USAID PRESTASI-3 Scholarship Program Progress Report

The program is funded by USAID/Indonesia's five Development Objective Teams (Economic Growth, Education, Environment, Democratic Governance, and Health) to support the implementation of the Mission's programmatic strategy to improve, strengthen, and increase Indonesian health systems, management of natural resources, access to and quality of education, democratic governance, and employment opportunities. The program's goal is to create an expanded cadre of skilled leaders and managers who can disseminate new knowledge and skills within priority sectors and advance key development objectives. The major expected outcomes from the implementation of PRESTASI-3 include developing new and advanced management skills, technical capacity, and knowledge within targeted public/private institutions and GOI ministries, producing leaders who will apply newly acquired skills at their places of work and share new skills with colleagues and the broader community, increasing coordination among GOI institutions, local institutions, USG Agencies, and other donor organizations, and increasing the level of good will and cultural understanding between Indonesia and the United States. During the period January-March 2015, the PRESTASI-3 field staff underwent changes. IIE and IIEF filled 3 more positions, leaving only the Administrative Assistant position remaining to be filled. USAID approved the hiring of Ms. Beatrix Isabella for the key position of Finance Manager, who will join the project in April. The administration of the contracts of the Outreach/Recruitment Specialist and the International Training Specialist was changed from the prime contract to IIE's subcontract with IIEF, with IIE now managing the contracts of four positions, including all key personnel positions, and IIEF managing seven non-key positions. The COP, Randy Martin, is in the process of obtaining a kitas, which is a residence visa and work permit. The COP was required to leave Indonesia at the end of February for a 2-day period to obtain a 60-day re-entry visa, which will provide sufficient time to complete the processing of the kitas. Once the kitas has been approved, the COP will be required to make a short trip out of Indonesia again to change from the 60-day re-entry visa to the kitas. The PRESTASI-3 project office moved into a new space in Menara Imperium, which is close to the established PRESTASI-II team and IIEF resources. The new office is designed to accommodate the 11 members of the PRESTASI-3 team, with the COP provided with a separate office that can be used as a designated meeting space. The desk configuration of the office is designed to allow the PRESTASI-3 team to occupy an entire row of sequential desks. The PRESTASI-3 program is expected to increase the number of future Indonesian leaders holding advanced degrees (Masters) from U.S. universities and increase the number of women and individuals from disadvantaged and/or under-represented geographic areas participating in the program. The program's implementation will be closely monitored to ensure that the expected outcomes are achieved.