USAID Reform and the FY2007 Operational Plan Guidance

Event Title: USAID Reform and the FY2007 Operational Plan Guidance
Sponsor: InterAction
Location: The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Date: Monday, November 6, 2006
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Approximate Number of Attendees: 100
Intern Attending: Saadiqa Lundy

Speakers: Laura Wilson, Senior Advisor for Legislative Affairs at Office of the Director of Foreign assistance (F); Charles North, former Director of USAID's Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (PPC) and current Deputy Senior Coordinator for Developing Countries for strategic planning exercise

Today we received an update on Transformational Diplomacy Reform by Laura Wilson and Charles North.

According to Wilson, the first page of the framework has been updated and changed due to the response from the international and NGO community. First, new standardized program structures and definitions were created. Second, the framework has turned into a USAID standardized plan with a five year framework and third, new tools for planning and managing foreign assistance were created along with new Leadership roles.

“The new Foreign Assistance Coordinating and Tracking System (FACTS) was created to combine all USG agency planning and reporting on foreign assistance into one central data system. It is intended to track how funds are used and for what purposes, and will help identify cross-cutting activities that serve multiple goals.”

The FY2007 Operational Pan provides a complete detailed picture of U.S. assistance. It will make it possible to plan in advance and make plans that are in line with priorities. It monitors and measures achievements so that we can see what is being achieved and what is happening in certain developing countries. It can also be used to monitor and to learn, allowing the development community to identify lessons learned and apply them elsewhere. The 2007 operational plan will be used in 67 countries and by 2008 every country receiving assistance will receive operational plans. The Operational Plans record funding information and document it for key issues.

They concluded by expressing their enthusiasm for this new framework.