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JAMAICA SOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND COMMUNITY LINK

R A I S I N G O U R G A M E : PORT ROYAL STREET C

O A S T A L R E V E T M E N T

May 18, 2022 was a proud day for JSIF as we hosted the official handing-over ceremony of our largest ever infrastructure project in our 27 year history - the Port Royal Street Coastal Revetment Project

Designed to withstand a 100-year storm event, the $1 3 billion project features 1 km of coastal revetment, road and stormwater drainage works, the construction of a fishing beach for East Downtown Kingston fisherfolk, and a promenade for residents to exercise and socialize

Opened by The Most Honourable Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, the coast protection structure was designated a Jamaica 60 Legacy Project by the Government of Jamaica and is an important piece in the national plan to revitalize Downtown Kingston

CONGRATULATIONS

Omar Hanif McFarlane-Sweeney, CD, PE

We are thrilled that our Managing Director has been conferred with the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander (CD) for his exemplary work in the Public Sector, in particular, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund

A Visionary Leader and Civil Engineer who has served the public sector in various capacities for over 10 years, Omar Sweeney has a stellar track-record in leading the charge on a range of innovative infrastructure projects and groundbreaking social intervention programmes executed on a national scale He serves on several leadership and governance bodies in the private and public sectors

We, at JSIF, are challenged and inspired by his leadership and deep commitment to elevating the lives of our nation's most vulnerable

We are proud of you, Sir!

JSIF has a long and enviable record of project implementation In our 27 years of operation, we have completed thousands of projects; in my estimation, more than 80 percent are infrastructure-related Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in what we do as it sets the foundation for successful outcomes It is also important because it allows other sectors to carry out their work for the benefit of all within the space

A recent example that we can all identify with is the fact that our COVID-19 testing centres, COVID wards and other facilities did not exist before the pandemic It was identified from the early stage that if our health practitioners did not have the requisite facilities, we could not have a successful outcome This is not very different from the approach that JSIF takes to achieve development outcomes Provision of infrastructure for education, health, sanitation, and economic livelihoods is essential in development - especially when targeting areas like poverty alleviation, environmental protection and human capital development It is for these reasons that we continue to drive efforts towards the development of sustainable infrastructure

Our approach to the development of sustainable infrastructure is user-centric Our process engages the community from the outset so that we can develop a product that is fit for purpose solves the problem and can be maintained To do this we use a consultative process that includes technical and socioeconomic considerations We also apply the latest procurement methodologies to ensure our delivery partners are selected in a strategic manner We believe that this method, along with a complementary resource allocation, redounds to the benefit of all Jamaicans

ICDP II SUMMER CAMP 2022 - EXPANDING HORIZONS

The Integrated Community Development Programme ll (ICDP ll) Summer Camp 2022 saw 1030 students from 8 communities enjoying two weeks of fun and learning

The camps were held in communities in St James, Kingston & St Andrew and Clarendon, where JSIF's ICDP ll has been doing comprehensive social intervention programmes

Over the years, JSIF has invested significantly in hosting summer camps to give children the opportunity to enjoy more structured, supervised educational and recreational activities

In excess of 14 camps were held with several interactive activities matching the interests and needs of children Therapeutic camps were used to support behaviour modification Information technology and music classes taught by the JDF and JCF bands were a hit with the students, Other activities involved the visual and performing arts social and life skills remedial literacy and numeracy classes, and sports,

The camps also provided short term employment for 128 residents within various communities "The camps are an important mechanism to facilitate community volunteerism," explained Mona Sue-Ho, Senior Manager, Social Development

ICDP II Summer Camp 2022 was hosted by JSIF in partnership with: the Ministry of Education & Youth, Ministry of Health & Wellness, Child Protection & Family Service Agency, Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences & Child Abuse, Jamaica Defence Force, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Energy Partners, and Community Development Committees

"The Camps create lifelong memories for the beneficiaries as it exposes them to new experiences and skills Camps also offer them opportunities to establish new friendships in a safe, stimulating and fun environment"

Mona Sue-Ho, Senior Manager, Social Development

PERIOD AT A GLANCE

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE II (REDI II)

Commencement of work on the Plumwood Pumping Station PV Solar System Installation Project

Commencement of work on the St Mary Multi-purpose Cooperative Infrastructure Upgrade & Equipment Project

Distribution of $150 million in equipment and agricultural inputs under the Income Generation Small Grants for Women and Youth Project

Trained 8 agriculture and tourism enterprises in community-based contracting methodologies

Provision of consultancy services for the Evaluation and Revision of the National Community Tourism Policy and strategy

Engaged consultant for the Environmental & Social Management Framework (ESMF) Project

Funded By The World Bank

DISASTER VULNERABILITY REDUCTION PROJECT (DVRP)

Handing-over of the newly constructed Yallahs Fire station

Handing-over of the newly constructed Port Maria Fire station

Commencement of work on the Myton Gully Drainage Improvement Project

Completion of ecosystem based assessments for 8 coastal towns including multi-hazard vulnerability and risk assessments risk reduction and adaptations plans for the most vulnerable

Completion of work to amalgamate, customize and update the first 3 codes of the National Building Code of Jamaica Act

Funded By The World Bank

Plumwood Pumping Station PV Solar System Installation Project (REDI ll)

(Myton Gully Drainage Improvement Project (DVRP)

PERIOD AT A GLANCE

BASIC NEEDS TRUST FUND 9 (BNTF 9)

Practical Completion: Grange Hill Primary School Expansion Project, and Mount Salem Primary School Rehabilitation Project

98% Completion: Windsor Water Supply Project, CPSFA Therapeutic Centre

Provision of equipment and supplies to the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre

Approval for 13 projects: 4 schools, 3 roads, 1 special education package 1 safe passages package 4 training & capacity building projects

Completion of final designs for 5 interventions: 4 rural schools and 1 farm road

Funded By The Caribbean Development Bank

INTEGRATED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT II (ICDP ll)

Completion of $120 million in integrated infrastructure work (road, water, drainage) in August Town

Rehabilitation of Lethe Primary School, St James

Construction of 3 Safe Passage Routes To Schools in Bickersteth, Roehampton, and August Town

Disbursement of $155 million in Youth Enterprise Development Grants were awarded to 72 Microenterprises Business development training was also offered across 8 communities

Execution of 14 Summer Camps benefiting 1030 students across 8 communities, and providing short term employment for 128 community residents

Training of Curfew Monitors in Denham Town and August Town in partnership with the JCF

Cosmotologist With Ring Light (ICDP ll Enterprise Development Grants)

August Town Vendor Supported With Food Cart (ICDP ll)

Funded By The Government Of Jamaica

JSIF INFRASTRUCTURE MASTERPIECES.....

STAND OUT PROJECTS

All of our projects are built to ISO 14001:2015 standards and adhere to the requirements of our internationally certified Environmental Management System (EMS)

Among the standouts are the Port Royal Street Revetment Project which won the 'JIE Best Engineering Project 2022, the nearly completed Child Therapeutic Centre, and the innovative Safe Passages project for schools, Our team's Flanker Drainage project was a creative solution to an age-old problem for a Montego Bay community Our series of Police Stations and Fire Stations which meet longstanding needs, are also special to us

We are also proud of JSIF's proprietary design for schools which has been replicated by others, It has a compact design which can be executed on small plots of land, and facilitates easy 'line of sight' for monitoring children Other features include,, internal and external playgrounds, a water harvesting system an integrated principal’ s office and sick bay

One of the most recognizable aspects of the JSIF's work in communities across Jamaica is our portfolio of durable, high-quality construction projects Our teams execute on average 20 major projects a year and numerous smaller ones Our projects span diverse categories, including health centres, schools, police stations fire stations water supply drainage sewage and coastal protection projects, green spaces, electrical connections, and even a child therapeutic centre

OUR APPROACH

Underpinning our approach is the understanding that social conditions are strongly influenced by the physical environment Our Managing Director Omar Sweeney explains: "If you want to solve problems facing the vulnerable, you must make investments in things like roads and structures to deal with raw sewage flooding and irregular utility use " He added:

"We are also guided by the Broken WIndows Theory which shows the correlation between crime and the physical environment "

"We see every project that solves a problem for the people we serve as a Masterpieceregardless of its size or complexity"

Omar Sweeney CD, PE, Managing Director

Port Royal Street Coastal Revetment (DVRP)

Montego Bay Fire Station (DVRP)

Flanker Health Centre St James (PRP lV)

THE FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE

BUILDING A REPUTATION

To fulfill our mandate, the JSIF has developed strong mechanisms to comply with the polices of our international partners For many years JSIF delivered smallscale infrastructure, such as a series of basic schools, built to last 50 years with minor maintenance , As our capacity improved we established partnerships across government and started taking on large-scale projects, Today, our team has the experience and expertise to execute the construction of multiple projects simultaneously ranging in complexity from a school bathroom block to coastal protection projects

THE JSIF MODEL

We execute our construction projects with a judicious blend of in-house professionals and external contractors Over time, we over-came the inherent challenges associated with not having complete control over the construction process by employing a number of strategies, among them, our well-attended Annual Contractor/Consultants Seminar & Awards event A number of our building contractors have grown with us; some who started as Grade 4 contractors now hold the Grade 1 designation

OUR SUCCESS FORMULA

Exercising the principles of 'equity, fair play and justice ' and the motto, “No one should leave the table unhappy” have paid off for JSIF in our relationship with contractors As a consequence, we have taken matters to arbitration less than 5 times in the past 20 years - an amazing record for an agency which executes roughly 600 contracts of varying sizes per year

Another drawing card for the JSIF is our reputation for paying on time "We make payments weekly; almost on demand - a big deal, as project planning and cashflow management go hand in hand This impacts delivery from contractors and their decisions on where to place their efforts," says the Managing Director, a civil engineer with over 20 years experience in project management

Port Maria Fire Station 3-Building Complex (DVRP)

Windsor Water Supply Project, Portland (BNTF 9)

Marlie Mount Primary School New Classroom Block *BNTF 9)

Child Protection & Family Services Agency Therapeutic Centre (BNTF 9)

Our robust governance and accountability systems have served us well This is evidenced in the reputation we have built with the Integrity Commission with whom we correspond frequently to ensure smooth sailing in the implementation of our hefty portfolio of projects Our teams work with a detailed operations manual as well as a digital tool to execute approvals, appraisals, payments, supervision, and other processes

UPCOMING PROJECTS

ANNOTTO BAY REVETMENT & BEACH NOURISHMENT PROJECT

KINGSTON WATERFRONT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

AGRICULTURE & COMMUNITY TOURISM PROJECTS

JSIF'S BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONALS

JSIF boasts one of the most highly trained and diverse cadres of built environment professionals in the country. Our current team includes 4 engineers, 7 quantity surveyors, an urban planner, an architect and 4 construction project managers. Our construction professionals work on blended project teams and execute, on average, 20 large projects per year as well as numerous small ones. Their expertise along with a blueprint of processes which the organization has perfected over time, have helped to cement JSIF's reputation as a high-performance agency - within the Public Sector, the Donor Community, and, importantly, the Citizens we serve.

Franklin Town Police Stattion (PRP lV)

"In addition to being highly trained one of the strengths of our professionals is their ability to speak the language of contractors and to provide them with the kind of support that motivates them to adhere to agreed upon deliverables - on time and within budget"

Omar Sweeney CD PE Managing Director

JIE ENGINEERING PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD CONGRATULATIONS

Major kudos to our Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP) Team for copping the Jamaica Institution of Engineers (JIE) 'Best Engineering Project 2022" for the Port Royal Street Revetment Project

The category is the JIE's top award and was conferred at its annual Awards of Excellence held at the culmination of Engineers Week, November 12, 2023

"Working on this project was an extremely satisfying experience for us all - especially knowing the great importance of Port Royal Street as one of the city's main arteries

We are humbled and pleased about the award

A big thanks to my team, and to the JIE for its recognition to JSIF You Rock!"

GREENWICH TOWN FISHERMAN GIVES BACK

Seven months after receiving an outboard motor for his boat from the JSIF, Greenwich Town fisherman Garth 'Silver' Bowers made good on his Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment to donate fresh fish to schools in his community His first stop was to the Maxfield Park Children's Home where he delivered 100 lbs of jack fish and snapper

Bowers was a beneficiary under Cycle 1 of the popular ICDP ll Enterprise Development Grant programme 230 micro-businesses received $50 million in support under Cycle 1 ICDP ll is funded by the Government of Jamaica

The grant programme, which includes a strong business development training component, aims to support microbusinesses while strengthening community economies

Corporate Social Responsibility is not just for big businesses Micro-business operators also have a responsibility to give back, so we're building out the CSR component of the programme in earnest

We are heartened by Mr Bowers' wonderful example - especially to the children

Mona

Senior Manager Social Development

Stacey-Anne Preston DVRP Project Manager

Sue-Ho

Stacey-Anne Preston Project Manager DVRP (Far Right) and Team Collecting JIE Award

Garth Bowers Presenting Fish to Western United Basic School Greenwich Town (ICDP ll)

The role performed by the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Unit has helped to burnish JSIF's reputation as a highperformance agency and to distinguish us with our international partners

This is in large part due to "M&E being a continuous management function that allows us to measure whether outcomes are matching planned results," explains Rhian Holder, Senior Manager, Social Development/Monitoring & Evaluation "It allows the organization to spot bottlenecks in implementation and to self-correct in good time," she added

Monitoring and Evaluation involves the tracking, assessing and reporting of the progress of the organization's activities against targets While there is a unit responsible for coordinating the M&E activities, all members of the organization contribute to this is various ways

"M&E is about looking with a clear eye at our performance with a view to learning from it," Rhian emphasized, "Where we have done well we share or transfer the knowledge and this has been a large part of JSIF's success

OUR OBJECTIVE

In short, the M&E Unit s aim is to make JSIF better, says Holder "We are about learning and sharing knowledge as well as showcasing the great things we ’ re doing which the M&E process can prove "

DONORS

M&E has also helped JSIF earn points with a critical partner - our donors, all of whom require us to have a robust M&E system in place to monitor and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as number of beneficiaries, the achievement of project development objectives and completed projects The Unit is involved from the project planning stage, right through to final evaluation "During implementation, the M&E process is never abandoned, even if things have to be tweaked as a project is a live thing," Rhian noted

REPOSITORY OF DATA

In addition to its core functions, the M&E Unit maintains a repository of references and documents for social officers It is also regularly approached by PhD candidates and members of academia for whom JSIF s reports and database is gold

CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

Data from the M&E Unit feeds into national plans in a number of ways JSIF falls under the Office Of The Prime Minister and the Unit feeds into their strategic plans

The Unit contributes to presentations made at PIOJ’ s Best Practice Symposium by JSIF staff and provides input to its Economic & Social Survey and UN Sustainable Development Goals document It also contributes reports to the National Poverty Reduction Programme Secretariat and shares findings with the Caribbean Development Bank (which has adopted some of JSIF's processes from our maintenance manual and project management information system), as well as other stakeholders

Crucial to the unit's success has been its ability to help staff members to appreciate the role of M&E in our mission to deliver outcomes that are in sync with plans The engagement of teams in the M&E process has also accelerated the pace at which JSIF has raised its game

Development/Monitoring

"Going forward, we'd like to conduct even deeper research on the impact of JSIF's programmes with a view to making an even greater contribution to national policy and programme design"

Rhian Holder Senior Manager Social

& Evaluation

(L-R) Michelle Moses - M&E Coordinator Phelese Brown - M&E Specialist Rhian Holder - Senior Manager Social Development/Monitoring & Evaluation

IN THEIR OWN WORDS...