USAID CITIES, Second Quarterly Report FY 2021/YEAR 5 (January 1 – March 31, 2021)

The project is organized around three themes: Improved Service Delivery, Improved Internal Management, and Community Engagement and Cohesion. Additionally, the project has two crosscutting technical themes – Municipal Investments and Recovery, and Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) – as well as other crosscutting efforts in support of training and capacity building, grants, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and communications and outreach. The project focuses on 33 primary partner municipalities of various sizes across 12 governorates, with some activities supporting more municipalities. The project closely coordinates its activities with a broad range of Jordanian stakeholders and beneficiaries at the central, governorate, municipal, and community levels, as well as with USAID, implementing partners, and other donors supporting municipal governance, local administration, and economic development in Jordan. The project's key stakeholders include the Ministry of Local Administration (MOLA), Ministry of Interior (MOI), Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC), Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs (MOPPA), Governorate Local Development Directorates (GLDDs), Municipal Local Development Units (MLDUs), municipalities, local councils, and communities. The project follows a horizontal, one-team approach to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and learning across all project themes and crosscutting activities. The project's implementation is guided by the Law on Decentralization and the Law on Municipalities of 2015, which demonstrated the Kingdom of Jordan's increased focus on integrating municipalities into the governance framework to increase democratic accountability and improve services for Jordan's communities. The government is currently reviewing a new draft Law on Local Administration to replace the two laws, which will strengthen the project's efforts to improve municipal governance and local administration in Jordan. Improved Service Delivery is one of the project's three main themes, focusing on implementing innovative and sustainable solutions to improve service delivery. The project has achieved significant results in this area, including the implementation of a financial management information system (FMIS) in 33 municipalities, which has improved financial management and transparency. The project has also established a municipal investment and recovery framework, which has helped municipalities to identify and prioritize investment opportunities. The project's Improved Internal Management theme focuses on increasing the sustainability of current municipal operations and local administration. The project has achieved significant results in this area, including the development of a municipal management and administration framework, which has helped municipalities to improve their internal management and administration. The project has also established a municipal training and capacity building program, which has helped to build the capacity of municipal staff. The project's Community Engagement and Cohesion theme focuses on enhancing engagement between community members and the government, fostering community cohesion, and promoting local economic development. The project has achieved significant results in this area, including the establishment of a community engagement and outreach program, which has helped to build relationships between community members and the government. The project has also established a municipal investment and recovery framework, which has helped municipalities to identify and prioritize investment opportunities. The project's crosscutting technical themes include Municipal Investments and Recovery, and Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI). The project has achieved significant results in these areas, including the establishment of a municipal investment and recovery framework, which has helped municipalities to identify and prioritize investment opportunities. The project has also established a GESI framework, which has helped to promote gender equity and social inclusion in municipal governance and local administration. The project's training and capacity building efforts have focused on building the capacity of municipal staff, including training on financial management, municipal management, and community engagement. The project has also established a grants program, which has provided funding to municipalities for various projects and initiatives. The project's monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) efforts have focused on tracking progress and outcomes, and identifying areas for improvement. The project's communications and outreach efforts have focused on building relationships with community members and stakeholders, and promoting the project's results and achievements. The project's key achievements in the second quarter of Year 5 (January 1 – March 31, 2021) include the implementation of a municipal investment and recovery framework, which has helped municipalities to identify and prioritize investment opportunities. The project has also established a community engagement and outreach program, which has helped to build relationships between community members and the government. The project has also achieved significant results in its training and capacity building efforts, including the training of over 1,000 municipal staff on financial management and municipal management. The project's challenges and lessons learned in the second quarter of Year 5 include the need for continued support and capacity building for municipal staff, particularly in areas such as financial management and municipal management. The project also faces challenges in terms of coordination and collaboration with other stakeholders and beneficiaries, particularly at the central and governorate levels. Despite these challenges, the project remains committed to its goals and objectives, and is working to address these challenges and achieve its results.