USAID Accountability and Research Team (ART) Quarterly Performance Report: July 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021

The ART activity is focused on providing support services to USAID, including developing a mission-level Performance Management Plan (PMP) that will allow the mission to assess programmatic performance. The development of the PMP involves finalizing the terms of reference for senior-level Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) advisor and specialist positions, as well as screening potential candidates and identifying qualified consultants to be engaged on a Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA) basis. Additionally, the ART activity will review Implementing Partners' (IPs) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plans to ensure compliance with ADS 201 requirements and consistency with the mission-level PMP. The Information Management Unit (IMU) continued providing support across all components, ensuring data flow processes are streamlined to improve data security, cleaning and analysis, synchronization via the DevResults Knowledge Management (KM) Platform, and data quality checks and cleaning automation. The IMU also provided backstopping and troubleshooting support to IPs post-DevResults training to ensure the platform can be utilized as a one-stop-shop for all USAID's programmatic and financial data generated under the managed portfolio. The ART activity also started drafting the upcoming Quarterly Status Assessment (QSA) Scope of Work (SoW), which builds on the findings presented in the Y2Q1 QSA. Furthermore, the activity signed a contract with Opinion Research Business (ORB) International company for the Year One (Y1) Annual Opinion Polling (AOP), which will be a yearly survey to examine perceptions on stability, resilience, and governance indicators in USAID target communities in the Northern Economic Sector (NES). The R&A Component continued to develop standard workflows and processes to coordinate with key components of ART, including the IMU and Field Network Management (FNM) Component. The R&A and TPM Components also continued engaging on cross-cutting deliverables, reviewing the list of USAID interventions against the findings of the assessment to generate a list of recommendations, including USAID efforts in NES. Additionally, the ART activity received four reports and five maps covering REM and COVID-19 updates from subcontractors during Y2Q1. The ART activity has made significant progress in developing the PMP, reviewing IPs' MEL Plans, and drafting the QSA SoW. The IMU has continued to provide support across all components, and the R&A Component has developed standard workflows and processes to coordinate with key components of ART. The activity has also received reports and maps from subcontractors covering REM and COVID-19 updates. The ART activity has identified several operational challenges, including remote management, the NES lockdown, and technical reconsiderations. The activity has also identified several anticipated problems and delays, including the NES lockdown and technical reconsiderations. The security environment and concerns in NES have also been a challenge for the activity. The ART activity has continued to deliver on all components of the contract despite operational challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The activity has made significant progress in developing the PMP, reviewing IPs' MEL Plans, and drafting the QSA SoW. The IMU has continued to provide support across all components, and the R&A Component has developed standard workflows and processes to coordinate with key components of ART.