Results     Core Values      Customers      Results      Teamwork      Empowerment/       Accountability      Diversity     Sources     FAQ     Glossary     USAID ADS Updated 10/10/02

USAID defines its different types of customers as follows:

ULTIMATE CUSTOMERS: Those host country individuals, especially the socially and economically disadvantaged, who are beneficiaries of USAID assistance and whose participation is essential to achieving sustainable development results.

INTERMEDIATE CUSTOMER: Those organizations, including host country governments that receive USAID services and resources to implement programs that are designed to benefit the ultimate customer.

INTERNAL CUSTOMER: Bureaus, Operating Units, Offices, Field Missions, and individuals within USAID that benefit from, and participate in, the activities undertaken by other Bureaus, Offices, and individuals within the Agency.

WASHINGTON CUSTOMER: Those entities at whose behest USAID and its Development Partners carry out foreign assistance. This includes Congress, the taxpayer, and other relevant Government agencies, including the State Department.

CUSTOMERS AS USAID PARTNERS: An organization or customer representative who:

What About Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are those individuals and organizations that are affected by a development outcome or have an interest in a development outcome. Stakeholders include customers (internal, intermediate, and ultimate) but can include more broadly all those who might be affected adversely, or indirectly, by a USAID activity who might not be identified as a "customer." USAID seeks to involve customers, partners, and stakeholders in the decisions that affect them. Those individuals and organizations that are affected by a development outcome or have an interest in a development outcome.

Stakeholders include customers (internal, intermediate, and ultimate) but can include more broadly all those who might be affected adversely, or indirectly, by a USAID activity who might not be identified as a "customer." USAID seeks to involve customers, partners, and stakeholders in the decisions that affect them.

How does USAID maintain its focus on customers?

USAID embodies this core value in its work by:

• Exercising participatory planning techniques to obtain direct involvement of customers, and to identify their aspirations and priorities
• Consulting with organizations representing the interests of customers
• Monitoring customer participation and consistently seeking feedback through surveys, field visits, and open forums to determine if our efforts are consistent with the aspirations or needs of our customers
• Using customer information to frame program strategies and to design specific interventions
• Communicating back to customers on how their recommendations have been incorporated into programs

USAID results-focused programming systems are intended to help ensure that our programs and priorities are as responsive as possible to customer needs. In many cases, we will not be able to produce the products and services some customers prefer. In such cases, customer focus means being clear with our customer about what we can and cannot do. Another aspect of customer focus involves managing potential conflict between customer groups who perceive themselves as gaining or losing as a result of a particular intervention.

Related Sites:

For further detailed information, please check the following links.

A Partners' Consultation: Reengineering Relationships (PDF 33KB)

Conducting Customer Service Assessments (PDF 26KB)

World Class Courtesy: A Best Practices Report

Serving the American Public: Best Practices in One-Stop Customer Service