Recommendation Dashboard

USAID/Afghanistan deobligate the remaining agricultural funds from the Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan Project.

USAID/Afghanistan modify the results that it expects Chemonics to achieve under the Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan Project, in light of the relationship with the central bank.

USAID/Afghanistan conduct an analysis to determine whether mobile solutions are appropriate in Afghanistan and modify accordingly the expected results for the Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan Project.

USAID/Afghanistan award a contract for an audit of costs incurred in Afghanistan by Chemonics under the Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan Project.

USAID/West Africa implement a corrective action plan that describes the initiatives to be implemented to improve performance, the milestones and timelines, the monitoring process, and the remedial actions that will be taken if the program is not making progress as planned.

USAID/West Africa implement a plan to increase activity managers' monitoring of the program to measure and verify progress against performance milestones.

USAID/West Africa require International Relief and Development to select local partners in Chad and Niger to carry out activities for the third and fourth objectives.

USAID/West Africa conduct a review of International Relief and Development's systems of budgetary control and liquidity management for the program and document the results.

USAID/West Africa consult with activity managers to confirm that cost estimates for particular items (such as rent and equipment) included in the realigned budget reflect current market costs in each of the three Peace through Development II countries, and, to the extent possible, verify with activity managers that country-level budgets properly include expected costs given planned future activities and document the results.

USAID/West Africa ask International Relief and Development to provide financial reports on a quarterly basis that analyze line-item expenditures against the budget and highlight and discuss any significant variations.

USAID/West Africa require International Relief and Development to hire local partners and comply with the terms of the subagreements.

USAID/West Africa require International Relief and Development to implement a plan to provide adequate oversight, support, and training to local partners.

USAID/West Africa work with International Relief and Development to fill vacant monitoring and evaluation positions with qualified staff and provide hiring documentation.

USAID/West Africa conduct a thorough follow-on data quality assessment of Peace through Development II activities during the first quarter of the 2014 calendar year once its monitoring and evaluation system has been fully implemented and tested.

USAID/West Africa follow up with International Relief and Development to confirm in writing that the specified training from the internal auditors' report has been provided and that the program has implemented a plan to address these training needs regularly.

USAID/West Africa require International Relief and Development to clarify and document responsibilities and procedures for activities that follow on from Salam Institute training workshops and curriculum development activities, clearly setting out the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including the institute, and allocating appropriate financial resources for those efforts.

USAID/Afghanistan determine the allowability of $16,283,163 in unsupported questioned costs representing $16,013,318 in overtime expenses that were missing required approvals by USAID supervisors, $193,805 in overtime expenses for which justifications were missing completely, and $76,040 that were too vague to serve as a basis for approvals, and recover the amounts determined to be ineligible for payment under applicable regulations or USAID or mission policies.

USAID/Afghanistan determine the allowability of $24,617 in ineligible questioned costs, representing overtime paid for time in training or in travel status, and recover the amounts determined to be ineligible for payment under applicable regulations.

USAID/Afghanistan implement more effective training, control activities, and monitoring related to control of overtime compensation.

USAID/Afghanistan provide periodic reports, at least quarterly, to the mission director on its monitoring of control activities related to overtime compensation until it can demonstrate an acceptable degree of compliance with applicable regulations and policies.

USAID/Peru work with Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogras to create a written sustainability plan for the technological centers.

USAID/Peru work with Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogras to reevaluate and document what indicators should be tracked for all three components and report on the progress of these indicators.

USAID/Peru direct Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogras to define in writing the criteria for reporting a person trained.

USAID/Peru work with CARANA Corp. and Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogras to update USAID's Training Results and Information Network to accurately reflect who has been trained.

USAID/Peru work with Centro de Informacion y Educacion para la Prevencion del Abuso de Drogras to implement policies and procedures on what and how information should be collected at the technological centers.

USAID/Peru develop in conjunction with CARANA Corp. a template for summarized reporting of expected target results and progress toward those targets.

USAID/Peru document a revised calculation for jobs generated from existing crops assisted and document a full-time equivalent multiplier, which is a coefficient for calculating jobs created through planting plantains.

USAID/Pakistan implement a plan to closely monitor construction and approval to avoid additional cost overruns.

USAID/Pakistan's Office of Financial Management require new local implementers to provide their office with a canceled check showing account name and number before requesting payment from the USAID disbursement office.

USAID/Pakistan implement realistic targets for improving literacy and numeracy under the Sindh Basic Education Program.

USAID/Pakistan deobligate the excess funding for Teachers' Resource Centre under the Sindh Basic Education Program and reprogram the funds for better use.

USAID/Pakistan determine whether to extend the Sindh Basic Education Program, and, if decides to do so, extend the program as soon as possible to mitigate future activity delays.

USADF review the Turkana portfolio of projects, and establish milestones and target dates for completing the remaining activities under each project.

USADF implement a process to confirm that a new country program has a partner organization in place before making awards.

USADF implement procedures for its Turkana program to verify that grantees' budgets correspond to planned outputs and deliverables before making awards.

USADF document lessons learned during the start-up of the Turkana program, including the appropriate selection of types of grants, and communicate those lessons to USADF and CEZAM and Associates Ltd. staff who are responsible for reviewing new grants under the program.

USADF implement a plan to build CEZAM and Associates Ltd.'s monitoring and evaluation capacity.

USADF, in coordination with CEZAM and Associates Ltd., help all grantees establish monitoring and evaluation systems and internal controls for accurate reporting.

USADF determine the allowability of $6,925 in questioned costs ($6,427 unsupported and $498 ineligible arising from Napucho's ineligible salary payments and unsupported cash withdrawals), and recover any amounts determined to be unallowable.

USADF determine whether to put the unspent balance of the Napucho grant to better use based on the results of its upcoming financial audit, and document its decision.

USADF terminate a portion of its award with the Turkana Pastoralist Development Organization for its work with the Lopur livestock marketing association and put the unspent funds (currently $42,696) to better use.

USADF determine the allowability of $4,805 in ineligible questioned costs arising from payments made to Excellent Operations Consultants for services provided to Eliye Springs beach management unit that were not in accordance with the agreement terms, and recover from Eliye Springs beach management unit the amount determined to be unallowable.

USADF determine the allowability of $4,379 in ineligible questioned costs arising from payments made to Excellent Operations Consultants for services provided to Longech beach management unit that were not in accordance with the agreement terms, and recover from Longech beach management unit the amount determined to be unallowable.

USADF implement a policy that requires CEZAM and Associates Ltd. to attend all tender evaluation meetings to monitor and assist grantees in the contractor evaluation and selection process, and require CEZAM to help grantees review all draft service agreements and contracts they prepare to confirm that they include all required provisions.

USADF identify key capacity-building indicators and the results to be achieved in its annual cooperative agreement with CEZAM and Associates Ltd., and implement procedures to verify that they are included in the annual work plan and assessed during CEZAM and Associates Ltd.'s annual performance evaluation.

USADF, in conjunction with CEZAM and Associates Ltd., help grantees implement a coordinated strategy through consultations with the Turkana County Government to help grantees capitalize on opportunities created by the presence of oil companies in the Lake Turkana region.

USAID/Haiti review time frames for carbon finance implementation to determine whether expected results can be achieved during the program and modify the contract to reflect realistic achievements or document the reasons for not modifying the contract.

USAID/Haiti implement a plan to resolve delays in activities that must be completed before carbon finance validation and certification can occur.

USAID/Haiti coordinate with Chemonics International Inc. to improve communication, coordination, and partnership among contractors, subcontractors, and partners in the field, or replace a current subimplementer with one that has a greater presence in Haiti and expertise working there.

USAID/Haiti require Chemonics International Inc. to prepare a data quality plan for the baseline report, and review and approve it.

USAID/Haiti implement a plan to support the Bureau of Mines and Energy in developing the certification lab or securing alternate partner(s) to house it.

USAID/Haiti determine whether the charcoal worker alternative livelihood activity is adding cost-effective value to the program, and document the decision to either continue or terminate the activity.

USAID/Haiti implement alternative marketing
strategies aimed at church groups to expand the biomass cookstove market, and expand marketing efforts to other urban community groups and document such efforts.

USAID/Haiti coordinate with Chemonics International Inc. to secure more affordable financing options for large consumers of charcoal to switch to liquid petroleum gas.

USAID/Haiti coordinate with Chemonics International Inc. to strengthen the marketing and outreach plan for large consumers of charcoal by using the resources and expertise of liquid petroleum gas distributors.

USAID/Haiti coordinate with Chemonics International Inc. to examine the perceived conflict of interest related to the liquid
petroleum gas legislation and document conclusions and planned actions, and implement a plan to increase collaboration among industry stakeholders through more discussions and forums.

USAID/Haiti document in writing how it can achieve targets for the number of large consumers of charcoal converted to liquid petroleum gas or set realistic targets for the remainder of the program.

USAID/Haiti implement a policy for mandatory environmental training for all mission staff involved in program management and for reviewing annually that all current staff have attended the training.

USAID/Haiti identify and incorporate risk activities that were not previously part of the approved environmental mitigation plan and report, and amend the initial environmental examination, if necessary, and document all
actions taken.

USAID/Haiti include Chemonics International Inc. employees in the next environmental training session and document their attendance.

USAID/Haiti, in collaboration with Chemonics International Inc., update the program's performance management plan to include needed revisions to the indicator descriptions, collection method, and targets, and implement it to address the indicators' data limitations for evaluating the program's impact.

USAID/Iraq inform Mercy Corps in writing to ask the agreement officer for an allowability determination prior to seeking payment for costs incurred by the International Republican Institute prior to terminating its work in Iraq.

USAID/Iraq implement a written plan to align the project description, budget, work plan, and performance management plan to allow Mercy Corps to plan its activities and give this plan to Mercy Corps.

USAID/Iraq ask Mercy Corps, in writing, to implement a plan to strengthen its internal controls for documenting the technical review process for grants and the reporting of data by key partners and grantees.

USAID/Iraq ask Mercy Corps, in writing, to implement a plan to discuss data integrity and ethics in its compliance and reporting training for new and existing grantees.

USAID/Afghanistan work with international donors to prompt the advertisement and letting of a subcontract under the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow Phase II Project to address Independent Electoral Complaints Commission support requirements in a way that mitigates potential conflicts of interest.

USAID/Afghanistan coordinate with the Government of Afghanistan and the international donor community to implement a plan for supporting broad-based civic outreach and education with a focus on increasing commitment to a genuine electoral process, particularly in predominantly Pashtun areas.

USAID/Afghanistan work with international donors to finalize and implement plans for supporting independent domestic observer organizations.

USAID/Afghanistan work with the Government of Afghanistan and other international donors to identify and help meet targets for women in key electoral roles, and implement plans for the recruitment and training of needed female poll workers, voter educators, observers, and complaints commission personnel, as well as for the training of female candidate agents.

USAID/Afghanistan develop a contingency plan to address critical, time-sensitive electoral support needs that may emerge during the current electoral cycle in consultation with the Government of Afghanistan and the international donor community.

USAID/Afghanistan reevaluate and document any adjustments to its elections and political processes programming in light of Afghanistan's continuing use of the single, nontransferable voting system.

USAID/Afghanistan work with other international donors to implement a transition plan for assistance under the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow Project - Phase II to the Independent Electoral Commission that addresses possible staffing and funding limitations to enable it to operate effectively beyond the current electoral cycle.

USAID/Afghanistan assess whether future efforts to promote the financial sustainability of the Afghan Women's Organization for Supporting Democracy, the Toran Afghanistan Developmental and Educational Organization, and the Afghanistan Youth National Social Organization would support elections and political processes portfolio objectives and implement corresponding plans as appropriate.

USAID/Afghanistan reevaluate plans for support to political parties, adjust them as appropriate, and document any changes.

USAID/Afghanistan work with Afghanistan Electoral Reform and Civil Advocacy Program officials to meet the reporting requirements specified in the program award and performance management plan.

USAID/Jordan require a formal commitment from the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection to specific sustainability measures (e.g. price increases) as a condition of receiving additional assistance under the agreement.

USAID/Jordan document a decision on how to use remaining project funds to expand assistance to a diversified group of family planning organizations.

USAID/Jordan conduct the required data quality assessments for indicators reported to Washington.

USAID/Jordan conduct an assessment of other key indicators reported by Abt Associates Inc. for which data quality issues were identified, including an evaluation of each indicator's gender-disaggregated data.

USAID/Jordan require Abt Associates Inc. to provide USAID/Jordan with documentation demonstrating that it has included mandatory language in its subawards.

USAID/Jordan provide and document refresher training during the mission's regularly scheduled agreement and contracting officer's representative training sessions on standard provisions required to be included in subawards.

USAID/Jordan issue a letter to all implementing partners reminding them that not including mandatory provisions in subawards is a serious violation of their award terms and conditions, and is subject to severe administrative and legal remedies, including suspension or disallowance of
payments for subcontracts, imposition of liquidated damages, and termination for default.

USAID/Jordan implement procedures to confirm that Abt Associates Inc. is entering required data in the Training Results and Information Network.