IPS TF Support Group Meeting took place on October 25^th, 2019 to discuss about the project progress so far as well as some highlights of main components. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Majlinda Dhuka, Vice Secretary General, Director of Department for Development, and Good Governance (DDGG) with participation focal points from donors such as, EU Delegation, Sweden and Swiss embassies and World Bank, which is implementing the project. Mrs. Dhuka in her opening remarks highlighted that the most difficult part of system design is already over, while all efforts should be concentrated in implementation phase by all actors.  There are some challenges related also to the usability and data quality that will populate the system. The project will address it in short run, while extensive systemic capacity building of the administration should be addressed in medium term.

Mrs. Oriana Arapi General Director, Policy Unit at DDGG & IPS-TF2 Coordinator followed with details about the status of implementation of each IPS component, the progress on each project activities, next steps and challenges, as well as long term sustainability of the project interventions. General Director of Financing and Contracting Unit/CFCU, Mrs. Veronika Korkaj, reported about the status of all procurement and contracts and gave figures of disbursements of funds as per contracts/agreements signed.

Donors highlighted the high rhythm and intensity on the work done so far, as well as the progress on the implementation of the systems. However, they expressed their concern about the feasibility of the going live date and the sustainability of the project for the medium and long term. Therefore, a dedicated meeting on future support needs will be organized soon by the government. Printed copies of IPS leaflets produced by communication consultant, Mrs. Alma Gerxhani in cooperation with each team were shared with participants. IPS Communication strategy is being implemented according to the agreed action plan and the outputs include but are not limited to: IPS leaflets four in total (IPS, AFMIS, IPSIS and EAMIS), a bilingual website which can be  accessed www.ips.gov.al and is in stage of population, and monthly newsletters will are sent regularly to IPS users. A high-level management event is planned to happen by the end of this year to announce the launch of IPS system.