This is the main body of the project. Following the PSC endorsement of the Project Implementation Plan (PIP) the PCU can begin the implementation. It is important that the project plan is kept ‘alive’ by updating as the project progresses responding to changes in priorities, requirements of the countries, impacts of other activities/projects etc. The following check-list identifies the key activities that are expected during the main implementation phase of the project.

L – Lead; X – involved

MANAGING PROJECT ACTIVITIES:

This encompasses the main job of the project management unit – to manage the project and reflects the needs of both technical and financial management. This manual does not address this in detail as both are covered by other guides and executing agencies requirements for financial reporting and management. However it is likely that under the project certain challenges will be presented where the GEF is interested in specific elements of the general project management; specifically the identification and inclusion of additional partners (and the co-financing that they will hopefully bring) and on ‘adaptive management’ where the project responds to changes in conditions to ensure the objectives are met. Issues that should be considered by the PCU are likely to include:

• Adding partners/co-financing: The addition of new partners and funding is a positive sign about the work of the project and the interest in the issues/regions. It is also an important aspect of the project’s success that needs to be reported to interested parties (specifically the PSC, IAs/EAs and the GEF). The PCU should identify and record any additional contributions for presentation (and agreement) by the PSC and ensure that this is also reported through the PIR process. [See Co-financing]
• Managing change (adaptive management). Changes to the project are inevitable and the role of ‘adaptive management’ responses to changes in the project situation provide important lessons to other GEF IW projects and are specifically recorded by mid-term and terminal evaluators. For the PCU the important issue is how these changes were made: what was the motivator for a change to the project (for example: currency exchange rate fluctuations, failure of a demonstration project, extreme weather conditions, etc.)? It is also important that the project has presented the need for change for approval by the PSC (or the GEF implementing/executing agencies) and that this request is discussed/agreed and documented to ensure a good audit trail of the decision making process. Adaptive management responses can be also seen at different levels of the project – for example by pilot demonstration activities facing difficulties with local land owners over wetland restoration. Again it’s the process undertaken that is of importance and these lessons are beneficial to other projects.

M&E ACTIVITIES AND REPORTING.

A considerable amount of the PCU’s efforts are directed towards M&E activities and ensuring that the measurable achievements of the project are reported to donors and other stakeholders. Information on M&E is included in Part 3 and Part 4 of this manual but it is expected that the Project Manager (and the PCU as a whole) will be familiar with the key elements of the M&E activities including:

• Updating and recording indicators;
• Use of the project logframe for reporting progress to the PSC and through the PIR/ GEF Tracking Tool;
• Reporting progress to  the PSC
• Understanding the importance of reporting through the PIR
• Planning MTE and TE and coordinating evaluation missions (including briefing project stakeholders on the purpose, goal and outcomes of evaluations and their role in the process);
• Developing management responses to evaluation recommendations.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND AWARENESS RAISING:

Stakeholders are the broad collective term for all those involved or impacted by the project. All projects require a good understanding of who the stakeholders are and what their needs and expectations are from the work of the project. The Project Document will have a preliminary analysis of the stakeholders but it is expected that this is kept under continuous review by the project. Again, all projects have an expectation that stakeholders will be actively involved in the project – with the PCU taking a leading role in ensuring this engagement, and that there is an increasing awareness amongst all stakeholders of the issues the project is addressing and the solutions being proposed or tested through project activities. [for more detailed information see stakeholders]. The PCU should be considering the following at least in connections with stakeholders and increasing awareness on the project’s activities.

• Who are stakeholders? What do they expect? Or need? A detailed analysis is required for most projects and is essential to undertaking a TDA [see TDA/SAP Manual]
• Understanding the information needs of different stakeholder groups – and how this information is best conveyed.
• How to keep stakeholders actively engaged in the project;
• Developing means to assess how awareness has increased – this is key to most project logframes

GEF IW SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES:

GEF International Waters Projects require common and specific activities and there are several cross-cutting issues that affect all IW projects. It is an expectation that the projects will be scientifically and technical robust in both their design and execution and it will be important that the PCU maintains these standards and captures the lessons and experiences through IW:LEARN and the GEF IW Science Conferences, demonstrating an important capacity building aspect to the projects in-country. IW projects should also be promoting improved awareness of gender related issues in the development of the project’s activities and address climate change concerns in their analyses. Demonstration activities are a frequently used tool to test approaches (technical and policy related) that are linked with capacity building both within countries and in transboundary situations. These are important tools to assist with ‘proof of concept’ for ideas and to strengthen national / regional confidence in approaches that are being promoted by the project. All these issues are usually incorporated in projects undertaking a TDA/SAP which links technical and socio-economic analyses and issues with programmes to mitigate previous detrimental effects and/or promote alternative approaches to governance in international waters. [Part 3 provides more detail on these topics]. Specifically the PCU is likely to be addressing issues associated with:

• The TDA/SAP [Methodology Manual] and management of the TDA/SAP process
• Gender mainstreaming – best practices, expectations and why important
• Climate change and variability– climate ‘proofing’ of activities etc
• Demonstration projects
• Inter-Ministerial Co-ordination Committees, inter-sectoral committees, establishing commissions, APEX bodies etc.
• Private sector engagement
• Establishing commissions as a legacy of the project’s activities
• Planning for sustainability and replication
• Developing a project exit strategy