The Technical and Operational Performance Support (TOPS) Bridge Associate Award Final Report

The award was a "bridging" mechanism to continue key functions of The TOPS Program and to pass them along to the proposed follow-on mechanism (IDEAL) when awarded. Initially designed as a one-year award ending in early 2019, TOPS Bridge was extended for an additional five months with a no-cost extension through June 2019, in order to complete additional requested activity. The TOPS Bridge award continued working under the framework of the four program results (PRs): Knowledge Capture, Knowledge Generation, Knowledge Application, and Knowledge Sharing. The award focused on three out of the four PRs, with activities and achievements described below. Knowledge Generation was a key area of focus for TOPS Bridge, with the production of several tools and resources to support community needs. The project translated several resources to reach specific audiences, including the Commodity Management (CM) Toolkit and the Theory of Change (TOC) checklist, which were both translated into French and distributed to francophone DFSA staff. TOPS Bridge also translated five KM resources into Spanish, including A Guide to Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy for a Food Security and Nutrition Program, Activities for Stimulating Knowledge Sharing and Learning: A TOPS Quick Guide to Linking Development Practitioners, Knowledge Management and Monitoring & Evaluation Collaboration Package, Learning Online: A TOPS Quick Guide to Webinar Production, and Participatory Facilitation Techniques Workshop Curriculum. The TOPS Bridge KM team revised its Learning Online resource, adding graphics and refining points throughout, to give an update to this resource giving an overview and best practices of the full webinar production process. A new resource, the Learning Agenda Workbook for Food Security and Nutrition Programming, was published and added to the FSN Network website Research Library. After piloting the draft tools in Malawi, the CM team published the Integrated Pest Management and Fumigation Safety Facilitator's Guides. The guides consist of four separate manuals – Workshop Design, Compliance, Integrated Pest Management, and Fumigation Safety – that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of implementing partners. The guides were designed to provide a comprehensive resource for implementing partners to manage and mitigate the risks associated with integrated pest management and fumigation. The TOPS Bridge award also supported the development of the FSN Network, a web-based platform that provides multiple access points for interactive learning and knowledge sharing among members of the food security community of practice. The FSN Network includes an extensive web-based library of resources actively accessed by many implementing partners and other stakeholders. The award also supported the organization of several events, including the Regional Knowledge Sharing Meeting (RKSM) held in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2018, and the global M&E workshop in Washington, D.C. In addition to these activities, TOPS Bridge provided substantial support and consultation to the IDEAL team as it prepared and launched the IDEAL Activity. The IDEAL Activity is a follow-on mechanism to the TOPS Program, designed to continue the work of the TOPS Program and to build on its achievements. The IDEAL Activity is expected to provide a range of services, including knowledge management, capacity strengthening, and knowledge sharing, to support the implementation of food security and nutrition programs. Overall, the TOPS Bridge Associate Award made significant contributions to the development of the food security community of practice, and laid the foundation for the continued success of the IDEAL Activity. The award's achievements in knowledge generation, knowledge application, and knowledge sharing will have a lasting impact on the food security community, and will continue to support the implementation of effective and sustainable food security and nutrition programs.