Microenterprise Development and Economic Recovery Workshop

1. Microenterprise Development and Economic Recovery Workshop Facilitator: Mayada El-Zoghbi Research Director AMAP FS Microfinance Amid Conflict

2. Objectives • Enhance understanding of the role of micro-finance and micro-enterprise programming in the economic recovery of conflict affected countries. • To share knowledge and experience on effective economic recovery programming and improve the state of the practice. • To identify areas of continuing need for research, tools and training for donors and practitioners working in this area. • To build a common and practitioner and donor community focused on advancing these issues.

3. Agenda

4. Review of Previous Workshops • This workshop is the 3rd in a series • This series of workshops represented a shift in the AMAP KG Microfinance Amid Conflict agenda. • Initially, KG Microfinance Amid Conflict focused on youth and looked at how and whether microfinance institutions served the youth market. Prior to this, most of USAID’s microfinance and conflict focus was very institution or product focused. • At the end of 2006, there was a shift toward a broader agenda. Microfinance alone can not yield the economic recovery needed to help countries escape the “conflict trap”. • AMAP KG Microfinance Amid Conflict introduced a format to allow all those engaged in economic recovery to address challenges and solutions as a broader community of practice.

5. First Workshop - Practitioners • Held in November 2006 • Brought together practitioners – NGOs and contractors – which work on economic recovery issues in countries affected by conflict. • Many of you here today were also at this first workshop. • All of the major PVOs – CHF, ARC, IRC, Save the Children, World Vision, CRS, Care • Many of the major contractors – Chemonics, DAI, • Format: • Discuss challenges • Discuss suggested solutions • Identify next steps

6. First Workshop - Practitioners Priorities for Donors • Flexibility in funding • Unity of Effort • Standards • Donor policy/vision • Integration/coordination • Monitoring and Evaluation • Local capacity & inclusion of community voice • Assessment

7. First Workshop - Practitioners Priorities for Implementers • Stovepiping • Staff capacity • Implementation • Local capacity • Integration/coordination • Community voice

8. First Workshop - Practitioners Next Steps Identified • Fund SEEP working group or some forum to carry on and institutionalize learning • Develop SOW for future work and share with participants • Create inventory of existing tools • Create a roadmap for using tools, outlining which tools to use in particular conditions • Develop quick and easy tools for gathering information for M&E • Create a list of indicators and tools on how to gather data during the project • Pilot, refine new tools • Document best and worst practices • Establish process for sharing bad practices • Develop donor principles on relief-development practices • Organize joint workshop with donors and practitioners

9. Second Workshop – USG Agencies • Held in March, 2007 • Included CMM, Department of State, Food for Peace, PASSN, JWAC, EGAT, USDA, USIP and DCHA • Format: Similar to previous practitioner workshop • Discuss challenges • Brainstorm on solutions • Also shared recommendations from practitioners

10. Second Workshop – USG Agencies • Unity of Effort • Provide incentives for coordination • Have RFPs reviewed by “red teams” & other agencies before release • Have all USG agencies working in a country agree to set of principles • Assessment, M&E • Create peer review system like CGAP’s for evaluations & assessments • Get CTOs out of their offices and into the field • Create follow-up action plans for evaluations • Increase donor’ involvement in the substance of assessments • Standards • Review standards already in use • Develop quick reference tools on best practices • Develop and disseminate tools on cash for work, grants, etc. • Build Local Capacity • Include in contracts and annual program statements • Require it explicitly in every activity • Utilize media & transparency projects to build civil society & local gov’t

11. Second Workshop – USG Agencies Next Steps Identified • Develop personal inter-agency connections • Have a forum to gather once a quarter to discuss issues and crossover • Share existing tools • Participate in MD Office’s After Hours, Speaker’s Corner, Breakfast Seminar, Notes from the Field publication to share lessons learned • Utilize a six month procurement calendar so that other agencies and practitioners can review scopes of work before they are released in RFPs and RFAs • Work together on complementary activities such as Conflict Vulnerability Assessments • Engage academics and others doing research and development to develop tools • Bring together academics and donor/practitioners to conduct cooperative research

12. Where are we now? • This effort is beyond the work of any one agency or project • LWA has funded SEEP initiative to develop standards and guidelines for practitioners on economic recovery • Within the MD office, held coordination meetings with all projects with a conflict focus • Began process to develop “conflict” vision for MD Office • AMAP FS and AMAP BDS are coordinating on conflict topics • AMAP KG has worked with CMM on producing a newsletter focused on economic recovery • AMAP FS is looking for additional ways to coordinate with USIP, CMM and other USG Agencies • This workshop is continuing the dialogue among agencies and allowing a forum for practitioners and donors to interact to further our shared agenda Still a lot to be done….