The News

  • Print

ME&A to Evaluate Citizen Access to Local Government Project in Azerbaijan

AZ Alleyway

The USAID Mission in Azerbaijan has chosen ME&A (Mendez England & Associates) to evaluate the performance of the Socio-Economic Development Activity (SEDA) Project. Fieldwork will begin on November 23, 2015 and will continue to December 14 of this year.

The SEDA Project is a joint venture between USAID and the Azerbaijani Government designed to increase civic participation in governance at the local and regional levels in the hopes that increased representation will lead to increased prosperity for individuals as the government will be better able to respond to citizens’ needs. The Project seeks to achieve this by working to increase dialogue between citizens and local governments through consultations and collaborative processes focusing on socio-economic needs of the citizens as well as strengthening the ability of local civil society groups to work with local governments. The Project will also work with local governments to make them more responsive to citizens’ needs.

The review will be conducted in the three areas in Azerbaijan that the SEDA targets: Ganja-Gazakh, Gubar-Gusar and Aran. ME&A will evaluate the Project’s progress between September 30, 2011 and September 30, 2015. The evaluation will examine how successful the project has been in increasing citizens’ access to local government and whether this has led to increased dialogue between the Government of Azerbaijan and local economic stakeholders.

Since 2010, ME&A has conducted some 60 evaluations and assessments for USAID and the U.S. Department of State in over 25 countries worldwide.

  • Print

ME&A Begins Evaluation of USAID Agricultural Project in Georgia

Georgia


The USAID Mission in Georgia recently selected ME&A (Mendez England & Associates) to conduct the Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production (REAP) Project. Fieldwork began on September 28, 2015 and will continue through to mid-November.

The Project seeks to increase incomes and employment in rural areas of Georgia by providing tailor made technical assistance to agribusiness enterprises that provide inputs, services, training and cash markets to smallholder farmers. At the same time it facilitates firm-level investment to help strengthen supply chains and increase farmers’ access to markets. The Project’s focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) seeks to bring sustainable benefits to Georgian entrepreneurs to create lasting economic growth to average Georgians. The Project aspires to increase sales for 135,000 small holders, create new cash markets for 2,500 producers and provide consultations/technical trainings to 150,000 individuals including 37,500 women.

ME&A will evaluate the progress of the Project through its first two years of operation. The evaluation will examine how successful the methods used during the first two years have been in creating new jobs and raising incomes through increasing access to capital for SMEs, increasing productivity of agribusinesses through training and increasing their access to markets.

Since 2010, ME&A has conducted some 60 evaluations and assessments for USAID and the U.S. Department of State in over 25 countries worldwide.

  • Print

ME&A Awarded Water Management Project in Armenia

WaterPool

The USAID Mission in Armenia awarded ME&A (Mendez England & Associates) the Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project at the end of September 2015. This four-year program will support sustainable water resource management and sustainable practices of water users at the core of the water-energy nexus through the use of science, technology, innovation and partnerships approaches. The goal is to reduce the rate of groundwater extraction in Armenia’s Ararat Valley to sustainable levels.

Under ASPIRED, ME&A will also collaborate with the USAID/Global Development LAB/Center for Data, Analysis and Research (DAR), the US Geological Survey and other relevant institutions to pilot innovative technologies for water conservation and fish farms; establish transformational partnerships; and promote evidence- and science-based water resource monitoring, planning and management. In addition, ME&A will continue collaboration with private sector, academia and other donors, started under the Clean Energy and Water Program (CEWP), to leverage their resources and expertise in Armenian water and energy sector.

This project is a follow on to the Clean Energy and Water Program (CEWP), which ME&A implemented for USAID/Armenia from the fall of 2011 to its completion in September 2015.

USAID/Armenia awarded ASPIRED to ME&A under the Water and Development IDIQ (WADI) to provide USAID's E3 Bureau with services and technical support to assist USAID's Missions, Bureaus and Offices worldwide in the implementation of the Agency's Water and Development Strategy.

  • Print

Energy and Water Program Benefits Over 50,000 Armenians

Over the past four years, USAID/Armenia’s Clean Energy and Water Program (CEWP), as implemented by ME&A, completed 24 demonstration projects in the areas of water and energy efficiency in the rural communities of Armenia. Conducted in partnership with local organizations and municipalities, the projects benefitted over 50,000 Armenian citizens and focused on drinking water supply, efficient street and indoor lighting, efficient heating, building insulation, and use of solar energy. 
Armenia CEW
On September 23, USAID/Armenia presented CEWP’s accomplishments at a close-out conference in Yerevan. Members of ME&A staff as well as the program’s local partners presented the results, outcomes and lessons learned to the government stakeholders, partners, donor organizations and the public.
USAID’s CEWP aimed at improving water and energy management practices in Armenia, as well as helping the country to better respond to climate change challenges. Importantly, the development program’s efforts were instrumental in attaining integrated management of the country’s water resources. ME&A staff collaborated with the Ministry of Nature Protection to design the Southern Basin Management Plan with separate plans for Vorotan, Voghji and Meghriget rivers, and to develop the Decision Support System - a GIS-based, sophisticated system to provide unique analytical information on water resources management and to aid in decision making.
CEWP also conducted a comprehensive study of the groundwater resources in the Ararat Valley, which pointed to a dramatic shrinkage of the level of groundwater resources. Backed by the findings of the study, the Government of Armenia made a number of critical policy and regulatory decisions to reverse the potentially dangerous situation.
ME&A has implemented the Armenia Clean Energy and Water Program (CEWP) for USAID since 2011 in support of the Agency’s Water and Development Strategy.

  • Print

ME&A Awarded Georgia HICD 2020 Contract

Tbilisi (420x278)USAID/Georgia recently awarded ME&A (Mendez England & Associates) a five-year contract to implement The Georgia Human and Institutional Capacity Development 2020 Activity (HICD 2020). The objective of HICD 2020 is to achieve tangible improvements in the human and institutional capacity of USAID’s strategic partner organizations in Georgia including governmental, non-governmental, and for-profit entities.

Working with the Mission, ME&A will implement the USAID/Caucasus HICD model of the structured and integrated processes that aims to identify fundamental causes of performance gaps in local partner organizations. HICD 2020 will also establish performance monitoring systems to address these gaps in performance and to establish a cyclical process of continuous performance improvement. In addition ME&A will assist the Mission staff in planning and coordinating HICD initiatives with selected local partner organizations and will support USAID’s implementing partners in training activities.

ME&A is joined in this effort by two subcontractors, Chemonics International and Performance Design Partners (PDP), and is opening an office in Tbilisi, Georgia to manage ongoing activities.

ME&A was awarded the HICD 2020 Task Order as a prime contractor under USAID’s Human and Institutional Development (HICDpro) IDIQ contract, which began in November 2013.

More Articles...

  1. New Plan Provides Path to Integrated Resource Management in Armenia
  2. New Water System Sparks Savings for Armenian Village
  3. World Environment Day Comes to Armenia
  4. ME&A President Interviewed on Economic Development