Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade Overview Economic Growth and Agricultural Development Environment Human Capacity Development Program Development and Strategic Planning Women in Development Summary Tables Abbreviations & Acronyms Last updated: Wednesday, 29-May-2002 18:53:11 EDT

THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE: This office in EGAT is primarily responsible for ensuring that program activities are efficient and achieve stated results, and that program funds are adequate and efficiently managed. This office also focuses on regional coordination, efficient internet-based communication systems, and evaluations and program monitoring. This office coordinates two separate program activities: collaboration with the U.S. Peace Corps and managing activities under the bureau's program development and learning objective. Since 1985, the U.S. Peace Corps and USAID have worked in partnership to enhance the impact of development programs in over 70 countries. Through this program, Peace Corps staff and volunteers identify common community concerns, and USAID and Peace Corps develop strategies to address them. The technical skill of Peace Corps volunteers enable communities to address and resolve persistent development problems by utilizing low-cost, grassroots development approaches. The strategic objective for program and development funds activities that enable the Bureau to fulfill its mandate to evaluate programs, develop new initiatives, and respond to worthy unsolicited project ideas.

THE USAID PROGRAM: The program covers the two objectives.

The USAID/Peace Corps program pursues four USAID priority goal areas:

• stimulating economic growth and agriculture development;
• improving global health and HIV/AIDS treatment;
• protecting the environment; and
• education and training.

Activities also include small-scale community capacity building, management training, technical assistance, information dissemination and a community small-grant program. Over to 50% of the total resources managed through this program come from USAID field missions.

The Bureau Program Development and Learning objective introduced late last year allows the Bureau to finance program development costs, program assessments, special projects, evaluation efforts and better information management tools. It enables the Bureau to pilot new program initiatives through competitive or unsolicited processes and to design and support program evaluations. The program will develop knowledge-sharing technologies to enhance USAID staff and contractor effectiveness in implementing programs, and expand information technology systems to improve communications via intranet and extranet.

ON GOING PROGRAMS FOR WHICH NO NEW FY 2002 OR FY 2003 FUNDING IS REQUESTED: The Office of Program Development and Strategic Planning will receive FY 2002 or FY 2003 funding for these activities.

OTHER PROGRAM ELEMENTS: N/A

OTHER DONORS: N/A

Program Data Sheets

• 940-001  Enhance Communities' Capabilities to Conduct Low-Cost Grassroots, Sustainable Development Activities
• 940-003  Program Development and Learning (PD&L) Activity