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	Managing Knowledge What is it?In order for staff to collaborate, learn, and adapt effectively, there needs to be a culture in place that supports openness to new learning, processes that help capture knowledge and bring evidence and institutional memory to bear in decision making, and resources to support the planning, facilitation, and execution of these activities.By creating and implementing effective processes... READ MORE

	Resourcing CLA What is it?Integrating CLA into how we design and implement programming in an intentional and systematic way requires adequate resources. For example, strategic collaboration requires staff time to identify and engage the right stakeholders. An investment of time is also required to build trusting relationships and partnerships that leverage individual strengths for collective benefit. Learning... READ MORE

	Enhancing Organizational Culture for CLA What is it?A team or organization’s culture is its set of shared norms and beliefs - both spoken and unspoken. The culture, and resulting organizational climate is established over time by leaders and team members and informed by the organizational purpose and context within which it operates. Culture is continually communicated, reinforced, and changed through various means, including team... READ MORE

	CLA in Activity Design and Implementation Activity Design & Implementation, Collaborating, Learning & Adapting Adapting, Collaborating, Learning, Program Cycle, Resourcing CLA What is it?Coordinated programming is grounded in evidence and, when adjusted as necessary, enhances the development results of an activity throughout implementation. By integrating collaborating, learning and adapting (CLA) throughout the activity design and procurement process, you help to ensure that implementing partners (IPs) have the capacity and the flexibility to reap the full... READ MORE

	Adaptive Management Activity Design & Implementation, Project Design & Implementation, Strategic Planning Adaptive Management What is it?USAID’s work takes place in environments that are often unstable and in transition. Even in more stable contexts, circumstances evolve and may affect programming in unpredictable ways. For its programs to be effective, USAID must be able to adapt in response to changes and new information. How to: Manage adaptivelyKnowing When to Adapt - A Decision TreeDiscussion Note: Adaptive... READ MORE

	Understanding CLA What is it?Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) is a set of practices that help us improve our development effectiveness. Learning has always been part of USAID’s work, and most USAID missions and implementing partners are already practicing CLA in some way. Our aim now is to make CLA more systematic and intentional throughout the Program Cycle, and to dedicate the resources necessary to... READ MORE

	Planning for CLA Budget & Resources, Collaborating, Learning & Adapting Resourcing CLA What is it?Now that we understand CLA, integrating CLA into our development work takes planning. By developing a plan tailored to our context, efforts to collaborate with stakeholders learn from a variety of sources and apply adaptive management practices will be systematic, intentional and resourced.As we apply the CLA Framework and pathways approach to our work, it is important... READ MORE

	Learning Agenda Collaborating, Learning & Adapting, Evaluation, Monitoring, Strategic Planning Learning What is it?A learning agenda includes (1) a set of questions addressing critical knowledge gaps (2) a set of associated activities to answer them and (3) products aimed at disseminating findings and designed with usage and application in mind. A learning agenda can help you:Test and explore assumptions and hypotheses throughout implementation and stay open to the possibility that your assumptions... READ MORE

	Engaging Stakeholders Activity Design & Implementation, Project Design & Implementation, Strategic Planning Collaborating, Organizational Culture What is it?“Achieving and sustaining any development outcome depends on the contributions of multiple and interconnected actors...Each set of interconnected actors whose collective actions produce a particular outcome is a local system.” ~ USAID Local Systems FrameworkDevelopment is an inherently collaborative process and so engaging with stakeholders is essential when designing and implementing... READ MORE

	M&E for Learning What is it?The purpose of monitoring, evaluation and learning practices is to apply knowledge gained from evidence and analysis to improve development outcomes and ensure accountability for the resources used to achieve them (ADS 201.3.5). Before we plan our activities, we need to know what we are trying to do and what we need to learn to ensure that the data we collect will help us make... READ MORE

	GUIDANCE FOR MONITORING & EVALUATION DURING COVID-19 Adaptive Management This guide was originally developed for Winrock International's projects as they adapted their monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices in response to the biggest constraint caused by COVID-19: the lack of direct access to the participants. It contains tips on how to conduct routine data collection, surveys, and evaluations in this context as well as what to do when access to participants... READ MORE

	Learning Questions Tip Sheet Collaborating, Learning & Adapting, Learning Learning This resource is intended for use by USAID staff or implementing partners as they develop or review learning questions during monitoring, evaluation or learning (MEL) planning processes. It complements the Learning Questions checklist and is geared toward strategy-level learning. The tip sheet includes examples and Do's and Don'ts for developing learning questions. READ MORE

	Learning (in the) Lab: A Utilization-focused Learning Agenda Playbook [External Version] Collaborating, Learning & Adapting, Learning Internal Collaboration, Facilitation, Learning, Continuous Learning & Improvement, Organizational Processes Compiled in partnership between the U.S. Global Development Lab’s Office of Evaluation and Impact Assessment (Lab/EIA) and the USAID LEARN contract, Learning (in the) Lab: A Utilization-Focused Learning Playbook is designed to share with our colleagues the tools and resources we’ve used to design, develop, implement, and iterate upon a bureau-wide, utilization-focused learning agenda called the... READ MORE

	USAID Armenia Assessments Learning Technical Evidence Base Armenia Youth Situational Analysis (2019): USAID/Armenia contracted Making Cents International to conduct a cross-sectoral youth assessment (CSYA) to gain a detailed understanding of the drivers that motivate youth and identifies the obstacles or constraints that undermine their contributions to Armenia’s political, economic, and social well-being in a meaningful way. The assessment team... READ MORE

	USAID Brazil Data Quality Assessment for Standard Biodiversity Indicators Evaluation Learning, Evaluation, M&E for Learning, Monitoring EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis 2017 Data Quality Analysis (DQA) of the Partnership for Conservation of Amazonian Biodiversity (PCAB) Project reports on the quality of data used to measure five standard indicators of PCAB outputs or outcomes. This DQA report also includes recommendations for USAID and the PCAB implementing partners (IPs) to implement for improving procedures for standard indicator data... READ MORE

	CLA and the Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR) in CDCS Planning and Development Strategic Planning Adapting, Collaborating, Learning, Program Cycle USAID’s Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) principles and approaches help staff and partners to work more effectively with local actors, country partners, and others to generate and share learning that can be used to inform strategic choices and programming decisions in a Mission’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). This tool serves as an interface to help users understand... READ MORE

	Applications of Forest Monitoring Tools for Development Projects Activity Design & Implementation, Monitoring, Planning Learning, Monitoring, Organizational Processes, Decision-Making Recommendations for multilateral funding agencies to increase the use of forest monitoring tools across development sectors, as a matter of policy and practice to meet sustainability goals.https://bankinformationcenter.org/en-us/update/forest-monitoring-what-can-world-bank--others-do/ READ MORE

	CLA Position Descriptions Resourcing CLA Examples of position descriptions for CLA-focused staff as highlighted in the Resourcing CLA landing page of the CLA Toolkit.This position description for a Senior Learning Advisor (PSC-14) provides useful information for those that want to apply or for those developing their own organizational learning advisor position descriptions. The original PD was updated to reflect the evolving set of CLA... READ MORE

	Resourcing CLA Example: CLA Mechanism Resourcing CLA Example language for a CLA Mechanism as highlighted in the Resourcing CLA landing page of the CLA Toolkit.

	Knowledge Management Sustainability Tracker Learning Technical Evidence Base, Organizational Processes, Knowledge Management What is this?This document outlines a systematic and intentional approach to managing the transfer of skills and knowledge in order to support sustainable organizational outcomes. Each section has a brief description of what should be contained in it.When should this be used?This tool is intended to be used throughout the tenure of a staff member from the beginning of their tenure to the end.... READ MORE

	USAID's Self-Reliance Learning Agenda Collaborating, Learning & Adapting Collaborating, Facilitation, Learning The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is excited to announce the publication of the Self-Reliance Learning Agenda (SRLA) questions and additional resources. Please check out the resource on this page to see the full list of questions and the latest SRLA learning products.What is self-reliance?Self-reliance is a country’s capacity to plan, finance, and implement solutions... READ MORE

	Webinar: How to Monitor Performance Based on a Theory of Change Collaborating, Learning & Adapting, Evaluation, Monitoring Learning, Theories of Change, Program Cycle This webinar is an introduction to performance monitoring at the activity level. It explains some key concepts in performance monitoring and demonstrates how one develops a performance motioning plan based on a project or activity theory of change and its associated logic model. COR/AORs and MEL specialists and anyone else who is wondering how to translate a theory of change into a coherent plan... READ MORE

	A Guide to Hiring Adaptive Employees Adapting, Adaptive Management, Organizational Culture, Resourcing CLA If you are involved in hiring, this tool can help you increase your chances of selecting staff members skilled in adaptive management. It will help answer the questions:Which competencies should I recruit for in order to hire more adaptive employees?Which desired qualifications should I incorporate into position descriptions to attract adaptive employees?Which interview questions should I ask to... READ MORE

	Designing CLA Services in Support Activities Organizational Processes, Knowledge Management, Resourcing CLA, Adaptable Mechanisms, MEL Support Mechanisms Strategic collaboration, continuous learning, and adaptive management throughout the Program Cycle helps USAID missions and operating units (OUs) achieve better development outcomes. Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) can be integrated into the procurement process, solicitation, and management of implementing mechanisms. Support activities, also known as support platforms or support... READ MORE

	Designing and Facilitating Learning-Focused Meetings Facilitation, Learning A Pause and Reflect moment can take many variations (team retreats, individual time to read and process, after-action reviews, etc.), but one of the most common missed opportunities is meetings. These include implementing partner meetings, stakeholder meetings, office meetings, all-hands meetings, portfolio reviews, mid-course stocktaking, or other recurring or one-off meetings. Using... READ MORE

	How Culture Influences Adaptive Management Adapting, Adaptive Management, Organizational Processes There is some agreement that flexible and adaptive management, throughout the programme cycle and in the financial and operational management of implementation, is essential for programme effectiveness. Yet for a wide variety of reasons, most organisations have far to go to reach this adaptive ideal. This study provides a catalyst for an open discussion of the many challenges to adaptive... READ MORE

	10 Principles of Organizational Culture Organizational Culture Research shows that companies that use a few specific cultural catalysts — that is to say, those that use informal emotional approaches to influencing behavior — are significantly more likely to experience change that lasts. Of the companies that reported consciously using elements of their culture in Strategy’s 2013 Global Culture & Change Management Survey, 70 percent said their firms... READ MORE

	Knowing When to Adapt - A Decision Tree Collaborating, Learning & Adapting Adapting, Adaptive Management, Organizational Processes This job aid will help you determine how best to resolve a challenge/issue in programming. It is intended for use by USAID, partners, and others working in international development.

	Managing Staff Transitions Through CLA: Preserving Institutional Memory as Staff Come and Go Collaborating, Organizational Processes, Resourcing CLA Most USAID Missions and USAID/Washington operating units (OUs) have a set of guidance, policies, and templates to manage the administrative, logistical, and security aspects of onboarding and offboarding staff. Less often, however, is there a system in place to manage the transfer of institutional knowledge, contextual understanding, and critical relationships that have been acquired by the... READ MORE

	Pathways to Integrating CLA in Your Work Adapting, Collaborating, Learning, Organizational Culture, Organizational Processes, Resourcing CLA PPL/LER developed a concept for helping staff to think about intregrating CLA on an individual level, the Pathways for Integrating CLA in Your Work. Here is a job aid outlining that guide for thinking systematically or holistically about CLA. READ MORE

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