A. General Outline of Operational Plans for Title II Activities

In addition to any other requirement of law or regulation, the Operational Plan will include information outlined below to the extent it is applicable to the specific activity.

1. Program Goals.

Describe program goals and criteria for measuring progress toward reaching the goals. Each program should be designed to achieve measurable objectives within a specified period of time.

2. Program Description.

a. Describe the characteristics, extent and severity of problems that the program will address.

b. Provide a clear concise statement of specific objectives for each program and of criteria for measuring progress towards reaching the objectives. If there are several objectives, indicate priorities.

c. Describe the target population by program, including economic/nutrition-related characteristics, sufficiently to permit a determination of recipient eligibility for title II commodities. Describe the educational and employment characteristics of the target group, if relevant to program objectives; the rationale for selection of the target group, the rationale for the selection of the geographical areas where programs will be carried out; the calculation of coverage and the percent of total target population reached.

d. Describe the intervention including:

(1) Ration composition. A description of rations, rationale for size and composition, assessment of effectiveness (dilution, sharing, acceptance).

(2) Complementary program components and inputs. Identify existing or potential complementary program components, i.e., education, growth monitoring, training, etc., that are necessary to achieve program impact, including determination of financial costs and sources of funding.

(3) Monetization. Describe to whom the commodities will be sold; the sales price (which shall not be less than the value of the food commodities f.a.s. or f.o.b.); arrangements for deposit of the monetization proceeds in a special (segregated), interest bearing account, pending use of the proceeds plus interest for the program; and the capability of the cooperating sponsor and recipient agencies to use and account for monetized proceeds properly as well as technical assistance the cooperating sponsor intends to obtain or provide if necessary in order to ensure that there are adequate financial and other management systems for the program proposed.

(4) Intervention strategy. Describe how the commodities, monetization proceeds, program income and other program components will address the problems. Indicate the recipient agencies to which commodities, monetized proceeds or program income will be transferred, and identify those recipient agencies which will not be required to execute Recipient Agency Agreements, and provide a brief explanation of the reasons.

(5) Linkages with other development activities, such as health or agricultural extension services. Describe specific areas of collaboration relative to program purposes.

(6) Monitoring and evaluation. Include a description of the evaluation plan, including information to be collected for purposes of assessing program operations and impact. Describe the monitoring system for collection, analysis and utilization of information. Include a schedule for carrying out the evaluation as well as a plan for conducting audits (Regulation 11, section 211.5(c)).

(7) Program period. The Operational Plan should cover enough time for a program to become fully operational and to permit evaluation of its effectiveness, including specific measurement of progress in achieving the stated program goals. Normally this will be a multi-year time frame, such as three to five years. Plans for and considerations involved in phasing-out U.S.G. support, and any phasing-over to non-U.S.G. support, should be discussed.

3. Program funding. Provide details of host government, cooperating sponsor and other non-USG support for the proposed program, with specific budgetary information on how these funds are to be used (e.g. complementary inputs, transport, administration). Where relevant, discussion of arrangements which will be made covering voluntary contributions.

4. Publicity. Describe how the requirements for public recognition, container marking, and use of funds set forth in Regulation 11, §§ 211.5i(h), (i) and (k) and in 211.6 (a) and (b), will be met.

5. Logistics. Provide a logistics plan that demonstrates the adequacy and availability in recipient country of port facilities, transportation and storage facilities to handle the flow of commodities to recipients to prevent spoilage or waste. A further affirmation must be made at the time of exportation of the commodity from the United States.

6. Disincentives. Furnish sufficient information concerning the plan of distribution and the target group of recipients so that a determination can be made as to whether the proposed food distribution would result in substantial disincentive to domestic food production. It is not necessary to provide a disincentive analysis if A.I.D. or USDA has completed such an analysis for another program that is relevant to the program proposed by the cooperating sponsor.

7. Accountability. Describe the method to be used to supervise, monitor, and account for the distribution or sale of commodities and the use of monetized proceeds and program income.

8. Import duty. Provide information to show approval of foreign government to import the donated commodities duty free.

9. Voluntary agency regular programs. An Operational Plan is required for all regular, i.e., non-emergency, title II nongovernmental cooperating sponsor programs as part of their program submission, along with the Annual Estimate of Requirements (AER), to USAID or the Diplomatic Post and AID/W. When new multi-year Operational Plans are required, they should be prepared and submitted in advance of the year in which they are to begin, in order to permit adequate time for substantive review and approval. In any event, nongovernmental cooperating sponsor Operational Plans should be submitted to AID/W no later than the Mission Action Plan covering the following fiscal year's program. Once an Operational Plan has been approved, only an updating will be required on an annual basis, unless there has been a significant change from the approved plan's program directives, methodology, design or magnitudes. Updates should be submitted each year for review with the AERs.

B. Operational Plans for Emergency Programs

The response to emergency situations using title II resources does not usually permit the same degree of detail and certainty of analysis that is expected in planning title II non-emergency programs. However, Operational Plans are required for all nongovernmental cooperating sponsors' emergency programs, along with the AER. An Operational Plan for an emergency program must cover the same basic elements, set forth above, as for a nonemergency program. Thus, all of the above basic issues set forth in the Operational Plan format must be addressed when proposing title II emergency programs as well as regular nonemergency programs.

C. USAID/Diplomatic Post Responsibilities

A USAID or Diplomatic Post is expected to comment on the substance and adequacy of a nongovernmental cooperating sponsor's Operational Plan when submitted to AID/W along with a program request, and to address the plan's relationship to and consistency with the Mission's Country Development Strategy Statement.

D. Required Approval for Program Change

Cooperating sponsors agree not to deviate from the program as described in the Operational Plan and other program documents approved by A.I.D., without the prior written approval of A.I.D.

E. Emergency Assistance Program Requests

Any cooperating sponsor (governmental or nongovernmental) may initiate an emergency assistance proposal under Public Law 480, title II. Requests are received by a USAID or Diplomatic Post and reviewed and approved before forwarding to AID/W with appropriate recommendations.

a. Nongovernmental emergency program requests can be cabled by USAID or the Diplomatic Post for AID/W review based on information provided and using procedures established for regular programs as described in Regulation 11, § 211.5(a): AER and Operational Plan.

b. A foreign government or international organization (other than World Food Program) emergency request normally requires more Mission involvement in program design and management. However, as in the case of nongovernmental programs, the approval will be based on a cabled program summary based on the program plan outlined in (2) above. On approval, AID/W will prepare a Transfer Authorization (TA) to be signed by the recipient government specifying terms of the program and reporting requirements. Additional guidance in preparing government-to-government or international organizations emergency requests is in chapter 9 and Exhibit A of A.I.D. Handbook 9. The TA serves as (1) the Food for Peace Agreement between the U.S. Government and the cooperating sponsor, (2) the project authorization document, and (3) the authority for the CCC to ship commodities. (Under Pub. L. 480, section 207(a), not later than 15 days after receipt of a call forward from a field mission for commodities, the order shall be transmitted to the CCC.)

F. Local Currency Programs (Public Law 480, Title II Section 203)

Detailed guidance for preparing, approving, implementing and administering these programs is provided in chapters 6, 7, and 11 of A.I.D. Handbook 9.

G. Problems Conducting Programs In Developing Countries

Describe the problems that can be anticipated in implementing the program in the recipient country as a result of its being a developing country.

H. Waivers

A cooperating sponsor should provide a justification for the waiver of any specific section or sections of Regulation 11 that it believes necessary for the program.