USAID PRESTASI-3 Scholarship Program Semi-Annual Performance Report

The program provides training and technical services required to strengthen and expand the base of skilled, high-performing professionals and institutions in Indonesia's public and private sectors. The PRESTASI-3 program implements and manages programs in Indonesia and in the United States, working closely with the Education Office and all Mission Technical Teams to identify sectors within Indonesian partner organizations where expertise is required for activities and programs to achieve Government of Indonesia (GOI) and USAID objectives. The program also identifies and selects candidates who display both technical aptitude and leadership qualities as participants in long-term and short-term training, to be held in the United States, Indonesia, and in other countries. The major expected outcomes from the implementation of PRESTASI-3 are to create an expanded cadre of skilled leaders and managers who can disseminate new knowledge and skills within priority sectors and therefore advance key development objectives. The program also aims to develop new and advanced management skills, technical capacity, and knowledge within targeted public/private institutions and GOI ministries, which will encourage more efficient, transparent, and accountable practices across the assisted sectors, thereby encouraging greater economic growth. The PRESTASI-3 program has four primary components: long-term training, short-term training, technical assistance, and post-training program support. Long-term training includes a 4.5-month pre-academic training program, which began in January 2016 for Cohort-1 and October 2015 for Cohort-2. The training program includes two components: the Wednesday Speakers Series, which features guest speakers from USAID technical offices and from USAID projects, and the on-line academic writing program, organized by the University of Indonesia. Cohort-1 faced challenges in placing participants to begin graduate programs in the U.S. in January 2016 due to admission availability and TOEFL requirements. However, the IIE placement team secured admissions for two participants who completed the pre-departure orientation in December 2015. By the end of the reporting period, 18 of the participants had acceptable TOEFL scores, which have permitted the development of submission plans for application to U.S. universities. Cohort-2 began in August 2016, with 17 participants awarded scholarships in the five earmarked fields of study: Agriculture, Economic Growth, Marine Studies, Forestry Studies, and Education. The recruitment plans for Cohort-3 were organized according to the directions provided in the Program Descriptions approved by the USAID technical offices. The Program Descriptions for the academic areas of study are attached as appendices to this report. The PRESTASI website and promotional materials have been adapted to reflect the new recruitment targets, with all of the earmarked fields of study available for Open Recruitment except the scholarships earmarked for Democracy Rights Governance. The focus of the recruitment of applicants for Cohort-3 differs from the recruitment for Cohorts-1 and -2 in two major ways: deletions and additions in the list of available funding earmarks, and the PRESTASI-3 team working closely with the USAID technical offices to identify geographic areas and GOI institutions that are most closely associated with USAID's development objectives.