USAID EPIC Year Two Semi-Annual Report

EPIC is a five-year activity designed to improve education sector programming, measurement, and management. The report emphasizes the importance of collaboration and communication across work streams, citing the collective success of EPIC's four work streams as contingent on how well the work streams are collaborating and communicating. This collaboration has benefited activities in the first half of Year 2, particularly across the professional development and knowledge management/engagement work streams. One of the key lessons learned is the need to move from moment-in-time events to a continuum of learning and engagement. This shift in approach has impacted the conceptualization of professional development courses as well as how the State of the Art Conference is conceived. Recognizing the importance of the before, during, and after components of learning and engagement will yield greater and more sustainable outcomes. Another key lesson is the importance of identifying champions in the office. Working with designated points of contact for EPIC activities has yielded gains in moving activities forward and ensuring they are aligned with the needs of the office. Additionally, EPIC's activity timeline should adapt to what is feasible for the Office to review, process, and respond to, as well as adapt to the time constraints of the office, particularly when face-to-face sessions are required. The report also highlights the success of the Executive Coaching Program, which has led to an increased understanding of MBTI types to improve collaboration and effective communication within and across teams. The program has also strengthened leadership skills, which has helped Team Leads better serve their teams and the Office. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) has also been successful, contributing to enhanced individual, team, and organizational performance as well as an improved organizational climate. The LDP sessions have covered topics such as emotional intelligence, conversational intelligence, MBTI, empathic communication, and giving and receiving feedback. The Education Sector Council (ESC) retreat, facilitated by EPIC, has also been successful in revamping and reinvigorating the ESC by restructuring working groups and re-purposing meetings. A Working Group was formed to guide the implementation of the decisions made at the retreat. The report also highlights the progress made in other areas, including the development of the Effective Education Portfolio Management (EEPM) Course, the Meta-Analysis of Training Needs, the Modalities Report, the Education Toolkit content curation, and the USAID Education Newsletter. Overall, the EPIC Semi-Annual Report for Year 2 highlights the progress made by the EPIC activity in supporting education sector programming, measurement, and management, and emphasizes the importance of collaboration, communication, and adaptability in achieving success.