USAID/BIH PARTNERSHIP FOR INNOVATION ACTIVITYpdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MHWZ.pdf · Banja Luka Region ... entrepreneurship presentations and leaflet distributions. ... PARTNERSHIP

Partnership for Innovation Activity

Quarterly Progress Report for the Period

September – December 2013

USAID/BiH Cooperative Agreement

Award No. 168-A-00-11-00102-00

January 30, 2012

2

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

2

Table of Contents 1

Acronyms ................................................................................................................................... 4

Project Summary ..........................................................................................................................

I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1

II. SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS ..................................................................................... 2

III. IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS TOWARDS OBJECTIVES .................................................... 3

General ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Tuzla Region ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Youth Internships .............................................................................................................................. 4

SME Support ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Banja Luka Region ............................................................................................................................. 5


SME Support and Youth Trainings .................................................................................................... 5

Sarajevo Region ................................................................................................................................ 6


SME Support ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Mostar Region .................................................................................................................................. 7


SME Support ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Business Angels Network (BAN) ....................................................................................................... 8

Trainings and Conferences ............................................................................................................... 8

IV. CHALLENGES/ISSUES ENCOUNTERED ................................................................................... 9

Startup dedication to the accelerator program ............................................................................... 9

Personnel Changes ........................................................................................................................... 9

VI. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR JANUARY-MARCH 2014 ................................................................ 9

Tuzla ................................................................................................................................................ 10

Banja Luka ....................................................................................................................................... 10

Sarajevo .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Mostar Region ................................................................................................................................ 10

Business Angels Network................................................................................................................ 11

ICT Sector Human Resource Gap Analysis ...................................................................................... 11

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).................................................................................................. 11

3

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

3

VI. ADMINISTRATION AND TRAVEL THIS AND NEXT QUARTER ................................................. 11

Administration .................................................................................................................................11

Travel ...............................................................................................................................................11

Completed travel for International Consultants and PI Staff ......................................................12

Planned travel for International Consultants and PI Staff ...........................................................12

4

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

4

Acronyms B2B Business to Business BDM Business Development Manager BIC Business Innovation Center BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina BAN Business Angels Network BIP Business Innovation Programs BIT Business Innovation and Technology Center in Tuzla CAD Computer-Aided Design CAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing COP Chief of Party DCOP Deputy Chief of Party EBN European Business & Innovation Centre Network EDC Education Development Center, Inc. EI Excellence in Innovation (project) EQUIP3 Educational Quality Improvement Program: Earning and Learning for Out-of-

School Youth EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment FIRMA Fostering Interventions for Rapid Market Advancement ICBL Innovation Centre in Banja Luka ICT Information and Communication Technology INTERA Innovation and Technology Development Park Mostar LPIP Life of Project Implementation Plan PI Partnership for Innovation PMP Performance Monitoring Plan RS Republic Srpska SME Small and Medium Enterprise STTA Short Term Technical Assistance TA Technical Assistance WRN Work Ready Now (internship program) YEP Youth Employment Project YES Youth Employment Services

Project Summary Improve the

competitiveness of

small- and medium-

size enterprises

(SMEs), enabling them

to meet market

demand and preserve

and generate jobs,

and provide new

opportunities for

employment and self-

employment for

young people.

USAID/BIH PARTNERSHIP FOR INNOVATION ACTIVITY QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE PERIOD SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER

2013

I. INTRODUCTION This document represents the Progress Report for the Partnership for

Innovation Activity (PI) funded by the USAID Educational Quality

Improvement Program 3 (EQUIP3) for the period of September – December

2013. The project commenced on August 24, 2011, and is expected to

continue through August 23, 2016.

Project Summary The Partnership for Innovation program goal is twofold: a) to enhance

entrepreneurship and employment among young market entrants (also

referred to as ‘youth’) in BiH, by building their information and communications technology (ICT) and in soft skills to enable youth to

exploit new employment or entrepreneurship opportunities; and b)

Strengthen small and medium enterprise (SME) competitiveness and

productivity by increasing SMEs’ effective use of value-added ICT and their

ability to offer new, high value-added ICT products and services that

respond to market demand.

The project will achieve these objectives by supporting training, internship,

mentorship, private sector engagement and SME competitiveness

strengthening initiatives. The project approach is based upon two critical

principles: (1) it is demand-driven, as all programs will be designed or

modified based on market analysis and direct feedback from SMEs and

educational partners; and (2) it creates valuable forums and processes that

will ensure there are sufficient incentives for all stakeholders (youth, SMEs,

training providers) to carry out these forums and processes long after the

project has been completed.

The PI interventions is targeting ICT sector SMEs and SMEs in other sectors

that use ICT for their core operations. PI interventions are seeking to

2

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

2

achieve nationwide impact by concentrating on four major geographic areas with flourishing

business, secondary school and university activities - Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla and Mostar.

All PI activities respond effectively to two target markets: SMEs and young market entrants,

particularly university students, out-of-work university graduates, and out-of-school

secondary school graduates.

The PI activity primarily contributes to the US Foreign Assistance Framework Objective for

Economic Growth in Program Area 4.6 “Private Sector Competitiveness” focusing primarily on the Program Element 4.6.2 “Private Sector Productivity.”

II. SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The following project supported activities have been conducted during the reporting period

September through December 2013:

x PI held 4 SME trainings design workshops during October and November 2013, one in

each regional center (Mostar, Tuzla, Banja Luka and Sarajevo) for a total of 33 SMEs.

x PI surveyed a total of 57 ICT SMEs (100 were invited to participate), in order to generate a valid sample of ICT SMEs for the upcoming BIH ICT Sector Human Resources Gap Analysis.

x PI completed development of the software solution that will be used for online tracking activities and monitoring and evaluation of the PI project.

x PI supported the the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Bosnia Herzegovina by organizing an all-day media event on November 19, 2013, featuring lectures, youth entrepreneurship presentations and leaflet distributions.

x PI provided support for organization of the two day “Career and Entrepreneurship Opportunities” (CEO) Conference held in Sarajevo on 7-8 December, 2013.

x YES completed the first cycle of Bizoo’s Business Startup Accelerator Support for 10 startup teams in late December 2013. 5 Startups graduated from the program and are scheduled to make presentations (pitch) in front of potential investors in mid-January 2014.

x BIT successfully completed the first cohort of the internship program “Moja praksa” for Tuzla region in late December 2013, with 10 SMEs providing ICT projects for 51 youth participant.

x The first cohort of internship program “Moja praksa” for Mostar region started in October 2013 with 50 students that were separated in 9 project teams. This cohort is expected to be completed in the second half of January 2014.

x The Fall 2013 cohort of internship program “Moja praksa” in Banja Luka started in November 2013 with 52 students in 11 project teams. This cohort is expected to be completed in the second half of January 2014.

x EDC decided not to proceed to sign the sub agreement for the implementation of “Moja praksa” program for Sarajevo region with Sarajevo’s School of Economics and Business (SEBS) because of due diligence related concerns.

3

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

3

x International University of Sarajevo was competitively selected in early December 2014 as the potential partner for implementation of the Internship program “Moja praksa” and work-readiness program “Work Ready Now!” in Sarajevo.

x PI collaborated with Prijedor’s Development Agency (PREDA) during November and December 2013 on assessing local needs and on subsequent design of computer programming courses for unemployed youth, tentatively planned to start in early February 2014

x PI completed a two-day workshop for partner organizations in December 2013 focusing on Work Ready Now! curriculum adaptation to the BiH context.

x PI commenced collaboration with the local NGO that serves as the chief organizer of youth focused ICT competitions titled “BiH Informatics Olympiad” that the project will consider supporting during the first half of 2014.

x PI completed the full redesign of project’s web page at www.innovation.ba

x PI staff conducted the visual identity upgrade and web page redesign for the internship program “Moja praksa” at www.mojapraksa.ba.

III. IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS TOWARDS OBJECTIVES

General

x During November and December 2013, PI surveyed a total of 57 ICT SMEs (100 were invited to participate), in order to generate a valid sample of ICT SMEs for the project’s BIH ICT Sector Human Resources Gap Analysis. The survey is focused on the SME segment within the ICT sector as it excluded state owned Telecom companies. The survey included specific questions on SME’s market orientation (local / international), employee structure (technical vs. non-technical staff), current staff skillsets and certifications, gender distribution per job categories etc. Most importantly, the survey included the rating of the skillset of the newly employed staff and the associated rating of schools from which their employees came from. Parallel with the SME survey PI also surveyed relevant technical faculties from four targeted regions and obtained gender data on graduates for comparison with technical employee structure at surveyed SMEs. Early data shows that software developers are in highest demand and this category represents the most apparent skills gap in BiH at present. For example more than 70% of surveyed SMEs need skilled or certified Android programing staff at present. The full survey data will undergo analysis during early January and results will be available in the comprehensive report that is scheduled for completion in late January 2014.

x PI completed the software solution that will be used for tracking activities and monitoring and evaluation of the PI project. As of end of the quarter, the software was in final testing and data inputting phase. This software solution will be shared with partner organizations by the end of January 2014 as it would allow for easy registration of internship participants into a central database.

x PI commenced collaboration with the local NGO that serves as the chief organizer of the youth focused ICT competitions titled “BiH Informatics Olympiad”. PI will consider supporting the “Olympiad” during the first half of 2014. The program will soon go

http://www.innovation.ba/

http://www.mojapraksa.ba/

4

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

4

through the design phase and the proposed sequence will feature a series of lectures, trainings and competitions in several BiH cities ending with a two day final competition that is tentatively planned for early June 2014 in Visoko.

x PI completed the full redesign and reprograming of project’s web page that now includes comprehensive descriptions of all project sub components and activities following PI redesign in mid-2013. Project web page with enhanced functionalities is available at www.innovation.ba.

x PI staff conducted the visual identity upgrade and web page redesign for the internship program “Moja praksa” at www.mojapraksa.ba.

x Nancy Chervin, EDC International Technical Associate, traveled to Bosnia in December 2013 to develop the framework for the Work Ready Now! Curriculum for the PI project. She conducted site visits to our partners and SME representatives in Tuzla, Banja Luka and Mostar. The aim of these meetings was to familiarize with partners through the presentation of their activities, but also to introduce them to the EDC’s global Work Ready Now! (WRN) program. A follow up two-day workshop for WRN curriculum adaptation was held in Sarajevo, attended by the Partners’ training staff.

Tuzla Region

Youth Internships

x Business Innovation and Technology (BIT) Center successfully completed the 1st cohort of internship program “Moja praksa” for 51 young people in late December 2013. Ten Tuzla based ICT SMEs collaborated in implementation of the first internship program “Moja praksa” in Tuzla. The internship program took place at premises of BIT Center and premises of ten partner companies (Gauss, Akademika, Multicom, Leftor, CA Design, Procom, Net-Pro, Elatec, Mehatronika, Studio Progres), which contributed by providing project work tasks, giving ICT focused lectures, and by continuous mentoring of interns. The program was focused on improving students' ICT skills so they could be better prepared to enter the workforce. Interns spent the first two weeks receiving theoretical training in Auto-Cad and MS Project, and then were separated in project teams assigned to complete specific ICT projects under experienced mentorship.

x Tuzla BDM and EDC’s International Technical Associate visited Tuzla in early December and organized a one-day session with BIT staff and SMEs from Tuzla region in order to present EDC’s Work Ready Now! and obtain valuable feedback on specific adjustments that should be made so this globally implemented program and its curricula could be adequately adapted to the BiH context.

SME Support

x PI BDM held a number of meetings with local organizations and firms during the quarter. The focus was on determining demand for trainings and certifications by ICT companies from Tuzla region and on discussing various options for delivering top level trainings on site in Tuzla.

x On November 27, 2013, PI CoP and Tuzla BDM held a “Bootcamp Design Workshop” with 11 participants from 6 local ICT SMEs and BIT Center management. PI’s aim was to obtain detailed and specific inputs related to Bootcamp topics, technical content and

http://www.innovation.ba/

http://www.mojapraksa.ba/

5

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

5

trainer’s experience and qualifications in order to ensure that PI’s SME support programs are relevant and of high quality.

x The total of 10 SMEs and BIT took part in training design related meetings and workshop in Tuzla. SMEs identified several top priority topics including Android programming and Scrum/Agile project methodology.

x Shortly following those sessions, PI began preparations for Android and Scrum Bootcamps in Tuzla.

Banja Luka Region

Youth Internships

x PI provided technical support to ICBL related to program promotion and outreach, intern recruitment as well as project selection and mentor preparations for the Fall 2013 cycle of "Moja praksa" internship program. This help was crucial as ICBL completed the summer internship program in September 2013 and time available between the two cohorts was very short. The pause between all future cohorts will be longer thus allowing sufficient time for recruitment of students and SMEs/projects.

x Based on feedback from participants in Summer 2013 “Moja praksa” internship program, PI organized a special training for mentors from ICT SMEs to better prepare them for training sessions and mentorship tasks in the upcoming internship programs. This training was executed in November 2013.

x The Fall 2013 cohort of internship program “Moja praksa” started in November with 52 students that were formed in 11 teams. Five teams within five companies (Inova, Nites, E conference, E info, Projman) completed their tasks and team project tasks by the end of December 2013. The other six teams needed more time to complete their, more complex, projects thus extending the completion of this cohort by few weeks to the end of January 2014.

x Banja Luka BDM and EDC’s International Technical Associate visited Banja Luka in early December and organized a one-day session with ICBL staff and SMEs from Banja Luka region in order to present EDC’s Work Ready Now! and obtain valuable feedback on specific adjustments that should be made so this globally implemented program and its curricula could be adequately adapted to the BiH context.

SME Support and Youth Trainings

x On November 6, 2013, PI CoP and Tuzla and Banja Luka BDMs held a “Bootcamp Design Workshop” with 10 ICT SMEs from Banja Luka area. PI’s aim was to obtain detailed and specific inputs related to Bootcamp topics, technical content and requisite trainer’s experience and qualifications in order to ensure that PI’s upcoming training programs in Banja Luka are relevant and of high quality. SMEs identified several top priority topics including CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) and Android programming.

x Shortly following those sessions, PI began preparations for the first Bootcamp in Banja Luka. PI issued an RfQ in early December for vendors to execute the first training for Cisco Certified Networking Associates in Banja Luka region. PI made it possible for this training to start as planned in the fourth week of December. However, per the feedback from SMEs the training was postponed to late January due to New Year and series of religious holidays.

6

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

6

x The second planned training design workshops with Banja Luka SMEs had to be postponed for same reasons from its late December date to early February 2014.

x Pi held several working level meetings with City Development Agency of Banja Luka and Prijedor’s Development Agency (PREDA) in October and November to discuss potential cooperation. Both agencies met earlier with USAID’s representatives (Mr. Rojas and Ms. Vukmanovic) and discussions with PI were a follow up steps to define areas for potential collaboration and joint activities. In both instances the eventual future cooperation will focus on work force development mostly through execution of ICT focused education programs for unemployed youth in two cities.

x PI intensified collaboration with PREDA in December resulting in completion of the analysis of ICT skills gap and needs of SMEs in Prijedor area. The report also identified specific trainings in computer programming (C language, C++, PHP/My SQL and Java). The related RfQ process for execution of C language programing courses in Prijedor will be completed in late January and courses are planned to commence in early February 2014.

Sarajevo Region

Youth Internships

x EDC decided not to proceed to sign the sub agreement for the implementation of “Moja praksa” program for Sarajevo region with Sarajevo’s School of Economics and Business (SEBS) because of due diligence related concerns. This decision was communicated to SEBS in October 2013.

x PI issued a public RfA for selection of internships and training programs in Sarajevo area on October 28, 2013.

x PI Technical Evaluation Committee selected International University of Sarajevo (IUS) as

potential partner for the implementation of the Internship program “Moja praksa” and work-readiness program “Work Ready Now!” in Sarajevo on December 4, 2013.

x The due diligence process on IUS commenced shortly after the selection and several steps lasted longer than expected as majority of key personnel including University’s Board involves Turkish citizens, most of them not residing in Bosnia at present.

x The due diligence for IUS is expected to be completed in early January and the draft FOG is expected to be ready in late January 2014. The recruitment for the first cohort will be conducted in February while the commencement of the first cohort of “Moja praksa” in Sarajevo region is expected to start in early March 2014. This schedule is fully in sync with PI supported internships in other BiH regions.

SME Support

x In October and November 2013, PI COP and BDMs held a number of meetings and the Bootcamp design workshop with 7 leading IT SMEs from Sarajevo. As a result, several key areas of potential support were identified and the initial priority was placed on SCRUM/Agile project management and Android programming courses.

7

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

7

x Following the design workshop, PI commenced the procurement and selection of SCRUM training providers for Sarajevo, resulting in selection of the Swiss-based “Effective Agile” company. Nevertheless, PI soon learned that SCRUM programs are in such high demand across EU that the earliest available dates for BiH were in early March 2014. This meant that the planned December 2013 Bootcamp had to be moved to March 2014. As PI’s SME assistance is demand driven, the project management believed that it was paramount for the project to deliver ICT trainings that SMEs have prioritized and requested as opposed to offering them alternative courses just to make the planned dates.

x The second planned training design workshop with Sarajevo SMEs had to be postponed from its late December date per the feedback from SMEs and departure of PI’s Sarajevo BDM. PI will organize and schedule the next Sarajevo workshop in close coordination with leading SMEs that are involved in IT Alliance and those involved in launching a new technology hub titled HUB 387.

x PI held initial meetings with founders of the upcoming ICT association titled “IT Alliance”. PI expressed general willingness to support the association’s activities that align with project objectives. Any future collaboration is conditional on the Association’s formal registration and adoption of mission statement, work plans etc.

Mostar Region

Youth Internships

x INTERA has been awarded a funded subgrant for the implementation of the Internship program “Moja praksa” and work-readiness program “Work Ready Now!” in Mostar region. Their subgrant with EDC was signed in October 2013.

x INTERA successfully completed the first milestone in late October 2013, by submitting

the operating plan for the implementation of two above listed programs.

x The Fall 2013 cohort of internship program “Moja praksa” in Mostar started in November with 50 students that formed 9 project teams. INTERA and PI were especialy satisfied with quality and complexity of ICT projects that were nominated by local firms. As a result several of those projects required additional time for completion due to their complexity so the entire cohort will be completed in the second half of January 2014.

x As of late December 2013, technical faculties from the two Mostar based Universities have expressed interest to accept “Moja praksa” internships into their curricula.

x PI’s BDM and EDC’s International Technical Associate visited Mostar in early December and organized a one-day session with INTERA staff and SMEs from Mostar region in order to present EDC’s Work Ready Now! and obtain valuable feedback on specific adjustments that should be made so this globally implemented program and its curricula could be adequately adapted to the BiH context.

SME Support

x Mostar BDM held a training design workshop with 8 ICT companies from Mostar area in order to discuss SME training priorities and consider various options and focus for upcoming Bootcamps. As a result, several key areas of potential support were identified and the initial priority was placed on SCRUM/Agile software development’s project management and Android programming courses.

8

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

8

x Following the design workshop, PI commenced the procurement and selection of SCRUM training providers fro Mostar, resulting in selection of Swiss-based “Effective Agile” company. Nevertheless, PI soon learned that SCRUM programs are in such high demand across EU that the earliest available dates for BiH were in early March 2014. Hence, the SCRUM/Agile Bootcamp for Mostar is scheduled for March 2014.

Business Angels Network (BAN)

x Business startup accelerator officially started its first cycle on October 3, 2013. Out of 29 applicants, 10 startups were admitted into the program. The training program covered the following modules: Customer Development & Startup Research; Naming and Branding; Revenues, Costs and Profits; Cofounders; Hiring and Firing; Product Development; Outsourcing; Partners and Suppliers; Marketing and Sales; Presentation and Publicity; and Fundraising.

x YES gathered 10 investors who have signed agreements to join Business Angel Network. However, most of them were not able to provide the business or technical or matchmaking support by end of November, resulting in the delay of completion of the Milestone 3 with YES. Pi expects that the adequate support will be provided by mid-January 2014 i.e. by the time the mentorship cycle is completed and startups were prepared for the “Demo Day” investor pitching presentations.

x YES completed Milestone 4 by finishing the first cycle of accelerator program for 10 startup teams by end December 2013. 5 startups graduated from the program and were scheduled to work on preparations for their pitch to investors during early January 2014.

x PI provided guidance to YES on development the Bizoo’s Outreach Plan for 2014. PI has assessed the initial (August/September 2013) outreach to target youth as fairly inadequate and requested that YES develops a comprehensive plan that will expand the depth and geographical width of Bizoo’s outreach. The draft of the new plan was developed by end of 2013 and it includes various forms of presentations, online advertisement, social media promotion and partnerships with regional Technology Parks, Universities and student organizations.

Trainings and Conferences

x PI supported the marking of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Bosnia Herzegovina by organizing an all-day event on November 19, 2013, featuring lectures and youth entrepreneurship presentations. Ms. Susan Preston, the renowned, US based, “Angel Fund” manager and book author hosted a town hall type presentation on US and global experiences in entrepreneurship support with specific focus on angel investing in early stage startups. In order to further promote youth entrepreneurship and support Bizoo program, PI has developed and designed a one page brochure on youth entrepreneurship that was distributed as insert in two major BiH newspapers.

x PI provided support for organization of the two day “Career and Entrepreneurship Opportunities” (CEO) Conference held in Sarajevo on 7-8 December, 2013. The CEO conference featured a series of lectures and workshops by renowned local entrepreneurs and business leaders for more than 250 young participants.

9

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

9

x Ismir Korjenic and Tanja Madzarevic attended a seminar, entitled “Innovation, entrepreneurship and financing options for start-up projects with informal and formal venture capital” on October 21, 2013 in Mostar.

x Tanja Madzarevic attended “Youth Business Forum” in Mostar on October 29-30, 2013 and third round table on the subject “Womens’ side of success” on October 30, 2013 also in Mostar.

IV. CHALLENGES/ISSUES ENCOUNTERED

Startup dedication to the accelerator program

x Considering the fact Business Startup Accelerator Program is being held in BIH for the first time and there is no previous intelligence on how it should be done, startups did not expect it to be so intense and demanding in terms of attendance and dedication. BIZOO project staff came across several issues during the first cycle of start-ups, among which were startups showing up late for the training or not showing up at all, startup teams not being prepared to pitch at events such as Mini Demo Days, team members were not participating actively etc..

x In order to address the above listed issues PI proposed, in late December, that YES includes following steps during implementation of the upcoming business accelerations cycles:

1. Wider outreach and selection / acceptance of larger number of startups into the cycle

2. Establish stricter selection criteria for cycle and ensure that PI BDM is part of the decision panel

3. Establish the policy to exclude startups from cycle for misbehavior or poor attendance / performance

Personnel Changes

Ismir Korjenić, PI’s BDM for Sarajevo and Mostar region, resigned in early December from the PI project.

PI advertised this job opening shortly thereafter and the selection and hiring of the new BDM is expected by late January 2014.

VI. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR JANUARY-MARCH 2014

Per the new Project Design/LPIP, PI will carry out the following activities in the period from January to March 2014:

10

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

10

Tuzla

It is planned that:

x Certification Presentation Ceremony for the first cycle of “Moja praksa” interns and supporting ICT companies will be held in BIT Center in mid January 2014.

x BIT Center will complete preparations for the Spring 2014 “Moja praksa” internship program including recruitment of firms and students.

x During the first half of February, 2014 PI will gather inputs for the design of its “demand driven” SME support programs for Tuzla ICT SMEs (workshop, advanced training and bootcamp) and complete at least one advanced ICT training and one bootcamp.

Banja Luka

It is planned that:

x Certification Presentation Ceremony for the first cycle of “Moja praksa” interns and supporting ICT companies will be held in ICBL by the end of January 2014.

x ICBL will complete preparations for the Spring 2014 “Moja praksa” internship program including recruitment of firms and students.


x PI will conduct the training in programming language C for 15 youth in Development Agency Prijedor “PREDA” during February and March 2014.


Sarajevo

It is planned that:

x FOG1 with selected partner IUS to be formalized and signed by early February 2014.

x The new partner will complete preparations for the Spring 2014 “Moja praksa” internship program including recruitment of firms and students.

x The Spring 2014 “Moja praksa” will commence in early March 2014


Mostar Region

It is planned that:

x Certification Presentation Ceremony for the first cycle of “Moja praksa” interns and supporting ICT companies will be held in INTERA by beginning of February 2014.


11

USA

ID/B

IH P

ARTN

ERSH

IP F

OR

INN

OVA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

11

Business Angels Network

It is planned that:

x Expand outreach to young entrepreneurs throughout BIH using print media, social networks, radio and TV stations. The outreach will be carried out following the Outreach plan submitted to PI in January 2014. PI is to guide YES staff in meeting its goals.

x Close the applications by mid Feburary 2014 and select the best candidates for the second cycle of the Business Startup Accelerator support, where this time PI’s BDM is one of the members of the selection panel.

x Start the second cycle of Business Startup Accelerator support for at least 9 startups.

ICT Sector Human Resource Gap Analysis

It is planned that:

x HR Gap Analysis report will be completed in late January 2014. PI staff conducted a survey with BIH ICT companies in period from October to December 2013 in order to get their feedback on key draft report findings. PI team and project’s HR consultant will analyze the data during January 2014 and synthesize findings, reach key conclusions and finalize the report by end January 2014.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

x With help from an external ICT expert, PI developed a comprehensive software that will help track all project activities against set of approved indicators. This software is completed and currently in phase of inputting data. The software will be shared with partner organizations by early February 2014 and will allow for registration of internship participants into a central database.

VI. ADMINISTRATION AND TRAVEL THIS AND NEXT QUARTER

Administration

A revised PI’s Life of Project Implementation Plan (LPIP) was revised and submitted to USAID

on September 23, 2013. LPIP was amended and approved on October 23, 2013.

Travel

The following table provides the completed travels for PI staff and international consultants

for the period October – December 2013 and the estimated travel schedule for PI staff and

for international consultants for the timeframe January through March 2014.

12

USA

ID/B

IH P

AR

TNER

SHIP

FO

R IN

NO

VA

TIO

N A

CTI

VIT

Y

12

Completed travel for International Consultants and PI Staff

PI Staff/Consultant Schedule Description

Nancy Chervin December 2013 WRN! Curriculum adaptation

and design workshops with

partners and PI staff in Bosnia

Planned travel for International Consultants and PI Staff

PI Staff/Consultant Schedule Description

Documents

USAID/BIH PARTNERSHIP FOR INNOVATION ACTIVITYpdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MHWZ.pdf · Banja Luka Region ... entrepreneurship presentations and leaflet distributions. ... PARTNERSHIP