Afghanistan development : USAID continues to face challenges in managing and overseeing U.S. development assistance programs : testimony before the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Committee on Appropriations / statement of Charles Michael Johnson Jr.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Charles Michael, Jr.

Contributor:

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

United States. Government Accountability Office

Series:

Testimony ; GAO-10-932T.

Testimony ; GAO-10-932T

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Agency for International Development--Evaluation.

United States.

United States. Agency for International Development.

Economic assistance, American--Afghanistan--Evaluation.

Economic assistance, American.

Economic assistance--Afghanistan--Evaluation.

Economic assistance.

Evaluation.

Economic assistance, American--Evaluation.

Economic assistance--Evaluation.

Afghanistan.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (14 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

USAID continues to face challenges in managing and overseeing United States development assistance programs

United States Agency for International Development continues to face challenges in managing and overseeing US development assistance programs

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Govt. Accountability Office, [2010]

Summary:

"Various factors challenge U.S. efforts to ensure proper management and oversight of U.S. development efforts in Afghanistan. Among the most significant has been the "high-threat" working environment, the difficulties in preserving institutional knowledge due to the lack of a formal mechanism for retaining and sharing information during staff turnover, and the Afghan government ministries' lack of capacity and corruption challenges. USAID has taken some steps to assess and begin addressing the limited capacity and corruption challenges associated with Afghan ministries. In addition, USAID has established performance management and evaluation procedures for managing and overseeing its assistance programs. These procedures, among other things, require (1) the development of a Mission Performance Management Plan (PMP); (2) the establishment and approval of implementing partner performance indicators and targets; and (3) analyses and use of performance data. Although USAID disseminated alternative monitoring methods for projects in high-threat environments such as Afghanistan, USAID has generally required the same performance management and evaluation procedures in Afghanistan as it does in other countries in which it operates. USAID has not consistently followed its established performance management and evaluation procedures. There were various areas in which the USAID Mission to Afghanistan (Mission) needed to improve upon. In particular, we found that the Mission had been operating without an approved PMP to guide its management and oversight efforts after 2008. In addition, while implementing partners have routinely reported on the progress of USAID's programs, we found that USAID did not always approve the performance indicators these partners were using, and that USAID did not ensure, as its procedures require, that its implementing partners establish targets for each performance indicator. For example, only 2 of 7 USAID-funded agricultural programs active during fiscal year 2009, included in our review, had targets for all of their indicators. We also found that USAID could improve its assessment and use of performance data submitted by implementing partners or program evaluations to, among other things, help identify strengths or weaknesses of ongoing or completed programs. Moreover, USAID needs to improve documentation of its programmatic decisions and put mechanisms in place for program managers to transfer knowledge to their successors"--Summary.

Contents:

Summary

The United States faces challenges in managing and overseeing programs in Afghanistan

USAID did not consistently follow established performance management and evaluation procedures.

Notes:

Title from PDF title page (GAO, viewed July 19, 2010).

"For release ... July 15, 2010."

Includes bibliographical references.

OCLC:

648761746