U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

FY 1999

I.

Introduction:

strategic planning and reporting

The mission of the United States Agency for International

Development (USAID) is to contribute to U.S. national interests

by supporting the people of developing and transitional countries

in their efforts to achieve enduring economic and social progress

and to participate more fully in resolving the problems of their

countries and the world.

USAID pursues its mission through six strategic goals in

development and humanitarian assistance and one management goal.

The Agency's goals are identified in the Agency Strategic Plan

and are summarized graphically in Annex 1 of the Strategic

Plan.

1

Agency goals are broad statements of the results that

USAID, in concert with its development partners, seeks to

accomplish over the next decade.

The Agency's approach to

accomplishing those goals is described more fully in the

Strategic Plan.

The relationship between the Agency's Strategic

Plan, this Annual Performance Plan, the Agency's Annual

Performance Report, and the activities and plans of specific

operating units is detailed below.

USAID's Strategic Plan selected a limited number of performance

goals for each of the seven Agency goal areas.

Performance Goals

translate the Agency's goals into specific targets and trends to

be achieved by the end of the decade.

Where possible, the

performance goals are explicit targets    planned levels of

results to be achieved by the end of the ten year timeframe.

Where this was not feasible, performance goals were couched in

terms of trends   desired directional changes sought.

The Annual Performance Plan (APP) identifies annual performance

benchmarks.

The APP for FY 1999 presents the benchmarks to be

met by the end of 1999.

Meeting benchmarks, or the planned

levels of achievement for a given year, are considered important

steps towards ultimately achieving

the ten year performance

goals identified in the Strategic Plan.

The annual benchmarks

are either derived from trendlines, where possible, or are based

on expert technical judgements.

The APP discusses why and how

the different magnitudes of achievement (or impact) were

selected, and what the quantitative and qualitative indicators

associated with each benchmark are intending to measure.

It also

U.S. Agency for International Development, Strategic Plan,

Washington, DC: September 1997.