PROJECT: USAID/Iraq Advancing Performance Management (APM) Project
Client: USAID/Iraq
Region: Middle East & North Africa
County: Iraq
Services: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, Security, Defense, and Diplomacy
Sector: Capacity Building, Democracy & Governance, Economic Growth, Gender
Dates: July 2013 – March 2017
The Advancing Performance Management (APM) project was awarded to Q2 Impact in July 2013 with the overall objective of providing reliable and unbiased support to USAID/Iraq in performance management; enabling the Mission to effectively collect, manage, and use performance information to achieve its development objectives.
APM supported USAID/Iraq to make better informed strategic and management decisions and advance USAID learning on effective development approaches.
In a climate of significant but decreasing resources, USAID/Iraq must have confidence that its projects are making measurable progress towards development objectives. Accordingly, the development hypothesis was that robust performance management requires three results:
- Result 1:Increased frequency and quality of project monitoring;
- Result 2: Increased use of evaluation and assessment results; and
- Result 3: Provision of technical short-term staffing to the Mission
Easier, Faster, More Useful, and More Cost-Effective
Activities were designed to achieve the objective and results, thereby improving the quality of the Mission’s performance management practices so that M&E would become easier, faster, more useful, and more cost effective.
APM built on the lessons learned from the PERFORM and Manpower II projects to respond to the current conditions and priorities of the USAID Mission in Iraq.
Illustrative Activities
- Iraqi Field Monitors (IFMs) worked hand-in-hand with Baghdad-based project staff, playing an essential role in supplementing the monitoring efforts of USAID/Iraq staff in an environment with limited or non-permissibility for U.S. Government staff.
- IFMs conducted 3,643 monitoring site visits to observe project events and to follow up with beneficiaries on past activities to determine the longer-term impact.
- Developed a concise Iraqi Field Monitor Handbook on principles, practices, and procedures for performing verification and performance monitoring
- Conducted Interim Monitoring of Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) which assisted the Government of Iraq with responding to its identified stabilization priorities, and addressing immediate needs of populations following military clearing operations and liberation.