Strategic Planning

 

 

Strategic planning is the process through which USAID determines the best approach in a given country or region based on U.S. development priorities, individual country and/or regional priorities, and USAID’s comparative advantage and available foreign assistance resources, among other factors. The Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) defines a Mission’s strategic approach to achieving results, and outlines why choices were made and how results in particular sectors contribute to the Mission’s overarching goal and development objectives. 

The Program Cycle is the operational model for planning, delivering, assessing, and adapting development programming in a given region or country to advance U.S. foreign and economic policy. The cycle shows how the different tasks conducted throughout the Program Cycle come together to improve results. It establishes the linkages between the high level strategy for a country and region (articulated within a CDCS or RDCS), the project activity design that guides activity implementation, and the MEL and CLA frameworks that help the Agency improve and adapt programming throughout implementation. Underpinning the Program Cycle are four implementation principles: Apply analytic rigor to support evidence-based decision making, manage adaptively through continuous learning, promote sustainability through local implementation and financing, use a range of approaches to achieve results.



Resources for quickly assessing the status of a country’s digital financial services

Plant the seeds for future budget requests and activities by mentioning digital factors in the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) Country Context section. Also, consider the persuasive power of a Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment or other targeted sectoral assessments, such as digital agriculture ecosystem assessments. This comprehensive assessment of a country’s digital ecosystem—which includes digital financial services—will soon be required for each operating unit at USAID. It provides clear recommendations for decision-making about digital programming and investments for USAID staff and stakeholders.