Recommendation Dashboard

USAID/El Salvador document steps taken to develop a performance indicator that measures whether the Municipal Competitiveness Project is making progress in promoting investment and trade.

USAID/El Salvador establish a process to differentiate new firms and jobs from those that are newly registered but have been operating informally, and collect additional data that would more accurately measure economic growth and employment directly resulting from the Municipal Competitiveness Project.

USAID/El Salvador prepare a schedule and conduct regular site visits to the participating municipalities over the remaining contract
period, and document the visits in accordance with Mission Order 750.

USAID/El Salvador obtain access to the Training Results and Information Network, and properly monitor and report on in-country training programs and participants in accordance with USAID's Automated Directives System 253 and Mission Order 745.

USAID/El Salvador obtain the baseline assessment of business ownership and the gender integration plan from Research Triangle Institute, and implement the actions presented in the gender analysis.

USAID/El Salvador amend the contract with
Research Triangle Institute to include environmental compliance language that will make
the environmental mitigation plan mandatory if its activating conditions are met.

USAID/Pakistan provide and document training to all office directors and senior mission management to make them aware of the mission training policy.

USAID/Pakistan implement a plan to review all
pending fiscal year 2013 international training events that are outside the Asia Regional Training Center to determine whether they comply with the mission training policy.

USAID/Pakistan implement a standard procedure for approving all training events that are classified as exceptions to the mission training policy.

USAID/Pakistan implement a plan to conduct a cost benefit assessment for all international training events that are not core or mandatory, and reduce the training budget by the amount of savings achieved.

USAID/Lebanon, in coordination with USAID/Egypt's regional procurement office, use the results of the alert notice to reduce program activities, replace, or terminate the award, and document their determination.

USAID/Lebanon ask, in writing, the implementer and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to establish roles and responsibilities of all program parties that align with the cooperative agreement.

USAID/Lebanon, in coordination with USAID/Egypt's regional legal advisor and procurement office, determine, in writing, whether 611(e) certification is required based on program activities, and submit the certification if required.

USAID/Lebanon, in coordination with USAID/Egypt's regional procurement office, modify the program agreement to include sustainability activities for each component of the award.

USAID/Lebanon, in coordination with Education Development Center Inc., modify all awards to include the required trafficking in persons provision.

USAID/Lebanon designate, in writing, a counter-trafficking in persons coordinator

USAID/Jordan assess and streamline program activities to focus on results that will achieve the program's revised goal and have a greater impact on at-risk youth for successful long-term employment and document the results.

USAID/Jordan direct International Youth Foundation in writing to review and correct the reporting data for all 31 indicators and perform and document a data quality assessment for the indicator tracking the number of people who benefited from the program that was reported in the mission's annual performance plan and report.

USAID/Jordan implement procedures for the agreement officer's representative to validate reported program results periodically.

USAID/Jordan implement procedures to confirm that International Youth Foundation entered its past trainings into USAID's Training Results and Information Network, training data is entered into the database quarterly, and the agreement officer's representative is monitoring the entry of data into the database.

USAID/Jordan verify that International Youth
Foundation modifies all service contracts to include human trafficking and terrorism financing provisions.

USAID/Ukraine work with Chemonics International Inc. to implement a plan to streamline the subaward process for the AgroInvest project.

USAID/Ukraine work with Chemonics International Inc. to provide and document training for AgroInvest staff on relevant USAID regulations for the awarding of subawards, such as conducting environmental review and assessment checklists.

USAID/Ukraine reassess AgroInvest's policy priorities and implement a plan to achieve these priorities during the remainder of the contract.

USAID/Ukraine solicit the assistance of independent experts to review in writing the field association concept for economic, political, and social impacts, and to develop and document alternative models for consideration.

USAID/Ukraine refrain from allocating more resources to the field association concept until a full, independent legal review can be conducted. If this review deems that the concept is not in line with the Ukrainian Constitution, we recommend that USAID/Ukraine discontinue its work on it and document that determination.

USAID/Ukraine conduct an independent analysis of the field association concept to determine whether it is in line with the strategic priorities of the U.S. Government for the independent states of the former Soviet Union. As part of this analysis, USAID/Ukraine should vet the concept with appropriate U.S. Government officials at the Embassy and document the results.

USAID/Ukraine work with Chemonics International Inc. to immediately implement a public education and outreach campaign that focuses on basic land rights and can be expanded if and when the legislation on the land market is finalized.

USAID/Ukraine perform and document an analysis that considers the use of a microfinance instrument or grants to fully leverage partners under AgroInvest's Access to Finance component.

USAID/Ukraine work with Chemonics International Inc. to reassess AgroInvest's future relationship with commercial banks, dedicate more resources to activities with credit unions, and document the results.

USAID/Ukraine work with Chemonics International Inc. to implement a plan to verify that the results reported by AgroInvest comply with the data quality standards outlined in Automated Directives System 203.3.11.1.

USAID/Pakistan develop a strategy with the implementing partner to include longer-term grants to sustain the progress achieved.

USAID/Pakistan implement an action plan with quarterly targets for conducting site visits, and create a system to track site visit findings.

USAID/Haiti implement a corrective plan to address Population Services International's delays in conducting baseline studies, and
determine relevant targets for each of the indicators selected for reporting.

USAID/Haiti review and evaluate in writing whether agreement indicators accurately reflect program activities and goals, and require Population Services International to report the progress of these indicators in its reports to USAID.

USAID/Haiti ask Population Services International to conduct activities in locations and intervention zones identified in the relevant studies to reach different groups and avoid repeatedly reaching the same audience.

USAID/Haiti work with Population Services International to implement procedures for recording data on beneficiaries reached to avoid overcounting.

USAID/Haiti and Population Services International implement an action plan to address the high-risk populations identified in the program objectives, and determine in writing whether Prevention of Sexual Transmission of HIV/AIDS can help the identified vulnerable populations.

USAID/Haiti require Population Services
International to share information on planned activities with the Ministry of Public Health and Population at the departmental level within the departments in which program activities are conducted.

USAID/Haiti coordinate with Population Services International and Ministry of Public Health and Population to address communications regarding the program, and implement a plan for improving
communications at the departmental level.

USAID/Haiti implement a plan for incorporating gender disaggregated data into its service delivery methods for most-atrisk populations.

USAID/Philippines modify the project's monitoring and evaluation plan to include performance indicators that sufficiently reflect the intended accomplishments under each of the project's result areas. Performance indicators measuring accomplishments not clearly attributable to the project's efforts should be removed.

USAID/Philippines direct the contractor in writing to determine baseline data for indicators included in the monitoring and evaluation plan, and update performance targets as appropriate.

USAID/Philippines, after revising the project monitoring and evaluation plan and correcting reported results, assess the quality of reported data.

USAID/Philippines amend Mission Order 203-1 to more explicitly direct all contracting officer's representatives and agreement officer's representatives to conduct data quality assessments for their projects to verify that data collected on each project indicator meet all five quality standards referenced in ADS 203.3.11.1 and test the data's accuracy and consistency.

USAID/Philippines amend Mission Order 203-1 to require the Program Office to evaluate assessments submitted by contracting officer's representatives and agreement officer's representatives for completeness and document the results. The office should return assessments it considers inadequate for additional work.

USAID/Philippines require the contractor to implement a strategy extending training to all target areas.

USAID/Philippines determine the allowability of $737,676 in questioned costs and recover from Chemonics International Inc. any amounts determined to be unallowable.

USAID/Philippines implement written procedures to shorten the response time to action requests and documents submitted by the contractor for approval.

USAID/Philippines work with the contractor to determine the feasibility of implementing a strategy to extend workforce outreach to the remaining 23 target areas, and, if feasible, implement the strategy.

USAID/Egypt (1) review project tasks to determine their achievability and potential to have an impact, and (2) prioritize, select, and document the most promising tasks to focus on for the remainder of the contract.

USAID/Egypt work with the contractor to prepare a work plan around the selected tasks. It should include a budget to indicate the level of effort the project intends to spend on each task.

USAID/Egypt work with the contractor to perform a documented review of the project personnel, and, if necessary, adjust staff according to the new work plan.

USAID/Egypt perform a documented review of the need to increase the frequency of preparing project work plans from once to twice a year, and if changed, formalize it by modifying the contract.

USAID/Egypt develop a documented cost-benefit analysis on increasing the project's form of support beyond technical assistance to better align the project's efforts with the current needs of its partners.

USAID/Egypt work with the contractor to get project partners to confirm, in writing, their commitments to the new selected tasks and work plan.

USAID/OIG recommends that for the tasks that have been removed from the project's work plan, USAID/Egypt notify, in writing, the various project
partners about the changes.

USAID/Egypt work with the contractor to design a new monitoring program to track the progress of the new work plan. The monitoring program should include a revised performance monitoring plan
and a method for collecting and validating performance data.

USAID/Egypt perform a documented review of the merits of completing the information technology system at the Egyptian Customs Authority, decide how the mission plans to support the system's completion and sustainability, and document the decision.

USAID/Southern Africa review its procedures for reporting exceptions to competition to the agency competition advocate and implement a documented plan to improve the relevance, reliability, and timeliness of these reports.