Year One Annual Performance Report: Sajhedari – Support to Federalism

The project's support is concentrated in 10 local governments (LGs) across Sudur Paschim and Lumbini provinces. The project has three central objectives, which support Nepal's shift to federalism through sound policies and legislation, responsive, accountable, transparent, and inclusive local governance, and citizen and civil society organization (CSO) engagement in governance. The project launched with an extensive co-design process to ensure Government of Nepal (GoN) buy-in for the project's geographic and technical scope. This delayed full implementation until March 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown measures. Sajhedari quickly pivoted to supporting LGs' pandemic response efforts, including providing personal protective equipment and conducting rapid assessments to keep the GoN and USAID apprised of the situation on the ground. These efforts have laid the groundwork for effective response and recovery efforts. Despite challenges in Year One, Sajhedari has established relationships with key counterparts, including Municipal Coordinators in all 10 targeted LGs, senior Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration counterparts, and Provincial Local Government Support Programme and Provincial Center for Good Governance. The project has also conducted foundational analytical work, identifying key capacity and policy constraints, and providing recommendations for the way forward. Five foundational studies were completed, including a CSO mapping, an inventory on federalism policy research, a study on judicial committees, and a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) assessment. Sajhedari has also performed targeted capacity building to strengthen crucial actors in the local governance process. Using an online platform, the project trained 68 local officials, including 34 women, on skills needed for GESI mainstreaming. The project also strengthened 60 judicial committee members' and staff abilities to resolve local disputes, and provided 95 CSO members with tools to better participate in local governance. Sajhedari supported local-level policy formulation and implementation, providing technical support to its partner LGs on 10 different policy documents. The project has established itself as a trusted partner and valuable resource for LG-level policymakers, with requests for legislative and policy assistance increasing. A significant commitment in time and resources was made in Year One to complete several assessments, studies, and research to inform the Project and provide a foundation upon which to establish priorities for Year 2. Additional reports are planned in the first Quarter of Year Two, including the Local Institutional Self-Assessment, the Citizen Perception Survey, and Own Source Revenue. Based on the data and emerging evidence from these reports, Sajhedari will aim to focus its efforts and resources in a few key strategic areas. There remains significant opportunity for providing much-needed technical and legal support for ongoing policy development and review, which Sajhedari will continue to provide. Finally, there remains a strong need for improved communication, collaboration, and coordination between different levels of government, especially during the continuing COVID-19 situation. Sajhedari will prioritize support to all three levels of the governments with a focus on improving service delivery in critical areas necessary for establishing the basic foundation of federalism in Nepal.