Transparent Public Investment Project Quarterly Report Q2, Year 1

The project team advanced several key strategic technical and operational efforts during the second quarter, despite the continuous extension of the nationwide COVID-19 quarantine. The team implemented quick wins with the private, public, and civil society sectors under several performance measures, including a high-level webinar, alliances with civil society actors in Piura to implement a training program, and alliances to implement integrity and compliance training initiatives with private sector actors and the Alliance for Integrity. The project team solidified its relationship with the Secretaría de Integridad Pública (SIP) by holding several meetings throughout the quarter to identify the most effective strategy to provide support for the SIP to continue implementing their public integrity model. The SIP developed an integrity index tool, which covers all the components of the public integrity model and has a solid scoring system. The tool is housed in Microsoft Office's Excel and has a user-friendly dashboard that makes the model easy to navigate. The SIP informed the team that there is an existing technological tool that was developed to monitor the Lima Agreement resulting from the Summit of the Americas conference that could be adapted to the integrity index. The team is exploring with the SIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretaría de Gobierno Digital what the options are so that the project can provide support accordingly. The project team also made progress in developing a strategy for a risk management model targeted towards public integrity and other public officials who can participate in the identification, mitigation, and management of corruption and unethical practices. The strategy includes a three-step process that includes the development of the legal framework, a training process, and a technological platform. The Swiss Economic Cooperation and Development (SECO) is currently providing support in the development of the directive. However, the SIP and the project still need to agree on the type of technical assistance it will require to move ahead with this initiative. During the quarantine period, the project adapted rapidly and used the webinar modality to share best practices on key issues relevant to the project objectives. One international webinar was held, one concept paper was developed and shared virtually, and a report resulting from the webinar was shared with stakeholders. The project team also made progress in developing public investment processes, tools, and/or protocols that reduce corrupt practices. The project COP will continue to inform the COR on potential challenges as the quarter progresses. The third quarter will be characterized by the finalization of the co-creation phase and the beginning of the proof-of-concept phase. The project team will hold the final bilateral meetings to co-create the indicators included in the MEL plan that was approved in July 2020 as well as the integrity standards proposal that the networks will use to monitor progress of the prioritized public investment projects. The project team will also make further progress with technical assistance and training for the quick wins agreed to with stakeholders in the three project results. The pace at which activities are delivered will largely depend on how the pandemic affects public activities. The project team will also deploy its partners, Transparencia and Proética, to the regions amidst the continued presence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first steps will be to carry out start-up activities in the regions, engage with the stakeholders, and to establish integrity networks. The project team will also make further progress with technical assistance and training for the quick wins agreed to with stakeholders in the three project results. The project COP will continue to inform the COR on potential challenges as the quarter progresses.