Why We Did This Evaluation
USAID/Somalia’s Democracy, Stabilization, and Governance (DSG) Office was tasked with overseeing a portfolio of five programs, totaling over $120 million, spanning from March 2022 to July 2028. The goal of these programs was to reduce the influence of al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and support areas newly liberated from the group.
To do this, DSG programs addressed the root causes of violent extremism by working with Somali government and local partners—as well as public international organizations and other implementers—to strengthen communities, social cohesion, and systems of governance.
To assist with its oversight responsibilities, USAID designed an official management system to capture all portfolio development activities and facilitate evidence-based decision making. USAID/Somalia had financial management responsibilities—which varied by the type of program—and contracted with a third party to help monitor program performance of mission strategies, projects, and activities.
We initiated this evaluation to determine the extent to which USAID/Somalia’s Democracy, Stabilization, and Governance Office (1) used the official portfolio management system to measure progress toward intended results, (2) conducted oversight to ensure that spending complied with Federal cost principles, and (3) conducted oversight of the third-party monitor.
What We Found
USAID/Somalia did not use the official portfolio management system as required, which limited its ability to measure progress toward intended results in the DSG portfolio. Our analysis of portfolio management system data found that information was incomplete and inconsistent. Specifically, of the five awards in USAID/Somalia’s DSG portfolio, mission personnel and implementers included information for only four awards in the performance system and only reported indicator data for three of those four awards. Moreover, among the latter three awards, we noted inconsistencies in the number of indicators or results recorded among various sources of information maintained by the mission.
USAID/Somalia performed required financial oversight of DSG programs but could have improved coordination and instituted discretionary financial oversight tools. While the DSG Office provided financial oversight of its five awards in line with Agency requirements, it did not perform discretionary post-award financial oversight, thereby preventing it from fully detecting and addressing fiduciary risks.
USAID/Somalia did not have a standardized process for managing recommendations from third-party monitors. As such, the mission missed opportunities to improve implementation of the DSG programs.
What We Recommend
We made one recommendation for USAID/Somalia to determine the allowability of questioned costs identified in this evaluation, which the Agency disagreed with. We also included considerations for the Administration to enhance performance management and oversight of future foreign assistance programs.