International Development and Programs (Development Work) - International Development and Programs (Development Work)

Both implementing partners and USAID missions have a responsibility to set appropriate indicators and targets and to review and assess their relevancy periodically. According to Performance Monitoring and Evaluation TIPS No. 8, “Establishing Performance Targets,” a supplemental reference to the Automated Directives System (ADS) 200 series on USAID programming policy, targets should be based on analysis of what is realistic to achieve, given factors such as the stage of program implementation, resources available, and country conditions.

Additionally, ADS 203.3.2.2 states that USAID missions and offices should use performance information to assess progress in achieving results and to make management decisions. ADS 200.2.b, “Primary Responsibilities,” states that USAID missions must develop the capacity to manage foreign assistance programs and ensure that teams have the necessary expertise, authorities, resources, and support to achieve their objective. In addition, TIPS No. 12, “Characteristics of Good Indicators,” includes “[t]he degree to which performance indicators and their related data accurately reflect the process or phenomenon they are being used to measure” and “the level of comparability of performance indicators and data over various measurement contexts.”

General Recommendations

• Strengthen program results reporting to ensure that indicators are effective in measuring goal achievements and that baseline data are collected to measure impact.

Source: AUDIT REPORT NO. 6-294-11-006-P March 22, 2011

The recommendations are derived from audit reports of the Office of the Inspector General. The source refers to the audit report, which is available on this site as part of the Audit Database Project: an educational tool for compliance with USAID regulations.  Please see the disclaimer of this site before using recommendations.