Academy for Educational Development

In 2005, AED was awarded Focus on Results: Enhancing Capacity across Sectors in Transition Countries (FORECAST) Indefinite Quantity Contract by USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (EGAT). The contract replaced the START contract for providing the breadth of training and related services to USAID globally through Bureau or Mission directed task orders.

FORECAST provides a comprehensive approach to workgroup and institutional performance improvement through the assessment of performance gaps and targeted interventions, including training. This approach can be applied to diverse organizations ranging from a USAID Mission to USAID partner organizations. It provides a holistic perspective for assessing organizational performance gaps and implementing interventions to address gaps, while recognizing the cyclical nature of sustained capacity development (from assessment to application of interventions, to monitoring and evaluation of interventions, to re-assessment). This approach is developed through participation and buy-in of all stakeholders, increasing the likelihood of durable improvements.

Under FORECAST, AED can be asked to provide a comprehensive range of human and institutional capacity development services to support the achievement of USAID strategic objectives in all fields. Services include: assessments to identify performance gaps in targeted institutions; the design and delivery of training and non-training interventions to address performance issues; monitoring and evaluation of these interventions; stand-alone custom and off-the-shelf training programs; short- and long-term academic programs; the procurement of intervention providers; participant processing services; partnerships administration; small grants; technical assistance; on-going monitoring and evaluation, and follow-on activities.

AED is implementing FORECAST with our partners: Management Systems International (MSI), Associates for Global Change (AGC), International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), Partners International (PI).

Current activities that AED is implementing under FORECAST include:

• The Armenia Task Order which provides participant training and institutional development services to support USAID/Armenia's assistance program; and
• The Southern Sudan Diaspora Skills Transfer Program which will identify and field volunteers from the South Sudan diaspora throughout the world for