USAID Gender Integration Technical Assistance II Task Order Year 2 - Quarterly Report No. 1

The task order applies expertise in gender research and practice to the process of designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating USAID strategies, projects, and activities to reduce the gender and women's empowerment gaps that impede development outcomes. During the quarter covering September 15, 2020 – December 15, 2020, Banyan Global and USAID carried out various activities under GITA II operations. Bi-weekly meetings were held between USAID and Banyan Global to discuss the status of current and future work orders, and to refine operational procedures on the task order. Banyan Global also began work on the USAID/GenDev Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Portfolio Technical Support task under the GITA II Primary work order. GITA II conducted several activities during this quarter, resulting in the production of technical deliverables. Three country-level gender analyses reports were produced to inform USAID Country Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCS) or strategic frameworks. Additionally, one gender analysis was conducted for USAID/Madagascar's health, population, and nutrition Project Appraisal Document, and 10 COVID-specific gender analyses were conducted for USAID activities. The GITA II Primary work order captures work carried out that is directly related to work order preparation under the GITA II Task Order. This includes kick-off calls with USAID missions to carry out preliminary discussions on the scope of work and budget for future work orders, scope of work and budget development and approval package submissions, consultant recruitment and approval processes, and other activities directly tied to the inception of upcoming GITA II work orders. In this quarter, Banyan Global performed several tasks under the GITA II Primary work order. The USAID/GenDev GBV Portfolio Technical Support task involved finalizing the scope of work and budget, and carrying out three tasks: providing technical assistance for the Better Together Challenge, supporting USAID missions to integrate GBV in their environment, democracy, rights, and governance, and other portfolios, and developing a USAID white paper on strengthening the relationship between GBV and sexual exploitation and abuse policies and procedures. The USAID COVID-Specific Gender Analyses task involved developing a job aid tool and report template for USAID missions to carry out COVID-specific gender analyses. The job aid tool provides an overview of USAID's gender-analysis requirements, and the report template is designed to facilitate the collection and analysis of data on the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls. The GITA II Task Order is implemented by Banyan Global, and is supported by the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GenDev) and across the agency. The task order is designed to provide on-demand, rapid-response, short-term technical assistance to USAID missions and bureaus, and to apply expertise in gender research and practice to the process of designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating USAID strategies, projects, and activities.