Viable Support to Transition and Stability (VISTAS) Q3 FY 2016 Quarterly Report

This represents an 85.3% increase in program funds disbursed compared to the second quarter of FY2016. The increase in spending is largely attributed to large-scale construction projects, including thirteen infrastructure projects that began moving rapidly during this quarter. These activities provided support to traditional authorities, improved access to information, and enhanced livestock management, critical elements for maintaining peaceful relationships amongst communities in South Sudan. Infrastructure projects included support to the traditional authorities, improved access to information, and enhanced livestock management. These activities were critical in maintaining peaceful relationships amongst communities in South Sudan. The process for liquidation of grant finances has improved, and the approval process has been streamlined, increasing the efficiency of implementation. Despite the progress made in infrastructure projects, the political situation in the country failed to improve in Q3. Riek Machar's return to Juba under the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) and his swearing in as First Vice President was a brief moment of hope, but it failed to materialize into significant integration of the SPLA-IO in the Juba political scene. Violence between the government and IO forces in areas of Western Bahr el Ghazal and Equatorian States marred Q3. These areas were previously unaffected by the conflict in 2013. VISTAS expanded its programmatic reach into Western Equatoria, a decision long under consideration to improve responsiveness to emerging conflict dynamics. The program developed two new activities in Yambio, including support to local human rights documentation and peace dialogues to repair relationships between the local community and the local government. An assessment in Mundri in June revealed a potential role for VISTAS due to the conflict being short, the community being largely homogenous, and the capacity of local NGOs and institutions being high to address their own problems with some small inputs. VISTAS took advantage of Q3 to comprehensively improve systems, procedures, and policies. A senior HR advisor joined the team in June and worked to improve the capacity of the HR staff in Juba. The Director of Operations & Performance Management conducted an assessment of VISTAS to streamline policies and systems between the field and home offices. A senior Operations support STTA worked on fleet and assets management and training for the new Logistics Director. The Senior Technical Manager (Programs) conducted a number of program trainings focused on revising and updating the regional strategies, activity design and management, and theories of change. An experienced M&E consultant conducted the first VISTAS cluster evaluation on peace dialogues across regions, an infrastructure case study, and training for the M&E team in evaluation techniques. The new M&E Manager with significant OTI experience joined the team in June, lending support to the M&E team. Despite the progress made, the team faced several challenges during this quarter, including the plummeting exchange rate and shortage of goods, insecurity along the roads out of Juba, early rains in several field locations, and high staff turnover. These challenges resulted in increased costs for activities, delayed activities, and postponed activities until the next dry season. The National Political, Security, and Operational Landscape in South Sudan remained challenging, with little meaningful progress towards the implementation of the ARCISS and a clear lack of political will to move forward on the terms of the agreement. The reconstitution of the National Assembly has not moved forward, and the establishment of IO cantonment sites in the Equatorias and Bhar el Ghazals remains in limbo.