USAID Civic Initiatives Support Program (USAID CIS) – Quarterly Performance Report #18 (January-March 2018)

The program is divided into three components: Subawards in Support of Jordanian Civic Initiatives, Capacity Building for Sustainability, and Enhancing Government-CSO Engagement. Component I: Subawards in Support of Jordanian Civic Initiatives focuses on providing grants to Jordanian civic initiatives. During the January-March 2018 quarter, 49 grant modifications were issued, including 14 no-cost extensions, five de-obligations, and three cost extensions. Two new subawards were issued, and grantee coordination meetings were held. Financial visit reviews were conducted, and nine grants were closed. Technical assistance was provided to Advocacy Support Fund (ASF) grantees, and decentralization interventions were monitored. Component II: Capacity Building for Sustainability aims to build the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Jordan. During the quarter, reflection sessions were facilitated with two Societies Empowerment Fund (SEF) grantees, and on-going mentoring was provided. Institutional capacity assessments were conducted for three grantees, and ICAT reports were finalized. Mentoring was provided to CBOs involved in Internal Strengthening for Change (ISC II), and the CSO Partners in Training Excellence Program (CTEP) was implemented. Trainers were certified in Project Design for Proposal Writing (PDPW PRO), and a second round of strategic planning was conducted for five CSOs. Component III: Enhancing Government-CSO Engagement focuses on enhancing the enabling environment for CSOs in Jordan. During the quarter, good governance plans were reviewed for grantees, and the CSO enabling environment was monitored. Support was provided to the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) and the Ministry of Social Development through Leading Point Advisory Services (LP). Cross-Cutting Initiatives include mentoring grantees and CSO partners on advocacy, gender, and inclusion. The Sar Waqtha II campaign was followed up, and the successes they had after Mut’ah University’s President approved three of their demands were noted. Engagement of fellows under the Youth and Disability Fellowship (YWDF) was facilitated, and site visits were conducted to seven CSOs enrolled in the YWDF. Capturing Impact and Sharing CIS Legacies involves monitoring the implementation of summative evaluations for 8 gender-related grants and designing and launching procurements for five additional evaluations. Communications services were procured for developing the civil society campaign, and preparations were made for packaging legacy resources, IP handover, and close-out. In January, due to uncertainties in the timing of incremental funding, FHI 360 developed contingency plans for USAID review. A modification for $3.5M was provided by USAID in early February, allowing FHI 360 to fully obligate remaining subawards and restart new activities. A change log was submitted to capture revisions to AMELP targets and indicators, which was subsequently finalized in conjunction with the AOR and the USAID program office.