In pursuing integrated programming and delivery aligned with the portfolio approach's principles, the arrival of TRAC 2 funds served as a catalyst for putting systemic learnings into action. While the proposal marked a commendable collective effort by various units, it also brought forth challenges in terms of tracking, coordination, and flexibility in project management.

Not only was the design of the proposal a true collective intelligence effort, based on insights generated from a holistic understanding of all CO projects and opportunities, but it was ultimately a real exercise of collaborative implementation.

The collaborative implementation, although breaking silos, presented difficulties in tracking and coordination. The system does not seem to be prepared for this type of implementation, also the absence of a dedicated project coordinator and the dynamic nature of activities within the project made monitoring and evaluation, project management, and financial management a complex endeavor.

Despite the challenges, the TRAC 2 funds brought together a multi-sectorial portfolio team, with members from diverse units such as the Accelerator Lab, Inclusive Growth, Governance, and Environment (GEF). This multi-sectorial team, with varied responsibilities, exemplified the holistic and complementary nature of the initiative.

Implementation

Resources from TRAC 2, have enabled the CO to enhance capacities of key national partners contributing to closing the energy access gap and a transition to a low-carbon energy future, adding to the National Development Plan targets of energy access to 50% by 2022. The program supported the Electrification of Off-grid communities with renewable energy sources to enable sustainable livelihood and economic growth, also strengthening female led, small scale business opportunities. 

Given the rich landscape of initiatives on energy both nationally and regionally, a key step in accelerating the development was to conduct a strategic assessment of both high-impact entry points for UNDP and important partners at the country-level. This included the development of an analytical roadmap and sensemaking and systems thinking exercises with key stakeholders that you can learn more about here in a previous blog.

Strengthening the capacity of local actors

The Government of Angola has transferred competences from National (Ministries) to Sub- national Governments (Provincial and Municipal), and water and energy are one of the decentralized services. Although the transfer of competences is a remarkable achievement at this stage, however, local entities still need necessary capacity development and skills transfer to effectively exercise their duties to ensure full operationalization of the decentralization process of such services from public and/or public-private entities. 

The utilization of TRAC 2 resources enabled the enhancement of key national partners' capacities, contributing significantly to closing the energy access gap and facilitating a transition to a low-carbon energy future. The program prioritized strengthening local state authorities' capacity in energy installation, distribution licensing, supervision, and inspection, and energy infrastructure management.