
Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
The glossary defines legislative, administrative, programming and budget terms referred to in this presentation. Underscored terms in the definitions are defined elsewhere in the glossary. Frequently used abbreviations are included.
Activity: Project or task required to carry out a program. The word "activity" is used for any activity or unified group of activities, programs, projects, types of material assistance or other operations. Refers to both project and non-project assistance.
Actual Year: Last completed fiscal year; in this case, FY 1997.
Appropriation: An act of Congress permitting Federal agencies to incur obligations for specified purposes, e.g., Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriation Act, 1997.
Appropriation Accounts: The separate accounts for which specific dollar amounts are authorized and appropriated.
Authorization: Substantive legislation which establishes legal operation of a Federal program, either indefinitely or for a specific period, and sanctions particular program funding levels, e.g., the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA).
Bilateral Assistance: Economic assistance provided by the United States directly to a country or through regional programs to benefit one or more countries indirectly. (USAID Development Assistance, Economic Support Fund, Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, Assistance for New Independent States, and most P.L. 480 food aid are among the U.S. bilateral programs. Others include Peace Corps and International Narcotics Control.)
Budget Authority: Authority provided to the U.S. Government by law to enter into obligations which result in outlays or government funds.
Budget Year: Year of budget consideration; in this case, FY 1999.
Consortium Grant: A grant to consortia of private and voluntary organizations (PVO) to enable a group of PVOs with similar interests to exchange information and program experiences and to collaborate in programs, thereby avoiding duplication.
Continuing Resolution: A joint resolution passed to provide stop-gap funding for agencies or departments whose regular appropriations bills have not been passed by the Congress by the beginning of the fiscal year.
Cooperative Development Organization (CDO): A business voluntarily owned and controlled by its users and operated for their benefit.
Deobligation: Unexpended funds obligated for a specific activity which are subsequently withdrawn, following a determination that they are not required for that activity.
Development Assistance: Assistance under Chapters I and 10 of the Foreign Assistance Act primarily designed to promote economic growth and equitable distribution of its benefits.
Development Assistance Committee (DAC): A specialized committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The purpose of the DAC is to increase total resources made
available to developing countries. Member countries jointly review the amount and nature of their contributions to bilateral and multilateral aid programs in the developing countries. DAC members are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Commission of the European Economic Communities.
Development Fund for Africa (DFA): The Development Fund for Africa (Chapter 10 of the Foreign Assistance Act), relating to the authorization of long-term development assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa, was added to the FAA by the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1991 (P.L. 101-513).
Development Loan: Development Assistance which must be repaid, usually a long-term, low-interest loan repayable in U.S. dollars.
Development Program Grant (DPG): A grants to assist a private and voluntary organization to strengthen its ability to be an effective development agency.
Economic Assistance: Bilateral and multilateral foreign assistance designed primarily to benefit the recipient country's economy. Military assistance, Export-Import Bank activities, Overseas Private Investment Corporation programs and Commodity Credit Corporation short-term credit sales, which have primary purposes other than economic development, are not included in this category.
Economic Support Fund: An appropriation account for funding economic assistance to countries based on considerations of special economic, political or security needs and U.S. interests. It took the place of Security Supporting Assistance, as provided in Section 10(b)(6) of the International Security Assistance Act of 1978 (92 STAT 735).
Expenditure: As reported in this document, represents the total value of goods and services received, disbursement for which may not have been made. A disbursement, also referred to as an actual expenditure or outlay, represents funds paid from the U.S. Treasury.
Fiscal Year: Yearly accounting period, without regard to its relationship to a calendar year. (The fiscal year for the U.S. Government begins October 1 and ends September 30.)
Foreign Assistance Act (FAA): The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (USAID's present authorizing legislation).
Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriation Act: The Appropriation Act for a particular year for economic (except P.L. 480 food aid) and military assistance and Export-Import Bank.
FREEDOM Support Act (FSA): The Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992 (FREEDOM Support Act) (P.L. 102-511) authorizes assistance to the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union
Functional Assistance: Development Assistance funded from the Development Assistance, Child Survival and Disease Program, and Credit Programs appropriation accounts and authorized from one of the following eight authorization accounts: (1) Agriculture, Rural Development and Nutrition; (2) Population Planning; (3) Health; (4) Child Survival; (5) AIDS Prevention and Control; (6) Education and Human Resources Development; (7) Private Sector, Environment and Energy; and (8) Science and Technology.
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA): The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-62) provides for the establishment of strategic planning and performance management in the Federal Government.
Grant: Assistance to an organization to carry out its activities as opposed to the acquisition of services for USAID or a host country which need not be repaid. (Term also describes a funding instrument for programs of an institution or organizations, e.g., International Executive Service Corps or an international agricultural research center.)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Measures the market value of total output of final goods and services produced within a country's territory, regardless of the ownership of the factors of production involved, i.e., local or foreign, during a given time period, usually a year. Earnings from capital invested abroad (mostly interest and dividend receipts) are not counted, while earnings on capital owned by foreigners but located in the country in question are included. The GDP differs from the GNP in that the former excludes net factor income from abroad.
Gross National Product (GNP): Measures the market value of total output of final goods and services produced by a nation's factors of production, regardless of location of those factors, i.e., in the country or abroad, during a given time period, usually a year. Earnings from capital owned by nationals but located abroad (mostly interest and dividend receipts) are included, while earnings in the country by factors owned by foreigners are excluded.
International Financial Institution (IFI): Currently known as a multilateral development bank (MDB), a multilateral lending institution which provides resources for development. These institutions, or banks, include the following; Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Fund (ADF), African Development Bank (AFDB) and Fund (AfDF), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, or the "World Bank"), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Development Association (IDA), Middle East Development Bank (MEDB), and North American Development Bank (NADB).
Loan: Assistance which must be repaid. Repayment terms for development loans under Development Assistance and the Economic Support Fund are established by USAID in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), and the current Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriation Act.
Management Services Grant: A grant to a private and voluntary organization (PVO) which in turn provides management or program support services (e.g., clearinghouse, accounting assistance, evaluation) to other PVOs.
Multilateral Assistance: Assistance which the United States provides to less or least developed countries (LDC) through multilateral development banks, the United Nations agencies, and other international organizations with development purposes.
Multilateral Development Bank (MDB): See international financial institutions.
New Directions : Legislation enacted in 1973 requiring USAID to focus more of its efforts on helping the poor majority in developing countries.
Nongovernmental Organization (NGO): An organization, organized either formally or informally, that is independent of government.
Non-Project Assistance: Program or commodity loans or grants which provide budget or balance-ofpayments support to another country. Such assistance is usually funded under the Economic Support Fund or Development Fund for Africa.
Obligation: Legal commitment of funds through such mechanisms as signed agreements between the U.S. Government and host governments, contracts and grants to organizations and purchase orders.
Ocean Freight Reimbursement: Reimburses private and voluntary organizations (PVO) for up to one half of their cost in shipping equipment and commodities overseas in support of their development programs.
Official Development Assistance (ODA): Assistance on concessional terms (with a grant element of at least 25%), provided by member countries of the Development Assistance Committee to promote economic development in developing countries.
Operating Expenses: Those appropriated funds used to pay salaries, benefits, travel, and all support costs of direct-hire personnel. The "cost of doing business."
Operational Year: Fiscal year in progress (current year), presently FY 1998.
Operational Program Grant (OPG): A grant to private and voluntary organizations to carry out specific programs.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): Organization of donor countries which promotes policies designed to stimulate economic growth and development of less developed countries. OECD member countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Outlay: Cash disbursement from the Treasury.
Participant: USAID-sponsored less developed country (LDC) national being trained outside his or her own country.
Peacekeeping Operations: The program authorized and appropriated for a special type of economic assistance for peacekeeping operations and other programs carried out in furtherance of the national interests of the United States.
Performance Indicator: A particular characteristic or dimension used to measure intended changes defined by an organizational unit's results framework. Performance indicators are used to observe progress and to measure actual results compared to expected results. The indicators are usually expressed in quantifiable terms, and should be objective and measurable (numeric values, percentages, scores and indices).
Performance Plan: The performance plan identifies annual performance benchmarks of the operating unit. Meeting benchmarks, or the planned levels of achievement for a given year, are considered important steps toward ultimately achieving the ten-year performance goals identified in the Strategic Plan.
Performance Target: The specific and intended result to be achieved within an explicit timeframe and against which actual results are compared and assessed. In addition to final targets, interim targets also may be defined.
Pipeline: The difference between obligations and expenditures.
P.L. 480: The Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, as amended, which governs administration of the U.S. Food for Peace program. (Term is often used to describe food aid.)
President's Budget: Budget for a particular fiscal year transmitted to Congress by the President in accordance with the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as amended.
Private and Voluntary Organization (PVO): A non-profit, tax-exempt and nongovernmental organization established and governed by a group of private citizens whose purpose is to engage in voluntary charitable and development assistance operations overseas.
PROGRAM: A coordinated set of USAID-financed activities directed toward specific goals. For example, maternal and child health, nutrition, education and family planning activities designed to promote the spacing of children may comprise a program to reduce infant deaths.
Project: A single activity designed to generate specific results. For example, a maternal and child health project may be designed to extend basic health services to 60% of children under five years of age in a poor, rural district of the recipient country. A project is USAID's basic unit of management.
Reimbursement: Collection of funds for services provided to recipients outside the Agency.
Reobligation: Obligation of an amount which had been obligated and deobligated in prior transactions.
Result: A change in the condition of a customer or a change in the host country condition which has a relationship to the customer. A result is brought about by the intervention of USAID in concert with its development partners. Strategic objectives are the highest level result for which an operating unit is held accountable; intermediate results are those results which contribute to the achievement of a strategic objective.
Results Framework: The results framework represents the development hypothesis, including those results necessary to achieve a strategic objective and their causal relationships and underlying assumptions. The framework also establishes an organizing basis for measuring, analyzing, and reporting results of the operating unit.
Results Package: A results package consists of people, funding, authorities, activities and associated documentation required to achieve a specified result (s) within an established time frame. The purpose of a results package is to deliver a given result or set of results contributing to the achievement of the strategic objective.
Results Review and Resource Request (R4): The document which is reviewed internally and submitted to USAID headquarters by the field or Washington operating unit on an annual basis. The R4 contains two components: the results review and the resource request. Judgment of progress will be based on a combination of data and analysis and will be used to inform budget decision making.
Special Objective: The result of an activity or activities which do not qualify as a strategic objective, but support other U.S. Government assistance objectives.
Stakeholder: An individual or group who has an interest in and influences USAID activities, programs and objectives.
Strategic Objective: The result (intended measurable change) that a USAID operational unit, along with its partners, can materially affect. The timeframe of a strategic objective is typically 5-8 years for sustainable development programs, but may be shorter for programs operating under short-term transitional circumstances or under conditions of uncertainty.
Strategic Plan: The framework which an operating unit uses to articulate the organization's priorities, to manage for results, and to tie the organization's results to the customer and beneficiary. The strategic plan is a comprehensive plan which includes the strategic objectives and a description of how it plans to deploy resources to accomplish them.
Strategic Support Objective: Strategic support objectives are regional or global development objectives which support other USAID operating unit objectives. The key differentiation from a strategic objective, is that there is a recognition that the achievement of the objective is accomplished and measured, in part, through the activities and results at the field mission level.
Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act: The Support for East European Democracy Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-179) authorizes assistance to the Eastern Europe.
Sustainable Development: Economic and social growth that does not exhaust a country 's resources; that does not damage the economic, cultural or natural environment; that creates incomes and enterprises; and that builds indigenous institutions.
Target: See Performance Taget.
CONGRESSIONAL PRESENTATION (CP) TERMS
All Spigots Table: Table which shows U.S. economic and military assistance levels from all International Affairs (Function 150) sources, broken out by program, region and country.
Green Book: This publication is entitled U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants and Assistance from International Organizations. This data, which is grouped by country and geographic region, includes assistance from USAID, military assistance, P.L. 480, Export-Import Bank, etc. from 1945 to the last completed fiscal year, in this case FY 1997. This publication is released at the time or shortly after the Congressional Presentation is distributed.
Program Summary Table: The table found at the end of each region, country and central program narrative contained in this Congressional Presentation document. This table summarizes proposed year budget levels for USAID's strategic goals by type of assistance (Development Assistance, Child Survival and Disease Program Fund, assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, assistance to New Independent States, Economic Support Fund, P.L. 480 and other).
Statistical Annex: The summary of active and proposed projects, by country and central program, submitted as an annex to this Congressional Presentation document, following enactment of the appropriation legislation for the fiscal year, in this case, FY 1999.
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