performance Management Plan, which outlines the program’s goals, objectives, and indicators for measuring progress. The plan includes a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that track the program’s progress toward its objectives. Additionally, SES II used a microsite and Power BI to track and analyze program data. The program also conducted