Country Strategy Development and Planning

1. Country Strategy Development and Planning Subhi Mehdi, AFR/SD June 14 2002

2. Outline • The ADS • Strategic Planning Process • The Strategic Objective • The Results Framework • Performance Management Plan • Lessons Learned from USAID/Uganda

3. What is the ADS? The Automated Directives System (ADS) contains the standard operating procedures and policies for the Agency

4. ADS Chapter 200 Series ADS 200 -- Introduction to Managing for Results ADS 201 – Planning ADS 202 – Achieving ADS 203 -- Assessing and Learning

5. 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/

6. USAID’s Strategic Planning Process: The Linear View Local partner and stakeholder consultation Technical Analyses Concept Paper Parameter Setting Results Framework Strategic Plan Submission Issues Meeting Final Program Review Parameters Cable Management Agreement Virtual team and USAID/W consultation

7. Reaching results: the causal pathway Early in life of SO Later in life of SO Strategic Objective Results Level Results level data may not be available for annual reporting purposes early in life of SO Intermediate Results Outputs Activity Level Activity level data is not Inputs usually appropriate for annual reporting later in life of SO

8. What is a strategic objective? Strategic Objective is the most ambitious result (measurable change) that a USAIDoperating unit along with its partners canmaterially affect and for which it is willing tobe held accountable.

9. 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

10. An SO Reflects Four Key Concepts: • Significant development result • Measurable change • Manageable interest • Accountability

11. Drafting the preliminary SO What are you trying to achieve, i.e.. Your objective? How will you achieve your objective? How will you know if you have reached your objective?

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13. 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

14. 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

15. PHN Results Framework Model Improved Use of Health and Family Planning Services and/ or Appropriate Practices in a Sustainable Fashion Quality Demand Access/Availability Sustainability Knowledge Commodities and Facilities Attitude Human Resources Equity Community Support Improved Health Status and/or Decreased Fertility Higher-level Impact Second-level Outcome Sustainability of Systems Provider Performance Third-level Process Provider Performance Sustainability of Demand

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17. 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

18. Lesson Learned from USAID/Uganda - 2 • 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

19. Lessons Learned from USAID/Uganda - 3 Approval Processes ·        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

20. 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

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22. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” --Mark Twain

23. Performance Monitoring Plan A Performance Monitoring Plan is a mandatory planand record of the performance indicators which a Mission will useto track progress toward achievement of its strategic objectiveand intermediate results.

24. 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

25. PMP Requirements: • Completed one year after the strategy approved • Updated annually • Not sent to Washington

26. 3 Stages of PMP Development • Stage 1: During strategy development • Stage 2: Following strategic plan approval • Stage 3: During strategy implementation

27. 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

28. 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

29. Reaching results: the causal pathway Early in life of SO Later in life of SO Strategic Objective Results Level Results level data may not be available for annual reporting purposes early in life of SO Intermediate Results Outputs Activity Level Activity level data is not Inputs usually appropriate for annual reporting later in life of SO

30. “If you don’t know where you are going, that’s probably where you’ll end up—nowhere.”

31. The End