Attachment_J.2_DRAFT_Somalia_Standardized_Reporting_Template.docx

USAID Somalia (Insert Activity Name) Quarterly (or Semi-Annual) Progress and (when applicable)

Annual

Performance Reporting Template (Example Based on FY 2014 Q1 Progress Report)

As of May 1, 2014

Please Note: USAID Logo not required with assistance agreements.

Quarterly Task Order

(Insert Activity Name)

FY 2014 Q1 PROGRESS REPORT

(01 OCTOBER – 31 DECEMBER 2013)

Award No: (Insert award number)

Prepared for (insert name of AOR/COR) United States Agency for International Development/Somalia C/O American Embassy United Nations Avenue, Gigiri P.O. Box 629, Village Market 00621 Nairobi, Kenya

Prepared by (Insert company name) (Insert company headquarters address)

The author s ’ vie ws expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Gove rnment.

Kosovo LGI Quarterly Task Order Report

Table of Contents

Contents

Kosovo LGI Quarterly Task Order Report v Acronyms and Abbreviations (Insert activity specific acronyms and abbreviations below)

Notes and Expectations for Reporting

This report template is valid for Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Reports (whichever are required in your agreement). The Annual Report shall include your most recent reporting period data plus summary data for the previous 12 months; the Quarterly or Semi-Annual report requires no additional modification.

Please keep in mind the purpose of this reporting:

1) Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Reports are the required means of officially communicating between the award recipient (contract, grantee, or cooperative agreement holder) and the Assistance Officer Representative (AOR) or Contracting Officer Representative (COR) who holds the responsibility on behalf of the U.S. government for the performance of the awardee.

2) Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Reports are not: a selling or marketing tool; an official report to the U.S. Congress; or an official report to the host government. They also are not a time to restate background information that is already known by the AOR/COR.

3) Well-developed Quarterly, Semi-Annual or Annual Reports directly inform future development programming: while the past successes or failures of your activity cannot be changed, future approaches will be influenced by the lessons we identify in these reports. Your AOR/COR relies on you to bring frank, factual, and timely data forward in your reports so that, together, we can improve activity impact.

4) Quarterly, Semi-Annual or Annual Reports are a management tool, a monitoring tool, and a planning tool; reports are not simply a document that identifies a list of completed activities. Rather, reporting:

· Outlines recent accomplishments and progress made on your M&E Plan indicators. This serves as a formative way to determine if programming is on-track to achieve annual targets.

· Identifies programmatic and operational challenges that arose since the previous report and proposes solutions and/or serves to request formal AOR/COR assistance.

· Presents non-planned, management or operational issues which impact the activity, e.g.:

· technical modifications or amendments, and/or

· financial expenditure patterns and conditions.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Financial data presented in the Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Performance Reporting is an estimate; exact financial data are submitted through the invoicing/payment process.]

Relationship to USAID/Somalia Clearinghouse Electronic copies of all Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual Reports (whichever are required in your agreement) produced per this template shall be uploaded into the Clearinghouse by the due date specified in your agreement. Additional information will be shifted from these periodic reports to the Clearinghouse to reduce your reporting burden as soon as possible. One piece of information not included in the Annual Report section of this template, but that will still be required in the Clearinghouse at the end of the fiscal year, is: Results narratives for each indicator in your M&E Plan, including an explanation of any deviation (positive or negative) from the annual target of more than ten percent.

Quarterly Task Order

I. CONTEXT UPDATE (By Region) (Maximum of one/third page per region) This section provides information on any changes in the reporting period to the socio-political, economic, and security contexts in each region of operations (Somaliland, Puntland, Mogadishu, and/or South Central).

II. (Insert Activity Name) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

(Maximum of two pages) This section describes and summarizes the significant activities during this reporting period. While the information conveyed here should be addressed more fully elsewhere in the report, the Executive Summary may be the only portion of the report that non-AOR/CORs may read. In addition to the COR/AOR, the audience will include the Mission Director, the Team Leader, Program Officer, other USAID officials, and/or persons who may have an interest in the activity (e.g., third-party monitors). The report should maintain a neutral tone and should discuss any “failings” and “challenges” directly – and these issues should be stated dispassionately. Although the intended audience is within USAID, this is an official contractual submission (and therefore, potentially public) document. Please bear in mind that is possible that a host country Minister or Permanent Secretary may eventually see the contents of a report.

A. Key Narrative Achievements

This section highlights any accomplishments that cannot necessarily be quantified; results of public events, trainings and other interventions that should be described with narratives. If the work of the activity has led to specific behavior changes in the intended audiences, this should also be described. Deliverables should be listed here.

B. Quantitative Highlights

Briefly summarize in this section any progress made toward the achievement of your M&E Plan targets, which should also be provided in greater detail in Section III.

C. Activity Administration

Any significant management or operational challenges should be addressed in this section; changes in scheduled or planned activities or in key staff, and/or issues related to coordinating activities are appropriate. In the event that activity resources need realignment or new “windows of opportunity” have opened, these should be discussed as possible options. Again, these are statements of facts and apparent conclusions that might be drawn from the facts -- if issues from the previous reporting period remain significant, any step(s) toward resolution of issues should be discussed frankly and openly. This section can also include the expressed agreement between you and your AOR/COR to take specific actions.

D. Subsequent Reporting Period’s Work Plan

In this section, describe what the AOR/COR can expect in the subsequent reporting period. Also, any proposed deviation from the approved Annual Work Plan should be discussed here.

III. KEY NARRATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS

(Maximum length = 2 pages for small awards (under $5m) and 10 pages for awards with numerous sub-grantees)

In this section, provide a narrative description of the key achievements of the reporting period. Results should be sorted by geographic region.

The structure of this section should also closely follow the structure of the activity so that the reader can easily see the relationship between the work conducted (output) and the resultant achievement (outcome).

IV. PROGRESS AGAINST TARGETS

In this section, provide a quantitative description of the key achievements of the reporting period.

The sample table below presents the basic data required to assess progress toward the achievement of the targets in your Development Objective. This template is designed to collect data in a consistent way from the time the award was signed (baseline) through each of the reporting periods.

USAID recognizes that you are already entering some, but not all, of this information into the Clearinghouse. Until the Clearinghouse is modified to house all of this data, it would be very helpful if it could be submitted in this template so that USAID can minimize its ad hoc request to you for information.

Table 1: Performance Data Table

This table is an example of the format to be used for reporting against your M&E Plan. The format should be copied and completed separately for each indictor.

INDICATOR TITLE: NUMBER OF ELECTION OFFICIALS TRAINED WITH USG ASSISTANCE

INDICATOR NUMBER: 2.3.2-3

UNIT:

Number of election officials DISAGGREGATE BY: Location, event, date and gender

Totals

Results:

Additional Criteria If other criteria are important, add lines for setting targets and tracking

30/Sep/14

Total

Gender*:

Women (W), Men (M)

Somaliland

Puntland

Mogadishu

Southern & Central

* For indicators that cannot be disaggregated by gender, simply combine “M” and “W” columns.

V. PERFORMANCE MONITORING

(Maximum one page) In this section, please describe performance monitoring activities that were conducted by your organization in the reporting period. If data quality issues were identified, please explain any action(s) proposed or taken to address those issues.

VI. LESSONS LEARNED

(Maximum one page) Discuss what lessons have been gained through the reporting period, including any findings, conclusions, recommendations for any assessments, evaluations, and/or special studies completed during the reporting period. Please identify how any of these lessons might influence the direction and emphasis of the activity.

VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

(Maximum two pages) If an Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) was approved by USAID for this activity, please state all the required mitigation measures that were put in place and/or monitored during the reporting period; what issues were encountered (if any); and what measures are being taken to address those issues.

VIII. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO OTHER ACTIVITIES

(Maximum one paragraph) In this section, please describe your efforts in this reporting period to link your activities with other USAID activities. This assists USAID in building collaboration and cross-sectoral programming plans.

IX. PROGRESS ON LINKS TO HOST GOVERNMENT

(Maximum one paragraph) In this section, please describe any/all efforts in the reporting period to link your activities with host government agencies (where applicable and where relevant to the activities).

X. PROGRESS ON GENDER STRATEGY

(Maximum one paragraph) Describe your efforts in the reporting period toward meeting results under the activity’s Gender Strategy. Identify any differences in the roles and status of women and men and girls and boys under the activity, and determine if any identified inequalities or differences affect women and men or boys and girls differently, impede the achievement of the activity’s anticipated results, or have other unintended consequences. Please explain any action(s) proposed or taken to address any/all identified issues. Where possible, please indicate if any change in the design of the project was done.

XI. SUSTAINABILITY

(Maximum one paragraph) In this this section, please describe what you have done during the reporting period to advance activity sustainability. A discussion on the dynamics of institutional development, relations with counterparts and capacity challenges, and strategies to create long-lasting impacts is appropriate.

XII. UPCOMING REPORTING PERIOD’S WORK PLAN

(Maximum one page) In this section, please identify any proposed deviation from the approved Annual Work Plan. This is not a place to inform USAID of any major change in direction or a request for additional resources for the first time; this is a place to officially record issues or changes that have already been discussed with the AOR/COR.

This section may be used to expand upon the amount of detail from the Annual Work Plan for the upcoming reporting period – either by listing action items or offering a table, calendar, or timeline. Please use the sample table template below to describe planned versus actual activities, and provide explanations for any deviations.

Planned Activities

Revised Status Explanations for Deviations

XIII. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Required for Contracts Only) Monitoring financial conditions is one of the most important, yet often neglected areas of reporting. In this section, please discuss issues such as unexpected expenditures, material changes in costs due to considerations outside the control of the activity, cost savings realized, and cost savings plans. Please also provide a generalized summary of all accounting activity.

Note: the financial data provided in this section is an estimate of the financial condition, and does not constitute the contractually required financial reporting as defined in the Award Notice.

Cash Flow Report and Financial Projections (Pipeline Burn-Rate)

In this section, please detail your financial projections.

The cash flow chart (Chart 1) below is derived from the financial table (Table 2), also provided in this section of the report. Both provide a visual representation of the “burn rate” of the activity – both actual and projected. The main categories include:

1) Obligations (the funds authorized to date for expenditure for the activity; this is NOT the Total Estimated Cost, but amount already obligated up to the time of the writing of this report),

2) Actual expenditures through the current reporting period, and

3) Pipeline projection (expenditures expected, by quarter, for the coming three quarters, based on planned activity hiring, procurements, expansions, etc.).

In addition to updating the table with your relevant data, please record “Budget Notes” that document any/all assumptions used to make funding forecasts. “Budget Notes” also discuss any significant financial events from this reporting period.

Chart 1: Obligations vs. Current and Projected Expenditures

Note: the information used as an example in Chart 1 is a snapshot at the time of a given report, and should include the most recent reporting period and the upcoming three reporting periods. These data should be constantly updated by the management staff of the activity, and the AOR/COR should be familiar with the financial conditions at all times. This should not be a chart that is made solely to enter into this periodic report; keeping track of the financial condition of the activity is one of the most important functions of activity management on both the part of USAID and the activity team implementing the Award. This is intended to serve as a valuable management tool for both parties.

Table 2 (below) should be consistent with the mandatory categories of expenditures submitted in the solicitation (RFP or RFA) and the award stages of the contracting procedure. These should reflect the same categories for which USAID is billed.

Note: data in this example table are fictitious and are developed as a sample for a first quarter report. The estimates for quarters 2-4 include all anticipated expenditures that will occur by quarter, which are estimated based on the types of actions in the approved work plan.

The Budget Notes are as important as the Budget Details, as they explain the dollar figures presented in the details. Both include past and projected expenditures.

Table 2: Budget Details

Actual Expenditures

* When applicable.

Budget Notes (Listed below are assumptions, major changes, estimations, or issues intended to provide a better understanding of the numbers)

Table 3: New Sub-Award Details

For each sub-award made in the past reporting period, please include a table like the following:

Project Title:

Name of Sub-Awardee:

Agreement Performance Period: to _________ Agreement Amount (Total Estimated Cost):

Geographic Locations for Implementation: (Latitude, longitude, town, district and region for each location of operation) Project Description: (One concise paragraph)

A. Constraints and Critical Issues

The efficient operation of the activity is an important consideration in the evaluation of how the implementing partner is performing. This section of the report provides an opportunity to officially notify USAID of challenges that occurred in the previous reporting period and/or are anticipated in the future.

B. Personnel

Any personnel changes—to fill or create positions, or progress made on hiring staff—for the reporting period should be discussed here. Note: this is not the place to discuss confidential personnel issues which may arise during the implementation of the activity.

C. Changes in the Project

This area is a place to discuss changes in the activity that may be required due to practical considerations “on the ground.” If decisions (in consultation with the AOR/COR) to either change the geographic location or the strategic elements being emphasized in the activity, they should be documented here for the official record. If contract modification or amendments are needed, they can be described in the subsequent section.

D. Contract, Award or Cooperative Agreement Modifications and Amendments

Any modifications and amendments should be noted in this section; those that took place during this reporting period and/or those that are expected in the future.

XV. Information for ANNUAL Reports Only

A. Estimated Budget Disaggregated for the Reporting Period by Region

Somaliland:

Puntland:

Mogadishu:

South & Central:

Total:

B. Sub-Awards

For ALL sub-awards made to date under your agreement, please include/update a comprehensive table like the one shown below. If your agreement does not use any sub-awardees, please indicate that you do not have any sub-awardees and there is no need to include the table.

Partner Name

Sub-Awardee Name

Start Date for This Sub-Awardee

End Date for This Sub-Awardee

Amount for This Sub-Awardee

Date Last Audit Conducted

Location of Implementation (Region, Town, & District as applicable)

C. GPS Information

Through geographic targeting and evidence based decision making, USAID collects, uses, and exchanges Global Positioning System (GPS) data for all its activities. GPS information must be provided for all USAID-supported sites, including at both implementing organization offices, and locations of all sites that benefit from activity resources (schools, clinics, communities, etc.).

The geographic coordinate data (comprising of latitude and longitude) must be collected according to the guidelines provided by USAID’s Geospatial Unit (which should be obtained from your AOR/COR) for each USAID-supported site.

GPS information shall be submitted in standard Excel or GIS formats; data submitted in GIS formats must include a description of the content of the data (e.g., in the associated metadata). Use the table below to enter the GPS information for each geographic location for each activity. Examples are shown to illustrate data for each column. Once the USAID/Somalia Clearinghouse is modified to match new Agency requirements, this data will be submitted electronically via the Clearinghouse, rather than in Annual Reports.

Implementing Partners who create geospatial data of indicators for monitoring and evaluation purposes with funding from USAID are required to electronically submit their most current geospatial data layers when requested by USAID/Somalia to the USAID/EA Geospatial Unit staff.

Name

D. List of Deliverables

List all “products” produced during the reporting period. Products cited here could include: Surveys, Training Designs, Trip Reports, Third Country Visit Reports, Studies, etc. All deliverable products from the reporting should be submitted as attachments to this document, and should be listed here.

E. Summary of Non-USG Funding or Cost-Share, if Applicable

Please provide a table identifying any funding that is leveraged from non-USG sources during the reporting period. Please identify how leveraged funding will contribute to the overall achievement of activity objectives.

F. Type of Accounting System Used During Reporting Period

Please indicate the type of accounting system used by your organization for the reporting period (e.g., Navision, QuickBooks, Sage Pastel, Sun System, Excel). If this is a change from the prior reporting period, please provide the date on which this change was made and rationale for the change.

Annexes & Attachments

Annexes (maximum 10 pages) may include tables, lists, or other supporting information noted in the report that support with additional detail the information presented for this reporting period. Annexes are an integral part of the report and are included in the same document (unlike Attachments).

· Schedule of Events: This is a chronological list of the significant events planned in the subsequent reporting period and that will contribute to accomplishment of the activity indicator’s targets, such as trainings, conferences, monitoring site visits, etc.

Attachments may include data sources utilized to support the information provided in the report, such as: sign-up sheets for events, newsletters, surveys, reports of short-term consultants, copies of newspaper coverage of the activity, activity “deliverables” or other data that supports and contributes to communicating about the activities and their accomplishments. Attachments are not physically included in the report document itself, but are sent as additional documentation with the report. All attached documents should be combined and preceded by a cover page that describes the contents of the submission. The cover page should identify the:

1) List of Deliverables - List the “products” that were produced during the reporting period, such as Surveys, Training Designs, Trip Reports, Third Country Visit Reports, etc., and attach them.

2) Public Outreach Documents – Guidance and templates for the five types of public outreach formats can be found at Transforming Lives (Telling Our Story). In addition, please see the helpful hints on the next page.

· Snapshot

· First Person

· Before and After

· Photo & Caption

· Case Study

Public Outreach Helpful Hints Your contract or agreement requires a minimum number of stories, usually three, be submitted each quarter. There is no need to hold stories until the next report is submitted. Stories can be submitted at any time during the reporting period and will be counted towards your contractual requirement. There is no limit on the number of stories you may submit.

How to Write Stories

The formula is simple: use powerful statistics; communicate progress; frame your story around USAID’s larger mission, not a specific activity: and bring it to life with a personal narrative.

The best stories typically include both a human interest lead that illustrates how an activity has improved people’s lives or made a difference in the host country, and results that can support our claim to development success.

Use quotes from beneficiaries. Do not quote implementing partner staff.

Photographs The quality of the photograph can make or break a story. Please review these guidelines carefully:

· Digital photos should be shot with at least a 3-megapixel resolution, and when possible, maintain at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).

· Send only graphics files – do not paste photographs into an MS Word document and attach that document as your photo submission.

· JPEG (or .jpg) files are preferred – GIF files make poor photographs.

· Do not alter, compress, or crop photographs – send only original images – USAID will make any necessary changes.

· Do not scan images from publications or other printed materials.

· Generally speaking: the larger the file, the better the quality and final result!

Writing Style The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires the federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise, well-organized” manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing. Check out the webpage below, which includes some great writing pointers!

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm For further assistance, feel free to contact the EA Development Outreach and Communications (DOC) Specialist.

Annex I: Schedule of Future Events

This is a chronological list of ALL significant events planned in the coming reporting period that will contribute to accomplishment of the activity’s indicators, such as trainings, opening ceremonies, tendering, conferences, etc. This is not a place to list administration activities; i.e., hiring of staff.

* Please provide name of facility, as well as region and town (and district, when applicable).

Annex II: List of Deliverable Products

List the “products” that were produced during the reporting period, such as Surveys, Training Designs, Trip Reports, Third Country Visit Reports, etc., and attach them here.

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