AID contract no. PDC-0085-C-00-1141-00 with Management Systems International in support of the program performance information for strategic management (PRISM) project

to improve its strategic management of bilateral assistance by developing an Agency-wide system for monitoring A.I.D. program performance, to be called the Program Performance Information for Strategic Management (PRISM) system. To this end, MSI will expand Program Performance Information Systems (PPISs); develop a program performance database; and provide program planners with training and TA. Under the first component, MSI will design and install PPISs in 20 A.I.D. countries and develop accompanying guidelines and training materials for the design of future PPISs. After installation, MSI will evaluate the quality of PPISs in selected Missions in 4 geographic regions, and will host annual workshops to review PPIS experience Agency-wide. Under the second component, MSI will develop an A.I.D. Program Performance Database, to be called AidPROD, for tracking and summarizing key quantitative and qualitative indicators on the performance and results of A.I.D. programs. Database information will be updated annually and will be related to indicator data contained in other centrally managed databases. MSI will develop guidelines and standards for Missions and Bureaus to follow when contributing information to AidPROD, and will prepare summaries, syntheses, and other analyses of AidPROD data (using newly developed, state-of-the-art techniques) and of other A.I.D.-sponsored evaluations for presentation to senior A.I.D. managers. Under the third component, MSI will provide training workshops, seminars, demonstrations, and printed media (e.g., guidelines and manuals, short reports on specific topics) to those involved in A.I.D. program planning. Topics to be covered will include, inter alia, PPIS design and use, data requirements for strategic management, and data collection and analysis techniques such as surveys and rapid, low-cost methods. MSI will also periodically review the quality of A.I.D.-sponsored evaluations in documenting A.I.D. program performance in priority areas.