The Federated States of Micronesia: Project for Strengthening Public Financial Management (P161969) Implementation Support Mission: October 14-18, 2024 Aide Memoire I. Introduction 1. A World Bank (WB) team, led by Bonnie Sirois (Senior Financial Management Specialist & Task Team Leader), Elena Georgieva-Andonovska (Senior Public Sector Management Specialist & Co-Task Team Leader), and Pike Pike Aye (Public Sector Specialist & Co-Task Team Leader) conducted a virtual implementation support mission from October 14 to 18, 2024 for the Project for Strengthening Public Financial Management (P161969). The list of World Bank team members for the mission is included in Annex I. 2. The objectives of the mission were to: (i) review progress towards achieving the Project’s development objective (PDO); (ii) review overall implementation progress by component, including the status of the indicators in the Project’s Results Framework, timeline and budget; (iii) identify and discuss key issues impacting project implementation; (iv) follow up the previous mission’s action plan and progress of the Project toward achieving development objectives; and (v) agree on measures to support efficient implementation of the Project and the achievement of its development objectives. 3. The mission held productive discussions with Ms. Rose Nakanaga, Secretary of Finance, Ms. Christina Elnei, Assistant Secretary, Treasury, Mr. Randy Sue, Assistant Secretary, Customs & Tax Administration, the focal points from the four States, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), and the Central Implementation Unit (CIU). We thank the representatives who met with the World Bank team during the mission. The list of meeting participants is provided in Annex II. II. Summary of Implementation Progress 4. The Project Development Outcome (PDO) remains relevant, and the project is on track to achieve most of its major outputs, though with some moderate shortcomings, within the current project closing date. The PDO is to improve tax administration and the completeness, reliability, and timeliness of financial reports of the National and State Governments. The FMIS implementation is underway, RMS implementation is well advanced and targeted results are expected to be achieved within the extended project closing date of August 25, 2025. Key project data Board Approval May 30, 2018 Grant amount US$ 16 million equivalent Effectiveness October 1, 2018 Amount disbursed US$ 8.7 million date (54.7%) Closing date August 25, 2025 PDO & IP rating as MS of Oct 2024 1 III. Project Implementation Progress by Component Component 1 - Strengthening the Public Financial Management Environment 5. The mission reviewed the implementation status of agreed activities under Component 1 and discussed related challenges. Progress in Component 1 is gauged by PDO-1 (In-year budget reports prepared and published by National and all four State governments), as well as IR-1 (New chart of accounts (COA)) for all governments for better management, financial and statistical reporting) and IR-2 (Procedures Manuals updated with detailed guidance for all five governments) of the project Results Framework (RF), which is presented in Annex II. The previous mission emphasized the need to: approve the Chuuk FMR and mobilize to initiate work to adapt the procedures manuals, Unified COA (UCOA) and in-year budget reporting formats to the new FMIS upon contract effectiveness. 6. Work on finalizing the UCOA has been reinitiated after some delay, with finalization expected in December. The UCOA is envisioned to be used across National and the four State governments for budgeting, budget execution, financial reporting and statistical reporting. A National Treasury accounting manual has yet to be developed in alignment with the new FMIS system and will then be adapted for each of the four State governments. Reporting formats are to be adapted to the system and will soon be tested. However, challenges remain, including the delay in adoption of the Chuuk Financial Management Regulation (FMR), which has been awaiting the Governor's signature since March 2024. Additionally, the achievement of several key activities under Component 1 is dependent on the timely rollout of the FMIS, highlighting the critical path for further progress. 7. To expedite progress under Component 1, the mission identified key next steps. Key actions include finalizing the work on the UCOA, including incorporating location codes into the UCOA structure and mapping the old COAs to the new UCOA, sharing this with the WB, and organizing a dedicated workshop on the COA. Additionally, the approval of Chuuk State’s FMR, recruitment of a US GASB Advisor and UCOA Verification Expert, and the generation of the December 2024 quarterly report using data from the new FMIS starting January 2025 are essential steps to ensure progress. Component 2 - Financial Management Information System 8. Significant progress has been made under Component 2 since the FMIS contract was signed with the vendor in April 2024. As depicted by the results framework (RF), PDO-3 (New FMIS used by all five governments for recording and reporting budget revenues and expenditure) and IR-3 (Financial data integrity maintained to meet “B� score for PI-27) measure progress in the implementation of Component 2. The previous mission identified key project activities to advance progress in the FMIS implementation, which comprised the need to: sign contract with FMIS vendor and mobilize to initiate work on inception plan; complete mobilization of technical team; and initiate Fundware data cleanup and conversion. 9. Following contract signature, the FMIS vendor (Free Balance, FB) promptly mobilized to FSM in May 2024. Data cleanup and conversion to the new system has commenced; a to-be validation workshop was conducted in August, and FMIS inception activities begun; key documents have been approved (IR and ICT infrastructure reports in 06/2024; system requirements report in 08/2024; to be processes 09/2024, etc.). A sequenced implementation will be adopted, starting with National government in March 2025 and ending with Chuuk State in July 2025, and 2 active government oversight of the rollout in ongoing, with a Project Steering Committee meeting in October 2024 and an FMIS Steering Committee established and meeting in June 2024 to approve the implementation plan. 10. As FMIS implementation progresses, close monitoring will be required to ensure there are no deviations from the original concept of having one single system serving five governments, with one operational acceptance of the system. Further challenges include a lack of dedicated FMIS expertise; the need to manage the complexity of a system and build capacity to use it - training needs are extensive, and; extracting data from Fundware. Critical next steps include hiring an FMIS Specialist as soon as possible and coordinating closely with WB on any issues that arise. Component 3 - Revenue Management System 8. Component 3 project activities have made significant progress since the preceding mission. Progress made in Component 3 is captured by PDO-2 (Revenue Management System installed and in use by the Customs and Tax Authority (CTA) for improved revenue accounting) and IR-4 (Taxpayer accounting in CTA automated) of the project RF. The last mission agreed on the need to: update Gantt chart from IU Networks to monitor the updated implementation schedule, to monitor the potential change requests closely to avoid budget overruns. 9. All activities from the previous mission have been completed, and continued progress has been made. RMS customization work and a second round of testing has been completed; restructuring of CTA (org chart) and redesign of positions has been completed and implemented, and; implementation of ASYCUDA has begun . Plans for implementation of the payment gateway have been modified to leverage progress in this area by the Digital FSM project and coordination with the Digital FSM team is ongoing. 10. Despite progress made, continued efforts are needed to ensure the timely completion of the RMS implementation. These include continuing coordination with Digital FSM Project on the payment gateway and obtaining relevant scoping assessments; engage in discussions with Bank of Guam (BoG) and BoFSM; developing the RMS interface requirements, and; processing the change order with the RMS vendor for the move to cloud hosting. Component 4 – Change Management and Human Resource Development (HRD) 11. Since the previous mission, Component 4 activites have stalled following the departure of the HRD Advisor. Component 4 progress is indicated by IR-5 (Competency framework specifying minimum skillsets adopted and used in all PFM-related jobs); IR-6 (External training program partnerships for PFM-related certification and degree courses); IR-7 (Number of staff completing external training programs in PFM-related disciplines); IR-8 (Gender-sensitive communications conducted for the project for awareness and building ownership) and IR-9 (Transparency and citizen engagement in budget preparation and execution by National Government) of the RF. The last mission agreed on the need to: complete Treasury restructuring; organize dissemination events for Citizen-friendly Budget; complete gender analysis for the Budget and Economic Mangement and Investment and International Finance Divisions, initiate work on the gender sensitive change management and communications strategies; and finalize the Competency training tool. 12. IR-5, IR-8 and IR-9 have been partially achieved, with some progress. Training has been progressing well, the competency training tool has been developed and job descriptions 90 percent finalized. However, a key challenge has arisen due to the unexpected departure of the HRD 3 Advisor in August, leaving the position vacant without a comprehensive handover. The dissemination event for the Citizen-friendly Budget (2024) has been delayed, and the mission team noted the need to recruit a Website Developer and Local Communication Specialist for support. The gender aspects of the change management and communications strategies have not yet been completed and require collaboration and support with the Social Safeguard Specialist (CIU) and Communication Specialist (CIU). The restructuring of the Budget and Treasury is in progress and is expected to be completed by March 2025, following the recruitment of the HRD Specialist. 13. Coordination with the Social Safeguards/Gender and Communications Specialists (CIU) has been initiated to support achievement of targets under Component 4. The next steps under Component 4 include the need to: recruiting a new HRD Advisor, Website Developer, and local Communication Specialist, to organize dissemination events for the 2025 Citizen- friendly Budget, complete restructuring for Budget, establish gender targets for DOFA and the States, and complete a gender analysis in the Budget, Economic Management, and Investment and International Finance Divisions. Component 5 - Project Management 14. The mission noted that progress has been made in Component 5 project activities since the previous mission, despite turnover in the PIU. The previous mission agreed to complete the following actions to strengthen overall project management:increase the frequency of Project Steering Committee meetings to monthly to review the project component implementation progress and provide guidance and support; address fiduciary matters identified during the mission. 15. Component 5 project activities have progressed, with some key actions taken. Key milestones acheived include mobilization of the FMIS vendor, an extension of the project, and the recruitment of a new Project Manager and Project Officer with support by the acting Project Manager (Existing CIU Manager). Additionally, the PFM II Project has been prepared, with negotiations scheduled for the end of November. However, a key challenge remains in ensuring that all activities are completed within the remaining project timeline and budget. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Technical Working Group (TWG) were unable to meet frequently. Moving forward, the next steps include submitting an updated budget with reallocations amongst components, expediting the recruitment of key advisors (US GASB Specialist, FMIS Advisor, HRD Advisor, and UCOA Verification Consultant), establishing a set schedule for PSC and TWG meetings, and addressing identified fiduciary matters. IV. Fiduciary Compliance Financial Management (FM). The project FM performance rating is Satisfactory. The interim financial reports (IFR) are submitted timely and acceptable. The next IFR for the period ending September 30, 2024, is due on November 14, 2024. The FY25 annual work plan and budget, with an estimated disbursement of US$5.4m has been cleared. The PIU is to monitor the budget implementation closely as the project closes in 10 months. The contract register is well-maintained and updated. Project eligible expenditure is for goods, works, or services delivered before the project closing date and hence the need to closely monitor the contract outstanding commitments. The PIU is to verify project fixed assets and update the register. The FY22 national government audit report was submitted on October 2024. The FY23 project audit report is four months overdue. The CIU and PIU are to ensure that the project audit report is submitted by March 31, 2025. 4 Procurement Between March 2024 and October 2024, 3 contracts for the FMIS, Project manager and Project officer for US$4.7mil have been signed at 54% disbursement with 12% time remaining until project close. The FMIS Performance Bond Advance Payment Guarantees shall be furnished by DOFA to check the related amounts and expiry dates. The acceptance of FMIS configuration will require verification to ensure there are no deviations from the original concept of having one single system serving 5 governments (1 operational acceptance of the system) and using the new COA. DOFA PIU will need to determine if new COA delays to configuration will cause a contract amendment due to the 'Go Live' timeline impact, which may result in the operational acceptance exceeding the project timeframe. Key agreed actions include: PIU to Draft/Finalise TOR's to commence consultancy recruitments in November of US GASB Specialist, FMIS Advisor, HRD Advisor and UCOA verification consultant V. Environmental and Social Safeguards compliance 16. The project is classified as category C as all activities are technical assistance activities with no civil works involved. The existing safeguards documents remain adequate and suitable. CIU has been supporting the PIU during project implementation including providing inputs into missions and into periodic reports, and general project management requirements. The GRM is established and operational and is accessible online via the DOFA website. No complaints have been received to date, and there are no outstanding E&S issues. The overall environmental and social safeguards performance is satisfactory. VI. Wrap-up, Next Mission and Agreed Actions 16. Assistant Secretary, Treasury Ms. Christina Elnei commended the project team on the substantial progress achieved since the previous missions. She further emphasized the need to finalize the work on the UCOA, FMIS Go Live for National and State Governments as plan with the FMIS vendor and closing collaboration with WB Task team. 17. The next mission will be held by April 2025. The following are the key milestones to be taken into action in the coming period. Additional actions are presented in Annex III on FM. Table 1: Key Actions agreed during October 2024 mission Activity Responsibility Due date Component 1: Strengthening the PFM environment Finalize the UCOA for formal adoption and DOFA/PIU December 31, 1 implementation in the FMIS. 2024 Complete recruitment of US GASB Advisor, DOFA/PIU November 30, 2 UCOA Verification Expert. 2024 Prepare the National Treasury accounting DOFA/PIU December 31, 3 manual 2024 Component 2: Financial Management Information System 5 Complete recruitment of FMIS specialist. DOFA/PIU November 30, 4 2024 Component 3: Revenue Management System Develop RMS interface requirements, in DOFA/PIU December 31, 5 coordination with Digital FSM team and 2024 banks. Component 4: Change Management and Human Resource Development Recruit HRD Advisor, Website Developer DOFA/PIU November 30, 6 and local Communication Specialist. 2024 Component 5: Project Management Attend to fiduciary issues identified during PIU November 30, 7 the mission. 2024 Table 2: Status of agreed Actions from March 2024 mission Activity Responsibility Due date Remarks (October 2024) Component 1: Strengthening the PFM environment 1 Approve Chuuk State FMR. PIU/ Chuuk State April 30, 2024 Delayed representative 2 Finalize in-year budget reporting format PIU Sept 30, 2024 Delayed and new COA with FMIS supplier. Component 2: Financial Management Information System 3 Complete internal review of FMIS DOFA/PIU As soon as Completed contract possible 4 Sign the FMIS contract and initiate DOFA/PIU As soon as Completed activities possible 5 States to assign FMIS implementation DOFA/ State Mar 29, 2024 Completed teams to prepare for and support FMIS representatives/PIU implementation. 6 Launch bidding process for FMIS PIU April 30, 2024 In Progress hardware 7 Commence ICT training for the PIU April 30, 2024 Completed government officials 8 Mobilize Fundware Specialist PIU April 15, 2024 Completed Component 3: Revenue Management System 9 Complete second phase of testing by June DOFA/PIU June 30, 2024 Completed 6 10 Closely monitor RMS implementation to DOFA/PIU June 30, 2024 Completed avoid delays and mismatch delivery 11 Obtain updated Gantt chart from IU DOFA/PIU March 29, 2024 Completed Networks for implementation schedule Component 4: Change Management and Human Resource Development 12 Approve Treasury restructuring DOFA/PIU June 30, 2024 In Progress 13 Organize dissemination events for DOFA/CIU/PIU June 30, 2024 Delayed Citizen-friendly Budget 14 Establish gender targets for DOFA and DOFA/ State April 30, 2024 Delayed States; reps/CIU/PIU 15 Complete gender analysis in Budget and DOFA/PIU March 31, 2024 Delayed Economic Management and Investment and International Finance Divisions 16 Complete Gender sensitive change DOFA/CIU/PIU June 30, 2024 Delayed management and communications strategy Component 5: Project Management 17 Increase frequency of Project Steering DOFA/Project June 15, 2024 In Progress Committee meetings to monthly to review Steering the project component implementation Committee/PIU progress to provide guidance and support if required; record the summary meeting minutes. 18 Finalize recruitment of replacement CIU/PIU May 31, 2024 Completed Project Manager. 19 Initiate recruitment of Project Officer. CIU/PIU March 29, 2024 Completed 20 Conduct the fixed asset verification CIU/PIU June 30, 2024 In Progress exercise and document findings and necessary actions if any. Annex I. World Bank Team 1. Bonnie Ann Sirois (Senior Financial Management Specialist, Task Team Leader) 2. Elena Georgieva-Andonovska (Senior Public Sector Management Specialist & Co-Task Team Leader) 3. Pike Pike Aye (Public Sector Management Specialist & Co-Task Team Leader, P161969) 4. Omar Lyasse (Resident Representative) 5. Patricia Mc Kenzie (Practice Manager) 6. Cem Dener (Lead Governance Specialist) 7. Viet Anh Nguyen (Senior Public Sector Specialist) 8. Nicholas Gerard Williams (Procurement Analyst) 9. Ciliaka Gitau (Financial Management Specialist) 10. Rosemary Alexandra Davey (Senior Environmental Specialist) 11. Anika Fletcher (Social Safeguards Specialist) 7 12. Peishen Wang (Environmental Safeguards Consultant) 13. Nickson Piakal (Team Assistant) 14. Elina Lewakuru Lomaloma (Financial Management Consultant) Annex II. Key Mission Participants National Government 1. Ms. Rose N. Nakanaga, Secretary of Finance, DoFA 2. Mr. Randy Sue, Assistant Secretary, Customs & Tax Administration, DoFA 3. Ms. Christina Elnei, Assistant Secretary, Treasury, DoFA 4. Mr. Sohs John, Assistant Secretary, Budget, DoFA 5. Ms. Senny Phillip, Assistant Secretary, Investment & International Finance 6. Ms. Lynda Roades, PFM Project Manager, PIU 7. Mr. Arrio Abello, PFM Project Officer, PIU 8. Mr. Kwame Shiroya, Program Manager, Central Implementation Unit (CIU) - 9. Mr. Brendan Toner, Treasury Advisor, DoFA 10. Mr. Andrew Haigh, Tax Administration Advisor, DoFA 11. Mr. Geoffrey Tama, ICT Advisor, PFM 12. Ms. Jane Mukiri, Procurement Advisor, CIU 13. Mr. Steve Mendiola Jr, Senior Procurement Specialist, CIU 14. Mr. Shiva Dhakal, Social Safeguards Advisor, CIU 15. Mr. Alvaro Hoyos, Communications Specialist, CIU 16. Mr. Lawrence Nduva Munyaka, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, CIU - State Governments Chuuk 1. Ms. Restmena Nonumwar, Deputy Director, DAS 2. Mr. Anster Cruz, Computer Specialist, DAS 3. Ms. Janet Sisam-Katta, PIU Focal Point Kosrae 1. Ms. Lona Esau, Administrator 2. Mr. Horace Salik, Tax Administrator 3. Mr. Vincent Taulung, Supply Officer 4. Mr. Alokoa Sanney, Computer System Manager 5. Mr. Shiro Sigrah, PIU Focal Point Pohnpei 1. Mr. Ruben Dannis, Computer Manager 2. Ms. Meryda Inos, Chief; Personnel Labor & Manpower Development 3. Mr. Moses Hespak Jr., Assistant to Chiefs 4. Mr. Rodney Kohler, PIU Focal Point Yap 1. Ms. Patricia Ruecho, Acting Director 2. Ms. Jemina Sulog, System Administrator II 3. Ms. Arlynne Chugen, PIU Focal Point 8 Annex III. Progress Compared to Results Framework Indicator Annual targets Progress as of October, 2024 PDO-1: In-year budget -Sep 2019 – Templates for in-year budget reports No intermediate targets yet reports prepared and prepared and adopted by the Project Steering Committee achieved. A draft template for in- published by National and -Sep 2020 – In-year budget reports prepared for at least 2 year budget report with separate all four State Governments calendar quarters by National and 2 States reports for the general fund and -Sep 2021-In-year budget reports prepared for at least grants assistance and the two consecutive calendar quarters by the National consolidated has been prepared and three States meeting criteria for accuracy and but will need to be finalized with coverage and comparability for "C" score of PI-28.1 new FMIS supplier to meet the and PI- 28.3 FMIS system requirement. -June 2023 - In-year budget reports prepared and cleared for publication for at least two consecutive In-year budget report format is calendar-quarters by National and three States being developed by FreeBalance meeting accuracy, coverage and comparability for testing. criteria for "B"score of PI-28.1 and PI-28.3 and timeliness for "C" score for PI-28.2 National Government is -Sept 2024 - In-year budget reports prepared and cleared scheduled for FMIS Go Live on 1 for publication by all five Govts meeting criteria for March 2025 and will produce timing, accuracy, coverage and comparability to December 2024 quarterly report meet criteria of “B� score for PI-28 based on PEFA for National Government. Framework PDO-2: RMS installed and Year 1 and 2 targets achieved. in-use by CTA for improved ·June 2019 – Specifications for RMS determined and Year 3 target in process – RMS is revenue accounting procurement initiated being implemented across all sites ·June 2020 – RMS procured and installation initiated simultaneously with completion ·June 2021 – RMS installation completed in CTA central expected in March 2026. office and all branch offices in States ·June 2023 - RMS in use by CTA staff for revenue accounting ·Sep 2024 - Criteria for “B� score of PI-20.3 met PDO-3: New FMIS used FMIS vendor was mobilized in by all five governments for ·June 2019 – Requirements for new FMIS defined and April and implementation is recording and reporting procurement completed underway. Rollout will begin in budget, revenue and ·June 2020 – a) FMIS rollout initiated in National DoFA early 2025. expenditure and two States for recording expenditure and revenue; b) FMIS budget module rollout initiated in National DoFA ·June 2021 – a) FMIS rollout initiated in two further States for recording expenditure and revenue; b) FMIS budget module rollout initiated in two States ·June 2023 – a) Line departments identified for FMIS rollout and testing initiated for recording expenditure and revenue; b) FMIS budget module rollout initiated in two further States ·Sep 2024 - New FMIS used for the preparation of the budget for FY2024 and recording of revenue and expenditure transactions by National and all State governments 9 IR-1: New chart of accounts Year 1 and 2 targets met. Year 3 for all governments for ·June 2019 – Requirements for uniform COA across all target missed. New CoA is being better management, governments determined and first draft prepared updated for FMIS rollout in financial and statistical ·June 2020 – New COA adopted by Project Steering January 2025. reporting Committee for use across all five governments ·June 2021 – New COA in use for budget execution and use for budget formulation piloted ·June 2023 – New COA in use for budget formulation, budget execution, and financial reports ·Sep 2024 - “A� score criteria for PI-4 met IR-2: Procedures Manuals Progress needs to accelerate. updated with detailed ·June 2019 – Update to Procedures Manual prepared for FMR is still pending in guidance for all five National government Chuuk. Procedures Manuals have governments ·June 2020 – Update to Procedures Manual adopted by been drafted for national National government. Update drafted for two government and replicated for States. states. Will be finalized based on ·June 2021 – Update to Procedures Manuals adopted by FMIS. two States. Update drafted for two further States. ·June 2023 – Updated Procedures Manual adopted and in use by all five governments. ·Sep 2024 - Procedures Manuals in place with detailed guidance for budget formulation, accounting, internal controls, payroll, fixed assets, liabilities (including debt), cash management and financial reporting IR-3: Financial data FMIS implementation in process integrity maintained to meet ·June 2019 – New FMIS procured and procedures for with rollout in 2025. “B� score for PI-27 achieving data integrity drafted. ·June 2020 – Criteria for “B� score for PI-27.1, 27.2, 27.3 fully met ·June 2021 – Access and changes to financial records is restricted and recorded, and results in an audit trail ·Sep 2024 -Criteria for "B" score for PI-27 fully met IR-4: Taxpayer accounting Year 1 and 2 target met. in Customs and Tax ·June 2019 – RMS procurement initiated Implementation will be completed Administration (CTA) ·June 2020 – RMS procured and vendor mobilized; First in one phase due to accelerated automated phase of implementation initiated timeline. Year 3 and 4 targets in ·June 2021 – RMS in use by CTA central office and four progress. branch offices ·June 2023 – Second phase of implementation initiated ·Sep 2024 - All modules of RMS implemented and in use IR-5: Competency Y1 target partially complete, framework specifying ·June 2019 – Draft prepared listing PFM-related roles, pending gender analysis. minimum skillsets adopted minimum desired competencies for each and Y2 target not yet achieved and used for all PFM- targets for a gender-balanced workforce Y3 target in process, gender related jobs ·June 2020 – Competency framework adopted by Project analysis completed in all but Steering Committee for all PFM-related jobs in Budget and Investment. Targets FSM to be set. ·June 2022 –Skill gap assessment completed on the basis of Competency framework for National and all 10 State Finance departments and training plans formulated with targets to increase female employment at technical and managerial level ·June 2023 - Competency framework mandatory for recruitment to PFM-related roles across National and State governments and used for annually updating training plans with targets to increase female employment at technical and managerial level ·Sep 2024 -Competency framework specifying minimum skillsets required adopted for PFM-related jobs across National and State governments and used for recruitment and training to build gender- balanced workforce IR-6: External training Target has been met. program partnerships for ·June 2019 – Competency framework to form the basis of Partnerships entered into with PFM-related certification defining training needs drafted Alison, CTEC, Charles Strurt and and degree courses ·June 2020 – Identification of training needs Cook Islands Tertiary Training ·June 2021 –Two (2) external training program Institute Partnership partnerships for certification and degree courses in Expanding training options with platforms with ICC, WTO, PFM-related disciplines Harvard Business School, etc. ·June 2023 - One (1) further external training program partnership for certification and degree courses in PFM-related disciplines ·Sep 2024 -Four (4) external training program partnerships for certification and degree courses in PFM-related disciplines IR-7: Number of staff ·June 2019 – 5 Year 1-3 targets achieved. completing external training ·June 2020 – 10 Y4 target in process. programs in PFM-related ·June 2021 – 15 •Behavioral Competency Training disciplines ·Sep 2024 – 50 – External-110 Staff (45 M/ 65/F) •Technical Competency Training 6 Staff ( 3M / 3 F) •Leadership Competency Training 16 Staff ( 7M / 9 F) IR-8: Gender-sensitive ·June 2019 – Gender-sensitive change management and Years 1-3 targets missed – communication conducted communication strategy adopted Website has been set up but needs for the project for awareness ·June 2020 – Three (3) project outreach events conducted more functionality to reach and building ownership and report summarizing feedback received targets. A Communications published; 2) Media Collaterals prepared and Specialist and Social Safeguards distributed. Specialist (Gender) have recently ·June 2021 -DoFA website enhanced and launched with been recruited by the CIU to gender-sensitive content and design, including support this work. functionality to capture feedback from Gender analyses developed for beneficiaries Treasury, CTA, Chuuk, Yap, ·June 2023 - DoFA website regularly updated with Kosrae relevant information. Summary of feedback received published quarterly with government Website Developer and Local response. Web presence, similar to DoFA, Communication Specialist will be established for the four State governments. recruited to update DOFA website with capturing citizen feedback. 11 ·Sep 2024 - DoFA website enhanced and regularly updated with information for government staff and citizens with functionality developed for capturing and summarizing feedback IR-9: Transparency and ·June 2021 – DoFA website enhanced to include Yr.1 target achieved. Website has citizen engagement in functionality for capturing feedback from project been improved to capture budget preparation and beneficiaries (government staff and citizens) feedback but is not updated with execution by National ·June 2023 – DoFA website regularly updated with budget information. Citizen- government information on budget preparation stages, final friendly budget FY2025 will be budget and quarterly updates on budget execution published in February 2025 posted regularly including: a) Summary presented and dissemination event in March in a citizen-friendly format understandable by non- 2025. technical audience; and b) Summary of citizen- https://dofa.gov.fm/fmis-general- feedback received and government response. comments/ ·Sep 2024 -DoFA website includes functionality to capture https://dofa.gov.fm/rms-general- citizen feedback. Information on budget comments/ preparation stages, final budget and quarterly updates on budget execution posted regularly including: a) summary presented in a citizen- friendly format understandable by non-technical audience; b) summary of citizen-feedback received and government response. 12