Operational updates on DRDIP

Photo: Stoves constructed at Kikagate Seed Secondary School, Kikagate Subcounty, Isingiro District

Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) is a World Bank funded multi-regional project covering four countries in the East African Region. In Uganda, the project is coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with KRC Uganda playing the role of implementing partner in the Districts of Kikuube, Kyegegwa, Hoima, Kamwenge and Isingiro. KRC Uganda was contracted to implement the access to energy sub component.

The project aims to increase access to basic social services, expand economic opportunities and enhance environmental management for refugees and host communities in 11 targeted refugee host districts in Uganda.

A notable uniqueness of DRDIP project lies in its Bottom-Up approach, that enhances high level of beneficiaries’ knowledge of project deliverables. This helps to stimulate demand for accountability and timely feedback on emerging issues from project implementation. The approach helps project staff to ensure quality controls over the project, being mindful of meeting beneficiaries’ expectations. On the other hand, project teams find a challenge of high expectations and misinformation from project beneficiaries about implementation approach of the different projects under different sub components. To mitigate and address the above challenges, KRC teams are working through various stakeholder platforms to provide timely information concerning the status of the project, taking responsibility to enlighten project beneficiaries on the modes of implementation for the different sub-projects and sharing information on emerging issues. Since August 2021, when the project launched out, significant progress has been made on key project deliverables as summarised in the table

Outputs per project deliverables

Project outputs per deliverable	Isingiro (17 groups)	Kyegegwa (8 groups)	Kikuube (13 groups)	Kamwenge (24 groups)	Hoima (10 groups)
No. of groups trained in VSLA methodology	5	8	5	24	5
No. of TOTs trained in stove construction	12	24	39	18	0
No. of stoves constructed	51	150	148	109	0
No. of briquette machine storage structures constructed	7	4		2	0
No. of solar drying shades constructed	0	4		0	0
No. of briquette machines delivered and installed to groups	0	4	4	2	0
No. of institutional stoves under construction	4	0	0	0	0
No. of mother beds set up in groups	16	8	13	24	9
No. kitchen garden tool kits supplied	10	8	13	6	0
No. of groups trained on HIV/AIDS and GBV	3	4	3	24	9

Overall progress on implementation stands at about 30% and the remaining part of implementation will be covered in the remaining period of the project.

In the implementation of DRDIP, government commands the oversight role of; monitoring activities, ensure accountability of the released funds and quality of services offered. KRC Uganda’s M&E plan is to compile weekly, monthly and quarterly reports to the respective district focal persons for DRDIP project. This improves reporting but also provide space for engagement for smooth implementation of the project.

Beneficiaries proactively participate and engage Implementing partners on: quality of deliverables, adherence to timelines and budget monitoring for deliverables in line with the approved project documents. In addressing demands of project beneficiaries, KRC has setup reporting and engagement platforms, to provide timely feedback on emerging issues and providing all relevant working documents to each group.

At community level, project beneficiaries and non-project beneficiaries have so far appreciated the kind of technologies in energy cooking stoves and their presumed performance capabilities to alleviate energy poverty. In some communities, non-beneficiaries have begun requesting for services at their own costs. This provides a business and income opportunity for the trained TOTs through selling their skilled labour.

DRDIP project continues to provide learning and research insights that will inform future program designs and appropriate energy interventions in the communities.