RATIONALE FOR PERFORMANCE REPORTING
Performance reporting provides the Mission with an opportunity to communicate its achievements, share accomplishments, and reflect on challenges and lessons learned. Though often a mandatory requirement to ensure accountability to stakeholders, performance reporting can also be viewed as an opportunity for reflection and learning. Depending on the nature of the report, reporting may also require coordination and communication across USG agencies, providing an additional
opportunity to bring stakeholders together to both ensure consistency in reporting and reflect on accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned.
In addition to routine information requests from Congress, the Embassy, and others, Missions have a number of standard reporting requirements.
These include the annual Performance Plan and Report (PPR), managed by the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance (F); and Presidential Initiative Reporting (e.g., Global Health Initiative, President’s Malaria Initiative, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Global Climate Change, Feed the Future). In
reporting performance, Missions are encouraged to use a mix of standard and custom indicators that adequately convey progress toward objectives.
Where possible, performance indicator data should never be reported without accompanying explanation, analysis, and contextualization that helps explain why this data is important. Therefore, reporting progress toward results should involve not only relaying performance data, but also communicating performance data within the broader context of overall performance to inform stakeholders of the quality and value of USAID’s strategic approach, projects and activities. Table 17 provides an overview of some of the different venues and formats, both internally and externally, in which USAID might communicate and/or report performance data.
OVERVIEW
Accountability, including reporting on Mission
performance to Washington and other stakeholders, is another important component of performance management. This module covers various types of Agency reporting of performance data, as well as approaches to ensure that data are clear and accessible to various stakeholders.
TOOLS
Model PPR Preparation Task List for Field Missions
Part 3 Module 3: Communicating and Reporting Progress
103 Table 17: Examples of Performance Communication and/or Reporting
Communication
Focus Performance Information Reporting Modality
Internal
Portfolio Reviews, where performance data is typically reviewed, analyzed, and reported by the DO team, and presented to Senior Management for discussion Evaluations and other special studies, where analysis about performance is presented as findings, conclusions, and recommendations
Through site visit reports, which include potential actions in response to observations about performance
Data Quality Assessments, which analyze performance data before reporting to Washington
Learning opportunities, where performance data could be presented, including recommendations for action and analysis
Through FrontLines and other USAID newsletters
On ProgramNet, where performance and management issues are shared and discussed with other USAID staff
Presidential Initiative reporting, which is shared with Regional and Pillar Bureaus
External
Portfolio Reviews with stakeholders, where performance data is reviewed and
analyzed through consultations, and then used to prepare the Program Office and DO teams for internal Portfolio Reviews
Evaluations and other special studies, where analysis about performance is presented as findings and recommendations
Through the PPRs to the Department of State and in the Congressional Budget Justification
Through the Development Experience Clearinghouse, which makes USAID’s reports available to the public
Ad hoc requests for performance reporting and data from other USG agencies (for example, related to the MDGs, Initiatives, earmarks, etc.).
Performance reports that are shared with the Host Government, other donors, and other development actors
On Learning Lab and other USAID and external websites TIMING AND PREPARATION FOR PERFORMANCE REPORTING
To ensure that the Mission is sufficiently prepared and responsive to performance reporting deadlines, some helpful practices include making sure that necessary data reporting requirements are included in acquisition and assistance instruments, and making sure that partner reporting schedules provide information at the appropriate times for Agency and USG reporting (for example, following the USG fiscal calendar).
Helpful Hint
Some data collection methodologies, such as certain surveys and polls, but also complex indicators such as indexes and milestone scales, require time both to collect the data as well as to clean, analyze, and finally make the data available to decision-makers. ADS guidance states that these data must be reported in the fiscal year when the findings were first available, not the date of the data collection effort. For example, if a survey takes place in March 2013, and the report with findings is available in December 2013, the data must be reported in the first quarter of FY 2014.
For example, many implementing mechanisms are required to use the activity/IM award date to calculate when their annual reports are due. If the activity/IM anniversary falls in the middle two quarters of the USG Fiscal Year (January – July), then the implementing partner may have to undertake additional data collection efforts to respond to the Mission’s performance data call. Working to align partner’s
performance reporting schedules with USAID’s reporting schedule will facilitate data analysis and reporting and minimize the reporting burden on USAID’s partners. Note that when the implementer is a U.S. non-governmental organization recipient of a grant or cooperative agreement, the AOR must consult with the Agreement Officer to determine the
parameters of performance reporting.
Internally, the Mission should also consider coordinating
Portfolio Reviews to be timed at intervals that are useful for informing performance reporting.
PERFORMANCE PLAN AND REPORT
Perhaps the most significant annual external reporting requirement is the annual Performance Plan and Report (PPR).Table 18 highlights the linkages between the information captured in the Mission’s PMP and that reported in the PPR. See the Model PPR Preparation Task List for Field Missions (Annex 25), developed based on Mission experiences, for tips on getting ready for the PPR.
Table 18: How the PMP Links to the PPR
Performance Plan and Report Element Mission-Wide PMP Information
An Operational Unit (OU) Preference Summary Various, depending on most recent PPR Guidance Program Area Narratives Various, depending on most recent PPR Guidance Program Element Narratives Various, depending on most recent PPR Guidance Key Issue Narratives
Portfolio Review information, evaluation findings, site visit reports, findings from other performance data reviews and analysis efforts, reviews of implementing partner reports
Indicator Results and Targets for the following three
years Data Tracker Tables /Performance Monitoring Information System, PIRS Data Quality Assessment summaries Data Quality Assessment reports, PIRS element on Data Quality Narrative for indicators for which the actual result
level is 10 percent or more different from the target Data Tracker Tables/Performance Monitoring Information System Performance Plan and Evaluation Registry (an annex
to the PPR in FACTS Info)
PMP Evaluation Plan information – inventory of evaluations conducted during the previous year, and planned evaluations and estimated budgets for the coming fiscal year plus two out years
Part 3 Module 3: Communicating and Reporting Progress
105 ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
There may be additional reporting requirements for some USAID Missions and Washington Operating Units related to, for example, Presidential Initiatives, USAID strategies, other earmarks and
Congressional reporting requirements, and potentially other Foreign Assistance requirements. For example, beginning in FY 2013, all Missions were required to submit their PEPFAR Country Operational Plan/Regional Operational Plan (COP/ROP) indicator data into the FACTS Info – PEPFAR Module. Missions should consult with their respective regional and technical bureau counterparts, the weekly Foreign Assistance Bulletin, and Agency Notices to stay apprised of new reporting requirements.
DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE CLEARINGHOUSE
Transparency is an important USAID operating principle. The Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) is an Agency-wide, web-based platform for the submission, storage, and sharing of documents. Documents posted to the DEC are made publically availably unless they are processed as “Sensitive but Unclassified.”
To support broader Agency learning process and public transparency, Missions should submit the following types of documents to the DEC:
All evaluation reports (except in rare circumstances, if a waiver is sought and approved); Assessments and special studies;
Contractor/grantee technical reports, publications, and final reports; USAID-funded conference/workshop proceedings and reports; and USAID Mission Close Out (“graduation”) reports.
Since the DEC is a public resource, Missions should make sure that information and reports posted to the DEC are appropriate for public consumption (e.g. do not contain Personally Identifiable Information or Sensitive but Unclassified information) and have gone through appropriate clearance channels.
SUMMARY
By now you should have an understanding of:
Opportunities and requirements for reporting internally and externally Preparing for performance reporting
Sharing and communicating performance data and findings
REFERENCES
ADS 201 ADS 203