United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Overview
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the leading development agency in the US and is the largest bilateral aid agency in the world. It works to end extreme poverty in over 100 countries. A joint State Department and USAID team hosts the website, ForeignAssistance.gov, which reports data from a range of US government agencies involved in the implementation of US foreign assistance. The data from this website is used to report to the US Congress and the OECD.
USAID became an IATI member in 2011 and published data jointly with other US agencies from 2013. In 2017, USAID began publishing its own data separately.
Analysis
USAID remained in the ‘good’ category but dropped a significant twelve points, falling into the bottom half of the category as compared to the 2020 Index. It dropped points across all five components of the Index, with some falling more than others. It also dropped to third place among the four US agencies assessed in the Index. USAID, however, is the only US agency to maintain monthly publication of its IATI data.
USAID performs above the ‘good’ group average on the organisational planning and commitments component, its highest scoring component. It scored full points for its organisation strategy, annual report, allocation policy, procurement policy, and audit. This was consistent with 2020. It dropped points on country strategies due to a number of regional strategies not meeting assessment criteria.
USAID’s information on joining-up development data scored just under 90% of the available points. Procurement data on tenders, which USAID did not publish consistently across its activities, lowered its score. It did not disclose any contracts data in IATI, but we consistently found these on a related portal.
USAID performed relatively well on the project attribute component but dropped four points from the 2020 Index. It published in the IATI Standard format for all indicators. USAID scored no points for conditions, the major contributor to the overall drop for this component. The other lowest scoring indicator in the component was sub-national locations, which it published for just over two percent of its IATI activities.
Where USAID published finance and budgets indicators, it scored well on commitments, disaggregated budgets, disbursements and expenditures, and total organisational budget. As with other US agencies, this last indicator was only two years forward-looking. However, it did not publish data or score for three of the seven indicators, budget alignment, project budget, and project budget documents. No data was found for any of these three indicators in other formats.
For performance related information, USAID dropped four points from 2020, scoring below average for the ‘good’ category. It published all indicators to the IATI Registry with objectives, reviews and evaluations, and pre-project impact appraisals having relatively good quality data. However, coverage of performance-related documents was low, with less than two percent of activities scoring against the four performance indicators. USAID failed quality checks for results due to no actual results being available.
Recommendations
- USAID should improve the consistency, timeliness and comprehensiveness of its objectives, pre-project impact appraisals, reviews and evaluations, and results data across all its activities.
- USAID should prioritise the publication of project budgets and project budget documents to the IATI Registry.
- It should provide project specific conditions and/or provide a statement on why conditions are not present.
- USAID should continue to improve the publication of recognised organisation references for its partners using the latest guidance from the IATI community.
Deep Dive
Organisational planning and commitments
This component looks at the overall aims and strategy of an organisation. We check for any public commitments to aid transparency. We also make sure audits are published and if planning documents have been published, including by parent organisations (including national governments) where applicable. We make note of any Freedom of Information laws and critically, we make sure that organisations have tried to make their information easy to access and understand. You should not have to be an expert in open data to be able to find and use this information.
Quality of FOI legislation
Score: 1.25Accessibility
Score: 1.88Organisation strategy
Score: 1.87Procurement policy
Score: 1.87Strategy (country/sector) or Memorandum of Understanding
Score: 1.22Audit
Score: 1.87Finance and budgets
This component is critical to allow you and anyone else to follow the money. We expect to find the total budget of the organisation being assessed, right down to individual transactions for each development activity. In particular, forward-looking budgets from donors are important for partner country governments to be able to plan their own future finances.
Total organisation budget
Score: 3.24Disaggregated budget
Score: 3.24Project budget
Score: 0Project budget document
Score: 0Commitments
Score: 3.25Disbursements and expenditures
Score: 3.1Budget Alignment
Score: 0Project attributes
This component refers to descriptive, non-financial data, including basics like the title and description of a project. Information like this is important as it is often the entry point for data users to quickly understand what a project is about. We also look for other information that helps to put a project in context, such as its sub-national location or the sector that the project deals with, for example, education or agriculture.
Title
Score: 0.99Description
Score: 2.87Planned dates
Score: 1Current status
Score: 1Contact details
Score: 1Sectors
Score: 2.5Conditions
Score: 0Unique ID
Score: 2.5Joining-up development data
This component looks at how well an organisation's data is able to be linked and connected with other bits of information. There is a diverse nature of flows, activities and actors within the development sector. Aid and development finance data needs to be effectively linked and connected with the rest to provide a full picture for the user. This can be particularly important for partner country governments, which need to integrate information on aid with their own budgets and systems.
Flow type
Score: 3Finance type
Score: 3Networked Data - implementers
Score: 3.33Performance
This component refers to the essential data and documents that assess whether a project is on track or has been achieved. This includes things like baseline surveys, progress against targets, mid-term reviews and end of project evaluations. This information is important to hold aid organisations to account and also to share knowledge with others on what worked and what did not during a project.
Quality of FOI legislation definition
Quality of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or disclosure policy (Access to Information Policy). The definition used in the Global RTI Rating is that it has to be a law in the strict sense. It must include the right of access to information, this right has to be enforceable and there must be complaint, court and high court appeal possibilities. Decrees are included if they meet the same standards. In addition, the FOIA must be in use for at least the executive part of the government; therefore, FOIAs which are only adopted, approved or still in draft form are not counted.
Accessibility definition
Does this organisation promote access and use of its aid information? The overall accessibility of aid information through the organisations’ portals, project databases or searchable data sources. These are scored using three criteria: 1) the portal allows free, bulk export of data; 2) it contains detailed disaggregated data; 3) the data is published under an open licence.
Organisation strategy definition
Does this organisation publish an overarching strategy document? An overarching strategy document explains the general approach and policies of the organisation towards international development. This should be forward looking.
Annual report definition
Does this organisation publish an annual report? Annual reports outline basic (normally aggregate) information about how aid was spent in the previous year, broken down by sector and/or country. This should be backward looking.
Annual reports that are up to date within their regular cycle, i.e. the organisation publishes an annual report a year behind, the most recent document within this time frame are accepted.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Annual report (document code = B01).
Allocation policy definition
Does this organisation publish its aid allocation policy? Aid allocation policies are the detailed policy documents by which the organisation chooses where to spend its resources, i.e. on particular countries or themes. Relatively general documents or web pages outlining which countries, themes and institutions the agency will fund are accepted, as long as this is forward-looking and not wholly retrospective.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Aid allocation policy (document code = B04).
Procurement policy definition
Does this organisation publish its procurement procedures? An organisation’s procurement procedures explain the process used to tender and contract (invite bids for) goods and services. This must fully explain the criteria on which decisions are made and could be in a single procurement policy document or attached to each tender.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Procurement policy and procedure (document code = B05).
Strategy (country/sector) or Memorandum of Understanding definition
Does this organisation publish the country strategy paper or memoranda of understanding for this partner country? For this indicator country strategies and MoU’s are taken together. A country or sector strategy will be accepted. Where one cannot be found, a MoU signed by the aid organisation and recipient country government will be accepted. A country strategy paper sets out the organisation’s planned approach and activities in the recipient country. For it to be accepted it needs to be a detailed document, rather than just a paragraph on the organisation’s website.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Country strategy paper (document code = B03).
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a document that details the agreement usually between the organisation and recipient government for the provision of aid in the country.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Memorandum of Understanding (document code = B13 or A09).
Audit definition
Does this organisation publish an annual audit of its aid programmes’ accounts? The organisation’s annual audit of its activities is an official inspection of the accounts and activities of this organisation, typically by an independent body.
Audits up to date with regular audit cycles are accepted, i.e. if the organisation publishes biennial audits, the most recent document within this time frame is accepted.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Institutional audit report (document code = B06).
Total organisation budget definition
Does this organisation publish the total organisation budget per year for the next three years? The total organisation budget is the total amount that the organisation will be allocated by the government or its funders per year for the next three years. This is money going to the organisation and can be indicative. Aggregate budgets of between 2–3 years are scored the same as 1-year forward budgets.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Annual forward planning budget (total-budget)
Disaggregated budget definition
Does this organisation publish their annual forward planning budget for assistance to different countries and institutions per year for the next three years? The organisation’s annual forward-planning budget for assistance is the disaggregated budget that the organisation or agency will spend on different countries, programmes and institutions where it will be active, for at least the next three years. The figure could be indicative.
Aggregate budgets of between 2–3 years are scored the same as 1-year forward budgets.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Annual forward planning budgets for recipient countries (recipient-country-budget).
Project budget definition
Does this organisation provide a breakdown of the budget of the activity by year and/or quarter? The budget of the activity is the breakdown of the total financial commitment to the activity into forward-looking annual and quarterly chunks.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Budget or Planned Disbursement.
Project budget document definition
Is the budget of the activity published? This is a specific budget detailing what the intended spending is for the different lines of the individual activity. It is often a document published on the organisation’s website.
Budget documents cannot simply be at the country level. If an activity budget is included in a larger country-level document, it is only accepted if the budget for the activity is broken down line by line.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Budget (document code = A05).
Commitments definition
Does this organisation provide details of the overall financial commitment made to the activity? This refers to the financial commitment for the activity as a whole for the lifetime of the activity. This is generally a high-level commitment rather than a detailed breakdown of the activity budget.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Transaction (transaction type = commitment).
Disbursements and expenditures definition
Does this organisation provide transaction-level details of individual actual financial disbursements / expenditures for this activity? Individual actual financial disbursements must be related to individual activities and must be on a per-transaction basis. Each activity is likely to have several transactions.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Transaction (transaction type = disbursement and expenditure).
Budget Alignment definition
Does this organisation provide information about the activity that can link the activity to the recipient government’s relevant budget classifications? The budget classification is a way of linking the activity to the recipient country government’s own budget codes. There are two parts to this indicator.
The first part captures the percentage of the total commitment allocated to or planned for capital expenditure. When publishing in IATI, a number between 0 and 100 should be used, with no percentage sign.
The second part checks that the activity is not using broad “multisector aid” or “sector not specified” sector codes. It checks that the activity is using one of the detailed “voluntary” CRS purpose codes and not aggregated “parent” codes.
Further detail about this indicator and details of the relevant codes can be found in the IATI guidance on country budget alignment.
Title definition
Does this organisation publish the title of the activity? The title of the activity is its name. This is preferably the formal name of the activity, but does not have to be. The title needs to be complete with any abbreviations or acronyms explained.
Description definition
Does this organisation publish a description of the activity? The description of the activity is a meaningful descriptive text, longer than the title, explaining what the activity is.
Planned dates definition
Does this organisation publish the planned start and end dates? The planned dates are the dates that the activity is scheduled to start and end on.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Activity date (activity date type = start-planned and end-planned).
Actual dates definition
Does this organisation publish the actual start and end dates?
(If they are not explicitly stated as actual dates then it is assumed that they are planned dates.) These are the dates that the activity actually started (and ended on, if the activity has finished). If there is only one set of dates but they are not explicitly stated as planned or actual dates, then it is assumed they are planned dates.
Actual dates are accepted where specific events occurred, e.g. the date the project/programme agreement is signed, a board presentation or an appraisal date.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Activity date (activity date type = start-actual and end-actual).
Current status definition
Does this organisation publish the current status of the aid activity (e.g. in pipeline, implementation, completion, post-completion or cancelled)? This shows whether the activity is currently under design, being implemented, has finished or has been cancelled.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Activity status.
Contact details definition
Are contact details provided for the activity? This shows who can be contacted in relation to this activity. This does not have to be the contact information for an individual or project manager and could refer to a central contact or information desk. Contacts for either the funding organisation or the implementing organisation are accepted.
This has to be stated alongside the activity or on an obvious “contact us” link alongside the activity.
Sectors definition
Does this organisation publish the specific areas or “sectors” of the recipient’s economic or social development that the activity intends to foster, e.g. education, health or infrastructure? The sectors of the activity explain whether this is, for example, a health or education project. It does not count if it is just mentioned incidentally within the title or description. It needs to be stated separately and explicitly.
Sub-national location definition
Does this organisation publish the sub-national geographic location for this activity? The sub-national geographic location is information about where the activity is located within a country. This may be a province or city, or it could be geo-coded (whereby the precise longitude and latitude is published). It needs to be stated separately and explicitly.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Location.
Conditions definition
Are the terms and conditions attached to the activity published? The terms and conditions of the activity may also be referred to as benchmarks, priors, deliverables or involve words such as “subject to...”. They are specific to an individual activity and explain what the recipient must do in order to be eligible for the funds to be released.
Any policy conditionality related to the activity should be published here. In cases where there are both terms and conditions and policy conditionalities for an activity, all of these should be declared.
The IATI references for this indicator are: Conditions and/or Conditions document (document code = A04).
Unique ID definition
Does this organisation publish a unique activity identifier? The activity identifier is a unique reference ID for the activity, e.g. a project number. It allows an activity to be referred to and searched for by a code, which can be used to retrieve the project from a database or filing system.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: IATI identifier.
Flow type definition
Does this organisation publish the “flow type”, i.e. whether the activity is categorised as Official Development Assistance (ODA), Other Official Flows (OOF), private grants, private market flows, non-flows (e.g. GNI) or any other flows? The flow type shows whether the organisation states that this activity counts as ODA, OOF, climate finance or any other type of flow. This has to be explicitly stated per activity OR once in a country strategy paper OR in a single place on the organisation’s website if there is only one flow type for all activities, e.g. “all aid is ODA”, or “we only provide private grants”.
Aid type definition
Does this organisation publish the type of aid given (e.g. budget support, pooled funds, project-type interventions, experts, scholarships, debt relief, or administrative costs)? The type of aid shows whether the activity is classed as budget support, a project, technical assistance, debt relief, and/or administrative costs. This needs to be explicitly stated per activity OR once in a country strategy paper OR on a clear place on the organisation’s website if there is only one aid type for the whole organisation, e.g. “all aid is project-type interventions”.
Finance type definition
Does this organisation publish the type of finance given (e.g. grant, loan, export credit, debt relief)? The type of finance shows whether the activity is a grant, loan, export credit or debt relief. This needs to be explicitly stated per activity OR once in a country strategy paper OR clearly on the organisation’s website if there is only one finance type for the whole organisation, e.g. “all aid is grants”.
Tied aid status definition
Does this organisation publish whether the aid is tied or not? The tied aid status shows whether the organisation states that this activity counts as “tied” (procurement is restricted to the donor country) or “untied” (open procurement).
Specifying location requirements in activity documents such as procurement policies or tenders is accepted as publishing tied aid status.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Default tied status.
Networked Data - implementers definition
Does this organisation publish which organisation implements the activity and accepted references for all organisations participating in its activities? The Networked data indicator assesses how organisations provide information about other organisations participating in their activities. There are two parts to this indicator:
The first tests whether the activity’s implementing organisation name is published. The implementer of the activity is the organisation that is principally responsible for delivering it.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Implementing organisation: participating-org role = “4” (implementing).
Networked Data - organisation references definition
Does this organisation publish which organisation implements the activity and accepted references for all organisations participating in its activities? The Networked data indicator assesses how organisations provide information about other organisations participating in their activities. There are two parts to this indicator:
The first tests whether the activity’s implementing organisation name is published. The implementer of the activity is the organisation that is principally responsible for delivering it.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Implementing organisation: participating-org role = “4” (implementing).
Project procurement definition
Contracts: Is the contract for the activity published? The individual contract(s) signed with a company, organisation or individual that provides goods and services for the activity. This could be on a procurement section of the organisation’s website, on a separate website or on a central government procurement website.
Contract documents cannot simply be at the country level. If an activity contract is included in a larger country-level document, it is only accepted if the contract mentions the activity specifically and in detail.
Basic information about the activity contract is accepted if it contains three of the following five information items: awardee, amount, overview of services being provided, start/end dates, unique reference to original tender documents.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Contract (document code = A11 or A06).
Tenders: Does this organisation publish all tenders?
Tenders are the individual contracts or proposals that have been put out to invite bids from companies or organisations that want to provide goods and services for an activity. They may be on a separate website, possibly on a central government procurement website.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Tender (document code = A10).
Objectives definition
Are the objectives or purposes of the activity published? The objectives or purposes of the activity are those that the activity intends to achieve.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Objectives/Purpose of activity (document code = A02) or Description (description type = 2).
Pre-project impact appraisals definition
Is a pre-project impact appraisal published? Pre-project impact appraisals explain the totality of positive and negative, primary and secondary effects expected to be produced by a development intervention. Environmental, social or human rights impact assessments are accepted.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Pre and post-project impact appraisal (document code = A01).
Reviews and evaluations definition
Are evaluation documents or reviews published for all completed activities in this recipient country? Evaluation and review documents consider what the activity achieved, whether the intended objectives were met, what the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives were and an assessment of the impact, effect and value of the activity. This information may be on a specific evaluation section of the organisation’s website.
If the activity under assessment is not completed but interim evaluation or review documents are available, these will be accepted.
The IATI reference for this indicator is: Review of project performance and evaluation (document code = A07).
Results definition
Are results, outcomes and outputs published for all completed activities in this recipient country? The results show whether activities achieved their intended outputs in accordance with the stated goals or plans. This information often refers to log frames and results chains and may be within a specific results or evaluation section of the organisation’s website.
The IATI references for this indicator are: Result and/or Results, outcomes and outputs (Document code = A08).