42See GAO, Managing for Results: Opportunities for Continued Improvements in Agencies’ Performance Plans consistent with the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, which states that agencies’
performance planning should discuss plans to address major management challenges, including through relevant performance goals, indicators, and milestones.
USAID Has Made Some
Progress in Monitoring
Risks to the Country-Led
Approach
Under these goals, USAID is monitoring five performance measures related to the country-led approach: number of (1) focus countries with increased public expenditure for agriculture; (2) focus countries using outreach platforms to civil society organizations (CSOs) and private sector companies to inform CIP development and implementation; (3) focus countries holding joint sector reviews with donors, CSOs, and private sector firms; (4) focus countries with improved ranking in the World Bank’s ease-of-doing-business index;44 and (5) private enterprises and CSOs that applied new technologies or management practices.45 We found that each of these five performance measures on country ownership is related to a risk to the sustainability of U.S. food security investments. Broadly, these measures fall into four risk-related
categories: the ability of host governments to meet agriculture funding commitments; stakeholder consultations in the development and
implementation of CIPs; host government policies that are conducive to private sector investment; and building local capacity. In our March 2010 report, we found that the country-led approach was vulnerable to a
number of risks, including the weak capacity of host governments to meet funding commitments for agriculture and difficulties aligning host
government and donor strategies due to differences in policy priorities.46 Additionally, other FTF guidance documents outlined the necessity of effective consultation with stakeholders, a policy environment conducive for investment, and building local capacity to ensure FTF’s sustainability.
In fiscal year 2012, of the five country-led measures, results reported in the FTF Scorecard
44The World Bank Doing Business project ranks countries on areas of business regulation. A high ranking on the ease-of-doing-business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to starting and operating a local firm. See
45In October 2012, USAID published the FTF Scorecard with fiscal year 2012 targets, as well as cumulative targets for fiscal years 2010-2014. In June 2013, USAID published the FTF Scorecard with fiscal year 2012 targets and actual results achieved.
associated with the country-led approach. To address some of these risks, State has begun to implement this recommendation by providing support to countries in the
development of their food security plans and by reviewing these plans before committing a higher level of U.S. funding.
• exceeded two targets: number of focus countries with increased public expenditure for agriculture and private enterprises and number of CSOs that applied new technologies or management practices;
• partially met two targets: number of focus countries using outreach platforms to engage civil society and private sector stakeholders in CIP development and implementation and number of focus countries with an improved Doing Business ranking; and
• did not meet one target: number of focus countries holding joint sector reviews.47
FTF officials who reviewed CIPs in 2010 said the host governments’
consultations with their stakeholders were initially weak because host governments had limited time to complete their plans and that in some cases they consulted with stakeholders primarily in capital cities rather than rural areas.
USAID has taken some steps and is planning others to improve
stakeholder consultations with host governments and to increase private sector investment in agriculture. The fiscal year 2013 FTF strategic plan states that FTF intends to strengthen the engagement of civil society and private sector stakeholders. According to USAID officials, at least four African focus countries will hold joint sector reviews in 2013. In response to the need to increase the participation of civil society and private sector stakeholders in the CAADP process, USAID sponsored the Africa Lead program to, among other things, build the capacity of civil society and private sector stakeholders to engage more effectively in the
implementation of African countries’ CIPs.48 FTF has also sought to increase private sector participation in agriculture, recognizing the importance of these stakeholders to food security efforts. Part of this effort was the creation of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at the 2012 G8 Summit, in which global and local companies in Africa
47In fiscal year 2012, the results and targets for each of the five measures were reported as: focus countries with increased public expenditure for agriculture (12 of 10), private enterprises and CSOs that applied new technologies or management practices (44,100 of 26,000), focus countries using outreach platforms to CSOs and private sector companies to inform CIP development and implementation (8 of 10), focus countries with an improved
“Doing Business” ranking (6 of 8), and focus countries holding joint sector reviews with donors, CSOs, and private sector firms (0 of 5). The Doing Business report ranks countries on 11 areas of business regulation.
48Africa Lead is a capacity-building program that provides leadership training, among other things, to public, civil society, and private sector institutions to support the CAADP.
committed more than $3 billion in investments.49 However, similar programs to improve stakeholder consultations and private sector investment do not exist in the seven Asian and Latin American focus countries.
Although USAID has made some progress at the headquarters level to monitor and address risks to the country-led approach, we found that USAID’s FTF multiyear country strategies did not systematically assess these risks.50 According to USAID’s Risk Assessment Guide, a risk assessment informs agency management of the relevant risks associated with achieving management objectives and is intended to help
management identify and document risks, prioritize them in terms of susceptibility, and determine the adequacy of controls to manage those risks.51 A key characteristic of a national strategy is a risk assessment, including an analysis of the threats to, and vulnerabilities of, critical assets and operations.52 The FTF multiyear strategies outline the 5-year strategic planning for the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security
49The New Alliance builds upon the progress and commitments made at the 2009 L’Aquila summit and includes specific commitments from African leaders to enhance opportunities for private sector investment in their countries, as well as commitments from local and international private sector partners, who have collectively committed more than $3 billion in investments. In September 2012, the New Alliance expanded from the initial countries of Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania to include Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and
Mozambique. In June 2013, the New Alliance annouced that it was adding three more countries—Nigeria, Malawi, and Benin.
50We defined risks to a country-led approach as those related to host governments, stakeholders, and other donors.
51This definition is consistent with GAO’s risk management framework based on best practices. See GAO, Homeland Security: Applying Risk Management Principles to Guide Federal Investments above, the FTF Scorecard is a monitoring tool that tracks data on some of the risks;
however, it is not clear how these risks were prioritized, and the tool does not determine the adequacy of controls to manage risks.
52See GAO, Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected Characteristics in National Strategies Related to Terrorism Influenza Pandemic: Further Efforts Are Needed to Ensure Clearer Federal Leadership Roles and an Effective National Strategy, 2007). We identified risk assessments as a key characteristic of a national strategy by reviewing the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as well as other legislation, presidential directives, and GAO and policy research organization publications. Se additional details.