USAID/OTI Colombia Transforma Annual Report - Year 1

The program aimed to strengthen civil society and government readiness for peace agreement implementation at the national and territorial levels. Transforma worked with a diverse group of partners, including national and territorial government entities, local change agents, and community organizations. The program's goal was to achieve early victories that demonstrate positive changes affecting people's lives, attributed to the peace process. Transforma supported activities in the territories with 10 national institutions and contributed to the strategy of the High Council for Post-Conflict. The program designed and rolled out rapid response activities to strengthen 203 Community Action Boards and provide rural access to justice, conflict mediation, and government services. In Putumayo, Transforma enabled consultation processes with civil society organizations and seven coordination platforms, involving the National Farmer Association and smaller groups. The program strengthened national and local government at the department level, creating links between national entities such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the High Council for Post-Conflict, and the Ministry of Justice. In Arauca, Transforma focused on strengthening the Community Action Boards and their associative structures, engaging public entities to help their credibility and recognition. In Norte de Santander, the program secured its entry to the department, developing activities with partners such as the Social Pastoral of Tibú and the Association of Municipalities of Catatumbo. These activities improved the readiness of local public entities and helped structure rapid response activities in areas such as agriculture and infrastructure. The program disseminated information through radio programs about the peace-building actions in the department and increased government credibility in activities such as the procurement of a motor pump to improve the water service of the municipality of Convención. Transforma generated valuable operational and programmatic knowledge, including the need to maintain a constant dialogue with grantees to achieve defined objectives for activities. Agility and coordination between programmatic and operations teams are critical to take advantage of windows of opportunity. Identifying and integrating appropriate actors for activities related to communicating information about the peace agreements is very valuable. The importance of working with young people and youth associations when designing activities related to peace accord readiness and implementation was also highlighted. The Colombia Transforma program established robust operations and positioned itself as a catalyst for civil society and government readiness for rapid response and peace agreement implementation. The program's goal was to increase Colombia's ability to implement rapid response actions during the first 36 months after the signing of the agreements. Transforma worked with a diverse group of partners, including national and territorial government entities, local change agents, and community organizations. The program's activities in Putumayo, Arauca, and Norte de Santander aimed to strengthen the capacity of Community Action Boards and provide rural access to justice, conflict mediation, and government services. Transforma also contributed to the strategy of the High Council for Post-Conflict and designed and rolled out rapid response activities to support the implementation of the peace agreements. The program's operational and programmatic knowledge highlighted the importance of maintaining a constant dialogue with grantees, agility and coordination between programmatic and operations teams, identifying and integrating appropriate actors for activities related to communicating information about the peace agreements, and working with young people and youth associations when designing activities related to peace accord readiness and implementation.