U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

USAID has a chief evaluation officer who sits on the agency’s Data Board and meets with the Operations Council and Privacy Council on an ad hoc basis. The chief data officer (CDO), chief evaluation officer, statistical official and others have standing weekly/monthly meetings. The CDO’s team and leadership from the Office of Learning, Evaluation and Research, which manages agency requirements related to performance monitoring, evaluation and organizational learning, also have a standing meeting. The CDO’s team maintains an internal dashboard that is shared with the evaluation officer and statistical official to help track progress against milestones on an ongoing basis.

One important way of encouraging evidence use in the federal government is to show leading examples of where this practice already is happening and how it contributes to positive impacts both for federal agencies and for the people they serve. To do so, agencies must have strong evaluation leadership, with an evaluation officer capable of advising on the design and implementation of evaluations, interpretation of results, and integration of findings into action—both inside and outside of their agencies. USAID demonstrated how an evaluation office can exercise this kind of leadership when they launched their new “Evidence to Action Briefs” in June 2023. (Read more on p. 28 of The Power of Evidence to Drive America’s Progress.)

The chief data officer (CDO) manages the USAID Data Services team, which focuses on improving the usage of data and information to ensure that the agency’s development outcomes are supported and enhanced by evidence. In September 2019, USAID established a Data Administration and Technical Advisory (DATA) Board. The DATA Board acts as USAID’s data governance body. It serves as a central venue for seeking input from agency stakeholders regarding data-related priorities and best practices to support agency objectives. It informs data-related policies, procedures and standards at the agency. The chief data officer, the chief evaluation officer, and the statistical official meet regularly (weekly/monthly). Additionally, the agency established a standing meeting with the chief data officer’s team and leadership from the Office of Learning, Evaluation and Research, which manages agency requirements related to performance monitoring, evaluation and organizational learning.

USAID invested at least $270.6 million in FY 2022, FY 2023 and prior year money on evaluations completed in FY 2023, evaluations that are ongoing during FY 2024, evaluation technical assistance, and evaluation capacity-building, representing 1.3% of the agency’s $20.6 billion FY 2023 budget.

USAID has an agency-wide Evaluation Policy that ensures compliance with the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act and the Evidence Act. The agency also has an annual evaluation plan and just released a Principles for Evidence Use resource, which outlines the key considerations USAID employs for generating and applying evidence. Finally, USAID has an agency Learning Agenda that articulates USAID’s priorities for learning and evidence to inform agency decision-making.

In order to strengthen state and local capacity through integrated data systems, USAID allows for data capacity and systems integration through multiple mechanisms including some government-to-government agreements. USAID’s government-to-government agreements include dedicated partner monitoring and evaluation capacity development efforts, such as training, mentoring and technical assistance, when improved partner capacity is needed to achieve development results. Additional information can be found here. USAID requires some form of performance evaluation in all of its projects (see Core Tools for Program Effectiveness). Additionally, USAID funded improving institutional capacities and increasing the sustainability of civil society organizations in Mexico. The program included capacity-building assistance with monitoring, evaluation and learning.

To further support and strengthen local capacity for integrated data systems, USAID is working to support and improve local evaluation in multiple ways, including via a range of technical support and assistance for evaluation. Some examples of USAID’s technical assistance are documented here. USAID also provides training to grantees to use evidence in designing and making implementation decisions. An example can be found here. In addition, USAID recently awarded a four-year Local Evaluation and Evidence Support (LEES) contract that identifies networks of host country research and evaluation entities that USAID, other international organizations, and local governments can engage for evaluation and learning activities, strengthening their technical and organizational capacity; helping them market their services to potential clients; and supporting them as they begin to conduct evaluations and learning activities.

USAID engages communities, particularly those that are historically underserved, in various ways. First, USAID’s Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples aims to strengthen the agency’s engagement with indigenous communities to improve the impact and sustainability of our development programs. Second, USAID’s Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning (KMOL) Policy, which was updated in 2024, emphasizes community engagement and locally-led development. Third, Section III of USAID’s Learning Agenda, “Consulting Stakeholders to Define New Learning Questions,” describes how stakeholders are engaged to develop the Learning Agenda. For example, through a series of over 20 consultative sessions and subsequent question validation discussions, internal stakeholders provided input on learning priorities and critical evidence needs representing views from across the sectors and geographies in which USAID works. Finally, the agency has developed a guide for collecting feedback from beneficiaries of USAID programs.

Another way in which the agency has engaged communities is through its technology and data plans. USAID has an Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP) that was developed with a variety of stakeholders, including NGOs serving communities “on the ground” who have experienced unfavorable outcomes. The ITSP describes the process of including stakeholders in the development of the plan. In addition, USAID recently revised its Public Access Plan (PAP), which supports open data through public access to federally funded research. Throughout the revision process, USAID participated in the National Science Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Open Science to incorporate indigenous knowledge and tribal sovereignty considerations into PAP and other plans and policies related to open science and open data. Finally, USAID seeks to engage groups served by the program, implementing partners and other stakeholders in evaluation designs. To aid in this process, the agency has developed a resource operating units can use for identifying and engaging stakeholders in the evaluation process. USAID also uses Developmental Evaluation (DE) as one of its performance evaluation approaches. DE includes the sustained inclusion, participation and investment of a broad cross-section of stakeholders affected by an intervention. For example, USAID used DE to evaluate Jalin, an activity in Indonesia designed to catalyze local solutions to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.