The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN | St Maarten | Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice | Recipient Executed Activities | Investment Project Financing | FY 2020 | Seq No: 2 | ARCHIVED on 08-Jun-2021 | ISR45751 | Implementing Agencies: VNG International, VNG International Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 26-Jun-2020 Effectiveness Date: 28-Jul-2020 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 15-Jun-2022 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: Original Closing Date: 28-Jun-2024 Revised Closing Date: 28-Jun-2024 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve the capacity of civil society organizations and support implementation of reconstruction and resilience sub-projects at the community level. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Small Grants to CSOs for Reconstruction and Resilience:(Cost $4.66 M) Capacity Building and Technical Assistance for CSOs:(Cost $1.08 M) Project Management and Coordination:(Cost $1.46 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Implementation Status and Key Decisions The implementation status summarized in this subsection is based on findings from the virtual mission that took place from February 22 to March 5, 2021 and draws on updates from joint monthly coordination meetings between the Bank and VNG International which were held following the conclusion of the virtual mission. Component 1: Small Grants to CSOs for Reconstruction and Resilience. Implementation of activities has generally progressed as planned despite the complications and setbacks created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 12 subprojects that were awarded in November are undergoing implementation since project effectiveness in July 2020. At least 12 more subprojects are expected to be awarded at the end of May. New subproject awards will expand the subproject portfolio and activities on the ground, and result in more functional community facilities and basic services. Across all the 24 subprojects, sectoral areas mainly covered include: social assistance through provision of relief support, psychosocial and emotional support, youth employment and skills development, day 6/8/2021 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) care and afternoon school services, addressing gender based violence, reviving recreation and sports activities, nature and environment and arts and culture. These sectors underline the importance of the project in addressing vulnerability amongst the communities and the strong focus on reconstruction and better basic service delivery improvements. While it was too early to report on completed subprojects and number of beneficiaries during the last concluded mission, the next mission will build a baseline for the same and make it an integral part of the six monthly reporting by the VNG International and World Bank reviews. Component 2: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Since effectiveness, VNGI developed and provided initial training to CSOs on the general design of the project and the envisaged training phases (initial general training, pre-disbursement training, and systematic training throughout the project cycle as part of the annual work planning and implementation). Outreach and general training sessions were well attended attracting participation of 132 persons, representing 94 CSOs (these numbers of persons and CSOs trained will be updated once QW2 will be concluded). In addition, a pre-disbursement training module was developed and delivered to all the CSOs whose proposals were successfully awarded grants under QW1 prior to funds being advanced, and a similar process is being undertaken for QW2. The training is intended to build CSO capacity on funds use and reporting. But ongoing implementation has also revealed enormous capacity challenges among the local CSOs in the areas of preparing good proposals for funding; work planning; monitoring and evaluation and reporting on implementation. To make more and sustainable progress on the capacity development for local CSOs, along with boosting the funding and implementation of community subprojects, the project is developing a Capacity Building Plan for local CSOs to guide implementation of component 2 (capacity building and technical assistance) in a more concrete and monitorable way and make detailed provisions for systematic coaching and mentoring of the CSOs as part of the subproject cycle. Component 3: Project Management and Coordination Several coordination and monitoring activities that are critical to the implementation of other components have been accomplished namely: (i) convening the regular Project Technical Committee (PTC) to provide guidance and adopt decisions that facilitate continued progress in implementation of the Annual Work Plan; (ii) elaboration of a Project Operational Manual (POM) and a Grant Manual (GM); (iii) development of an Annual Work Plan (AWP); (iv) establishment of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) office in Sint Maarten and completion of staffing for all critical positions that were agreed at effectiveness of the project; (v) creation of a project website; and (vi) updating of the Environmental and Social risk management instruments to fulfill all the safeguards policy requirements for the project. Despite the fact that there are some areas for improvements such as reporting on safeguards and full functioning of the grievance redress mechanism, monitoring and evaluation arrangements for the project are functioning generally well and requirements for the overall progress reporting are being fulfilled. During the period under review, the project has implemented a strong outreach and communications plan aimed at creating general project awareness among the broader local CSOs universe, targeted additional information to prospective applicants for grants and follow-up education to respond to emerging requests for additional information. In addition, an effective project website and face book pages have been set up and avail a lot of information to all stakeholders about the project. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance Substantial Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic Moderate Moderate Moderate Sector Strategies and Policies Moderate Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program Low Low Low Institutional Capacity for Implementation and High Substantial Substantial Sustainability Fiduciary Substantial Substantial Substantial Environment and Social Moderate Moderate Moderate Stakeholders Substantial Substantial Substantial Other Low Low Low 6/8/2021 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) Overall Substantial Substantial Substantial Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Improve capacity of CSOs & support implement. of resil. & reconst. sub projects at community level IN00962156 ►Percentage of subprojects approved which are fully implemented and functional to users (disaggregated by reconstruction and resilience sub projects) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 75.00 Date 29-May-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 This indicator is calculated using the total number of subprojects that have been approved and funded; and the number of subprojects that have been fully implemented which are functional to users. Full implementation implies that CSOs have successfully achieved technical and fiduciary requirements of Comments: their grants following the guidelines provided by the PIU. The subprojects will be disaggregated in terms of resilience and reconstruction subprojects as defined in the POM. IN00962157 ►Percentage of CSOs participating in the project with improved capacity for grant management and implementation (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 70.00 Date 29-May-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 The indicator will provide information on CSOs performance in selected technical areas such as timeliness of implementation of sub-projects; timeliness of reporting; quality and completeness of reporting during Comments: their participation in the project. IN00962158 ►Percentage of beneficiaries expressing satisfaction that sub-projects reflected their needs (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 75.00 Date 29-May-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 The indicator will measure project performance in terms of responsiveness to the community needs. It will provide information at he start, midterm and at the end of perception of beneficiaries about the subprojects Comments: and whether the latter reflect their needs as expressed at the prioritization stage. IN00962159 ►Number of beneficiaries of sub-projects (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 10,000.00 6/8/2021 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) Date 31-Mar-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 The indicator is a cumulative number of people who are direct beneficiaries of services provided by investments which were supported through sub projects that are implemented by the CSOs. The Comments: cumulative number spans the project economic life but would be checked for possible double counting given the size of the island to ensure credibility of the final result. IN00962160 Number of people being served by subprojects of which female (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 5,500.00 Date 31-Mar-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 IN00962161 Number of people being served by subprojects of which male (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 4,500.00 Date 30-Jun-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Overall Comments PDO The project was approved in June 2020 and became effective in July. Initial capacity building activites were implemented in October and November and the inaugural subprojects were launched in November 2020. Information on the above PDO indicators is expected in the second semester implementation progress report and will be reflected in the next ISR. Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Small Grants to CSOs for Reconstruction and Resilience IN00962162 ►Percentage of beneficiaries expressing satisfaction with sub-projects' outputs (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 70.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator measures percentage of beneficiaries based on a sample who express satisfaction with the Comments: outputs from the sub-projects implemented in their areas with funding from the project. IN00962164 ►Cumulative number of CSOs benefiting from the project grant scheme (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 12.00 80.00 6/8/2021 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) Date 29-May-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator is a cumulative measure of CSOs which are able to formulate sub-projects proposals for Comments: consideration by the PIU and subsequent endorsement for funding. IN00962167 ►Cumulative number of sub-projects funded (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 12.00 100.00 Date 28-May-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator is a measure of cumulative number of sup-projects that are funded for implementation Comments: Capacity Building and Technical Assistance for local CSOs IN00962163 ►Percentage of CSOs with increased capacity for fiduciary management of grants (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 67.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Number of CSOs with increased capacity for fiduciary management after sub-project management Comments: IN00962165 ►Percentage of CSO proposals accepted after a second stage review (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 80.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator captures the efforts of CSOs to bring their applications to an acceptable level taking advantage of the training and coaching provided by the PIU. It also provides feedback on effectiveness of the PIU Comments: training program. IN00962168 ►Number of training sessions provided by the PIU (disaggregated by type of training) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 3.00 3.00 16.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator provides information on quantity and quality of training provided as well as types of technical Comments: capacities addressed for CSOs by the management agency. Project Management and Coordination 6/8/2021 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) IN00962166 ►Percentage of CSOs receiving subprojects' grants within 1 month after funding approval (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 50.00 95.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator measures timeliness of CSOs access to funds once their proposals were approved for funding, and therefore the effectiveness of the project in providing funds to eligible beneficiary CSOs approved for Comments: funding. IN00962169 ►Percentage of grievances that are resolved within three months after they were formally registered (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 80.00 Date 30-Apr-2020 25-Sep-2020 05-Mar-2021 30-Jun-2024 Indicator measures efficiency of grievances (complaints and appeals) management system for the project. Comments: Overall Comments IR There are four indicators for which progress updates have been provided namely: 1) Cumulative number of CSOs benefiting from the project grant scheme; 2) Cumulative number of subprojects funded; 3) Number of training sessions provided by the PIU; 4) Percentage of CSOs receiving subprojects grants within 1 month after funding approval. These updates relate only to the awards under the first Call for Proposals that are currently under implementation. The data on the second Call for Proposals will be captured in the next ISR. At that time, there will also be more information on other indicators such as subprojects completion rates, number of beneficiaries of completed subprojects and grievances management. Performance-Based Conditions Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P172339 TF-B3014 Effective USD 7.20 7.20 0.00 1.45 5.75 20% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P172339 TF-B3014 Effective 26-Jun-2020 10-Jul-2020 28-Jul-2020 28-Jun-2024 28-Jun-2024 Cumulative Disbursements 6/8/2021 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report St Maarten Civil Society Partnership Facility for Resilience Project (CSPFRP) (P172339) PBC Disbursement Achievement Disbursed amount in Disbursement % PBC ID PBC Type Description Coc PBC Amount Status Coc for PBC Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 6/8/2021 Page 7 of 7