Office of Strategic and Program Planning
CDCS
Implementing Country Development Cooperation Strategies
The Presidential Policy Directive on U.S. Global Development states that "USAID will work in collaboration with other agencies to formulate Country Development Cooperation Strategies that are results oriented and will partner with host countries to focus investment in key areas that shape countries' overall stability and prosperity." Together with USAID regional bureaus, the Office of Budget and Resource Management (BRM), and other Agency stakeholders, SPP oversees the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) process to institutionalize and standardize country and regional strategic plans that reflect the Administration's development principles as the foundation for USAID assistance.
CDCS Guidance [PDF, 488KB]
Approved Country Development Cooperation Strategies
- USAID Missions CDCS Schedule* [PDF, 205KB]
- Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) Regional Development Cooperation Strategy 2012-2020 [PDF, 1.6MB]
- Zambia Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) 2011-2015 [PDF, 1.8MB]
- South Sudan Transition Strategy 2011-2013 [PDF, 1.5MB]
- Southern Africa Regional Development Cooperation Strategy 2011-2016 [PDF, 1.3MB]
- Uganda Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) 2011-2015 [PDF, 686KB]
- Ethiopia Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2011-2015 [PDF, 1.5MB]
- Albania Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2011-2015 [PDF, 1.7MB]
- Bangladesh Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2011-2016 [PDF, 2.7MB]
- Bosnia Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2012-2016 [PDF, 1.1MB]
- Guatemala Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2012-2016 [PDF, 1.1MB]
- Senegal Country Development Cooperation Strategy 2012-2016 [PDF, 1.1MB]
*Public versions of completed CDCSs will be available within two months of CDCS approval, per CDCS guidance. Approval dates are subject to change. This schedule will be updated the first week of each month to reflect progress.
Project Design
Revitalizing Project Design
As part of the USAID Forward reform effort, the PPL is changing the way the Agency approaches project design. We are making sure the project design process to implement new strategies is informed by evidence and supported by analytic rigor. The new process will harness the existing technical expertise housed in USAID.
USAID Project Design Guidance [PDF, 528KB]
Streamlining
Streamlining Planning and Reporting Processes
A key deliverable of the QDDR and USAID Forward, the joint State/USAID Streamlining Project is making foreign assistance planning and reporting more effective and efficient, reducing time spent by field staff on paperwork and improving the utility of information they provide to Washington. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and USAID Administrator Dr. Raj Shah have directed offices in Washington and the field to make modifications that will reduce redundancies while strengthening resource planning and improving the link between strategic goals, program performance, and budget decisions. In addition, a joint State/USAID Governance Committee has been created to oversee and manage requests for the collection of new foreign assistance-related information, playing a critical role in managing new requirements being placed on the field.
Final Streamlining Report and Recommendations
The Streamlining Project's final report outlines the impact on the field of the current plans and reports and recommends significant changes to improve the usefulness of the processes and reduce the associated administrative burden. Highlights of the recommendations include:
- Create an integrated FA planning and reporting cycle, with a common framework and content updated throughout the cycle.
- Tie multi-year strategies to annual mission budget requests and the strengthen the resource planning aspects of the MSRP.
- Reduce narrative requirements in the OP and PPR and focus content on mission objectives and program performance.
- Reduce and improve the set of standard indicators, and use a common set of indicators throughout the cycle.
- Integrate Presidential Initiatives into the mainstream budgeting, planning, and performance reporting processes.
- Establish a permanent Governance Committee to manage recurring and ad-hoc reporting requirements to the field.
In order to accomplish these goals, the PMO set up four area-specific Project Teams (PTs), and a permanent Governance Committee to manage all future reporting requests to the field.
Governance Committee
This joint Department of State/USAID Committee will oversee and manage requests for the collection of foreign-assistance-related information not previously or regularly collected, playing a critical role in managing impact on the field and ensuring the utility of the data being requested. The members of the Governance Committee will closely consult with specialized expertise (e.g., subject-matter or IT experts), Department of State and USAID functional and regional Bureaus, and Post staff as necessary.
Integrated Cycle Project Team
The Integrated Cycle PT will define the business requirements for each stage of the FA planning and reporting cycle and assess how these annual requirements can meet the need of well justified ad-hoc requests. The PT will integrate FA plans and reports by developing common components that flow from stage to stage and are updated by the field as necessary, increasing the utility of information collected while reducing redundancy and unused narrative requirements and relieving significant administrative burden in the field.
Information Technology Project Team
Based on requirements defined by the other PTs, the Information Technology PT will plan and link IT systems to support the integration of FA planning and reporting, meet the justified requirements of Washington-based users, and recommend solutions to address Mission project management needs.
Global Health Integration Project Team
The objective of the Global Health Integration PT is to implement State/USAID Streamlining Project recommendations that will enhance the integration of PEPFAR, PMI, and other GH processes into standard FA planning and reporting processes.
Indicator Reengineering Project Team
The goal of the Indicator Reengineering PT is to develop a common set of quality FA indicators used throughout the planning and reporting cycle by:
- Rationalizing and reducing the number and increasing the quality and utility of indicators used for FA performance reporting and resource allocation
- Synchronizing the indicators for multipurpose use to improve reporting and resource management efficiency, and reduce time spent on unnecessary and/or duplicative efforts
- Refining the process for ongoing decision making about FA indicator additions, subtractions, and modifications (as part of the broader Streamlining governance approach)
- Ensuring that FA indicators are meaningfully tied to performance management to the greatest possible extent
- Improving data quality standards within the timeline presented by the report
|
