Country Strategy Development and

Planning

Subhi Mehdi, AFR/SD

June 14 2002

• The ADS

• Strategic Planning Process

• The Strategic Objective

• The Results Framework

• Performance Management Plan

• Lessons Learned from USAID/Uganda

Outline

What is the ADS?

The Automated Directives System (ADS) contains the standard operating procedures and policies for the Agency

ADS Chapter 200 Series

ADS 200 -- Introduction to Managing for Results

ADS 201 – Planning

ADS 202 – Achieving

ADS 203 -- Assessing and Learning

Whom to contact

• Please send any questions to:

– Parrie Henderson-O’Keefe, PPC, 712-5672, phenderson@USAID.gov

– Skip Waskin, 712-4976, PPC, lwaskin@USAID.gov

– Ruth Buckley, 712-0329, AFR/DP, rbuckley@USAID.gov

• Web sites:

– http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/200/

– http://www.USAIDResults.org

– http://www.dec.org/partners/mfr/ads/

USAID’s Strategic Planning Process: The Linear View

Parameter Setting

Technical Analyses

Results Framework

Strategic Plan

Submission

Issues Meeting

Final ProgramReview

Parameters CableManagement

Agreement

Concept Paper

Virtual team and USAID/W consultation

Local partner and stakeholder consultation

Res

ult

s L

eve

lA

ctiv

ity

Lev

el

Inputs

Outputs

IntermediateResults

StrategicObjective

Early in life of SO Later in life of SO

Results level data may not beavailable for annual reporting purposes

early in life of SO

Activity level data is notusually appropriate for annual reporting

later in life of SO

Reaching results: the causal pathway

What is a strategic objective?

Strategic Objective is the most ambitious

result (measurable change) that a USAID

operating unit along with its partners can

materially affect and for which it is willing to

be held accountable.

In other words …..

• Heart of the strategy

• Mission’s judgment of the possible

• Where accountability rests

• Foundation for all Mission program actions

• Standard for judging performance

An SO Reflects Four Key Concepts:

• Significant development result

• Measurable change

• Manageable interest

• Accountability

Drafting the preliminary SO

What are you trying to achieve, i.e.. Your objective?

How will youachieve your objective?

How will you know if youhave reached your objective?

What is a Results Framework?

• Graphic and narrative representation of a strategy for achieving a specific objective

– Includes the objective, necessary intermediate results (IR), and any critical assumptions

– Conveys the implicit development hypothesis (cause-and-effect linkages)

– Used as a planning, communication, and management tool

Three Common Pitfalls

• Definitional linkages– SO: Strengthened Institutions

– IR 1: Improved institutional capacity for delivering goods and services

• Categorical linkages– SO: Increased use of Primary Health Care services– IR 1: Increased use of Maternal-Child Health services– IR 2: Increased use of Family Planning/Reproductive Health services– IR 3: Increased use of HIV/AIDS services

• Chronological linkages– SO: Sustainable policies and strategies in health adopted– IR1: Sustainable policies and strategies developed and tested– IR 2: Sustainable policies and strategies promoted

PHN Results Framework Model

Improved Health Status and/or Decreased FertilityHigher-level

Impact

Improved Use of Health and Family Planning Services and/ or Appropriate Practices in a Sustainable Fashion

Second-level Outcome

Access/Availability SustainabilityDemandQuality

Commodities and Facilities

Human Resources

Equity

Th

ird

-lev

elP

roce

ss

Knowledge

Attitude

CommunitySupport

Provider Performance

Provider Performance

Sustainability of Systems

Sustainability of Demand

Lesson Learned from USAID/Uganda - 1

• Initiate the process as early as possible, including ADS training

• Work from an analytic agenda

• Develop a consultative agenda and approach, and document the consultative process

• Consult with local stakeholders

• Exchange views regionally with the other GHAI Missions and REDSO

• Coordinate very closely with other USG entities, the Embassy, Peace Corps, CDC, and NIH

• Address integration and crosscutting issues such as conflict, food security, gender

• Pay attention to PMP and targets

• Develop a Transition Plan

• Hire a Production Editor

Lesson Learned from USAID/Uganda - 2

        Send a carefully selected team to Washington

        Ensure Washington buy-in early on

        Submit document well in advance of review

        Plan for team to spend three weeks in AID/W

        Line up TA for post-approval design work

Approval Processes

Lessons Learned from USAID/Uganda - 3

Teamwork

• Identify the team and re-assess roles

• Foster a common vision both at the Mission and SO levels

• Be flexible enough to accommodate different personalities of the team members

• Re-affirm role of the program office/team

• Promote the involvement and participation of FSN staff across the entire Mission.

• Be prepared for “strategy” burnout

Lessons Learned from USAID/Uganda - 3

“There are three kinds of lies:

lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

--Mark Twain

Performance Monitoring Plan

A Performance Monitoring Plan is a mandatory plan and

record of the performance indicators which a Mission will use

to track progress toward achievement of its strategic objective

and intermediate results.

The PMP Is:

• Mission management tool

• Blueprint for collecting, analyzing and reporting performance data

• Basis for annual reporting

• Auditable by the Inspector General, GAO, OMB

PMP Requirements:

• Completed one year after the strategy approved

• Updated annually

• Not sent to Washington

3 Stages of PMP Development

• Stage 1: During strategy development

• Stage 2: Following strategic plan approval

• Stage 3: During strategy implementation

Stage 1: During Strategy Development

The SO team should consider the following questions:

• How will we know if we’ve achieved our results?

• Will our activities actually lead to these results?

• How will we know if there are problems?

Consider preparing a “preliminary” PMP

Elements of a PMP

REQUIRED:

• Detailed description of indicators

• Source, method, schedule, and responsibility for data collection

• Known data limitations, significance, and actions to address

• Data quality assessment procedures

RECOMMENDED:

• Justification for selecting indicators

• Plans for data analysis, reporting, review and use

• Evaluations and special studies

• Costs of collecting, analyzing and reporting data

• Activity level indicators

• Plans for monitoring development hypothesis, critical assumptions and context

Res

ult

s L

eve

lA

ctiv

ity

Lev

el

Inputs

Outputs

IntermediateResults

StrategicObjective

Early in life of SO Later in life of SO

Results level data may not beavailable for annual reporting purposes

early in life of SO

Activity level data is notusually appropriate for annual reporting

later in life of SO

Reaching results: the causal pathway

“If you don’t know where you are

going, that’s probably where you’ll end

up—nowhere.”

The End