Integrated Data & Analytics in USAID CATALYZE

The USAID CATALYZE project, implemented by Palladium, mobilizes private capital to traditionally underserved populations, geographies, and sectors to meet development goals. An integral part of the $250 million project is robust monitoring and high-quality reporting. Using data to inform development decisions helps support efficient and effective use of resources. Data is also key to adapting strategies as needed to ensure financing is reaching those who need it the most.

CATALYZE Engines of Growth Activity: Number of Women-Owned SMEs benefitting from financial services provided through USG assistance. Source: CATALYZE MIS

With 15 activities spanning across 39 countries, CATALYZE faces the complex challenge of ensuring accurate and timely reporting of roughly 300 performance indicators across a broad spectrum of sectors. To address these demands, CATALYZE used Smartsheet to develop an integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Management Information System (MIS).

The MIS has allowed the project to securely track information, visualize performance data, and manage essential project documents while enhancing collaboration, learning, and adaptive management to ensure robust and efficient project management. This is achieved through three dynamic systems created on Smartsheet to collect data, share documents, and visualize information:

1. Data Transmission and Management: The MIS securely captures data from 15 activities collected through a variety of methods, including, official financial documents, project documents, pause and reflect sessions, stakeholder feedback, and after-action reviews. The system integrates data review and verification steps and features a tracking tool to oversee data entry, review, and approval, streamlining data management;
2. Performance Data Visualization: Through seamless third-party integration with Power BI (Business Intelligence), interactive and user-friendly data visualization dashboards showcase the project’s performance data in an easily digestible manner, track progress, and provide clear insights on activity performance;
3. Document Repository: Stores and shares critical documents on project design and MEL with USAID and other key project stakeholders, ensuring a shared understanding of the project.

“Managing a global, blended finance project in 39 countries and tracking more than 300 impact indicators is simply untenable without a management information system. Using Smartsheet, we’ve transformed our document repository and gained clarity through data visualization. The system has helped us all be held accountable for the results we are achieving in this private sector engagement program. Did we do what we set out to do with the government’s resources? Absolutely, and the proof is here in Smartsheet.”

— Amanda Fernandez, Chief of Party/Executive Director, USAID CATALYZE

The CATALYZE MIS helps to roll up and aggregate activity- level performance data at the country level, regional level, program level and global level, where data are analyzed and used for reporting and adaptive management across the portfolio. With the data visualization dashboard, USAID and CATALYZE staff can interact with performance data and dissect it by different parameters including applicable disaggregates, countries, and time periods. The dashboard then guides periodic reflections at the activity level. At a management level, data visualization provides a holistic view of overall progress and helps to identify areas for improvement. This information provides insights on the effective blended finance approaches to USAID and among market actors engaged.

GATHERING INSIGHTS FROM PARTNERS

Knowing and understanding where financing is increasing, and which sectors are receiving the most financing helps us understand CATALYZE’s progress toward achieving sustainable, inclusive development outcomes through private sector engagement.

CATALYZE monitors and measures performance at the activity level, using quantitative and qualitative metrics, focusing on the mobilization of private capital for development and its direct and indirect effects. This includes financing for women and youth entrepreneurs, sales revenue of supported small and medium-sized enterprises, increased employment as well as improvement in education outcomes for schools supported. This helps track changes at the activity level. For example, in Ethiopia, CATALYZE support resulted in a 119% increase in sales in fiscal year 2023 for those firms receiving financing, and 16,769 individuals found better employment through matching services.

CATALYZE also uses the MIS to record critical pivots in project implementation approaches and allows users to record any collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) activities that took place in each quarter. The reporting provides insights into learnings and effective CLA strategies that can be shared as best practices across the project.

At an aggregate level, USAID CATALYZE has mobilized $498.5M to date for more than 68,000 entities out of which nearly 66% (45,094) are women-owned enterprises.

Source: USAID CATALYZE MIS

Using Smartsheet Across CATALYZE

Palladium is one of the first USAID implementing partners to adopt Smartsheet for project and information management on a global program, demonstrating its utility for complex projects. To date, over 100 individuals including 67 CATALYZE staff, 29 implementing partners, and 27 USAID colleagues from 24 Missions, Bureaus, and Independent Offices (such as the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer Representative, Activity Managers, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) staff), use the system to view CATALYZE performance data and key project documents.

With many state and federal government agencies moving to Smartsheet — an approved tool for collaborative work management platform — CATALYZE’s MIS is serving as an excellent example of Smartsheet’s adaptations in the MEL space.

If you’d like to view the dashboards in more detail, please reach out to catalyze.comms@thepalladiumgroup.com.

Source: USAID CATALYZE MIS