usaid local implementing partner training: expenditure

USAID LP Training - September 22, 2021

USAID Local Implementing Partner Training:Expenditure Reporting

September 22, 2021

Christy Knight & Erin Dunlap

USAID/OHA Expenditure Reporting Branch

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Welcome and Agenda

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★ ER Overview★ What’s new in FY21 and beyond★ ER Resources★ Financial Data Use★ Common Questions, Challenges, and Best Practices:

Templates and tools for translating partner tracking into Expenditure Reporting

★ Q&A and Discussion


Expenditure Reporting Overview

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Introduction to the PEPFAR Financial Framework: Expenditure Reporting

Increase reliability, usability, and timeliness of financial data to achieve program impact

Improve accountability and efficiency of PEPFAR programs

Clarify linkages between COP/ROP (Country Operational Plan/Regional Operational Plan) and central funding budgets, program implementation, budget execution and financial management and reporting

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Process Flow of Annual Financial Planning and ReportingTrack financial information from budgeting to work plan budget to expenditure reporting using same classification

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1. COP Strategy and Budget• Determine full year amount

for each mechanism• Determine funding level for

interventions --Program Area and Beneficiaries

2. Work Plan Budget • IM interventions further

elaborated by Cost Category

3. Expenditure Reporting• Expenditures reported against

the interventions identified in the work plan budget


Implementing Mechanism (IM)-Level Budget & Expenditure Components

INTERVENTIONDetermined by USAID field teams and approved by S/GAC during COP20/FY21 process and should be provided by the USAID A/COR

for workplan development

Further disaggregated by partners into cost categories = “what we are buying”

COP20/FY21Budget

in PEPFAR Financial Classification Structure

Program Area Beneficiary Cost Category


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Expenditure Reporting Template


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Classification: Program AreaProgram : Distinct organization of resources directed toward a specific strategic objective, or, alternatively, a set of activities that achieve a common outcome.


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Classification: Beneficiary


Intervention ExamplesIntervention 1 Intervention 2 Intervention 3 Intervention 4

Program Area Testing Socio-economic Care & Treatment Above-site

Subprogram Area

Community-based – Service

delivery

Education assistance –

Service delivery

HIV clinical services – Non-service delivery

HMIS, surveillance and

research

BeneficiaryGroup Key Pops OVC Non-targeted Non-targeted

Sub -Beneficiary Group

Sex Workers OVCNot

disaggregatedNot

disaggregated

Inte

rven

tions

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For complete definitions of program areas, beneficiaries, and cost categories please refer to the ‘PEPFAR Classification Reference Guide” found on datim.zendesk.com.


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• USAID takes varying approaches to selecting interventions• “Split” interventions to highlight breadth and depth of

programmatic activities• “Lump” interventions to demonstrate a more cohesive picture

Maximum 35 interventions (including one for program

management) can be entered on the template

No way to disaggregate in every possible way, especially

for comprehensive IMs

Level of Detail


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Classifications: Cost Category

• Object: What is the Implementing Partner purchasing with their PEPFAR money?


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Expenditure Reporting Template


PEPFAR Expenditure Reporting Process BasicsMethodology

• Capture all expenditures for the fiscal year that just ended COP20/FY21 (Oct 1, 2020 – Sept 30, 2021)

• Cash basis• Reported annually in USD ($)• Only PEPFAR funding (e.g. do not count USAID malaria $, or Gates HIV $)• Prime partner is responsible for reporting all expenditures (including

subrecipients)

For complete definitions of program areas, beneficiaries, and cost categories please refer to the ‘PEPFAR Financial Classification Reference Guide” found on datim.zendesk.com.

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One (1) template per Implementing Mechanism (IM) per Operating Unit (OU)

• An IM that operates in 2 OUs must submit 2 templates, one for each OU– E.g. The fictional “Clinical Services Project” IM implements in both Burundi & Rwanda (Prime IP

must submit 2 templates)

• IPs with multiple IMs in an OU must prepare 1 template for each IM, you cannot combine expenditures for all IMs in a given OU– E.g. The fictional IP “Burundi Centre for Health” implements 3 different PEPFAR IMs in Burundi

(Mechanism A , Mechanism B, & Mechanism C) and therefore submits 3 ER templates

What about Regional Programs?• Same regional groupings as COP19/FY20 reporting• Submit one (1) template per IM, per country

PEPFAR Expenditure Reporting Process Basics

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Questions?

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COP20/FY21 Expenditure Reporting

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What’s New for COP20/FY21 Q4 Expenditure Reporting

• Minor/Administrative Updates– Financial classification reference guide v.7.6.21 (download from

DATIM Zendesk)

– New DATIM warnings on impossible combinations:

• Site level HCW expenditure allocated to Above Site program area• International travel or construction expenditures for Service

Delivery (SD)– IPs will be prompted to enter optional narratives for certain

combinations, such as HCW and NSD intervention.

• These narratives are optional, and these warnings will not prevent successful upload/submission.

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COP20 / FY21 Expenditure ReportingCOP Cycle Implementation Year/FY Annual Q4 Reporting Dates

COP20/FY21 (Approved May 2020) Oct 1, 2020-Sept 30, 2021 Oct 1, 2021-Dec 17, 2021

COP21/FY22 (Approved May 2021) Oct 1, 2021-Sept 30, 2022 Oct 1, 2022-Dec 2022

What resources do I need to complete the ER template?

1.COP20/FY21 budget by intervention2.Clean COP20/FY21 template

downloaded from datim.zendesk.com3.Classification reference guide

(datim.zendesk.com)


COP20/FY21 Q4 Expenditure Reporting Timeline

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Data Collection

Data Cleaning


DATIM.org Upload & Submission

IP users will login to datim.org to upload & submit ER templates:

Upload/Submit/Approve :• IPs will upload in the ERB Processor app• IPs will submit in the Data Approval app• USAID will approve in the Data Approval app


DATIM Accounts & Submission

• At least one person from each organization will need to have a registered ER/Budget DATIM.org account in order to successfully upload and submit an ER template in DATIM

• If you have submitted a COP21/FY22 work plan budget template and/or logged into DATIM the past 95 days:

– Access will be granted to DATIM automatically as account has not been deactivated due to lack of activity

• If you have not submitted a COP21/FY22 work plan budget template: – Users without existing DATIM accounts, or expired accounts (not logged in for

95+ days) will need to request a new account. • Register at https://register.datim.org/

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https://register.datim.org/


Looking Ahead to COP21/FY22 Reporting...

• Disaggregated subrecipient reporting will phase in with the COP21/FY22 ER cycle, starting October 2022

– Each subrecipient with COP21/FY22 expenditures greater than $25,000 will be required to complete an ER template.

– Subrecipients with COP21/FY21 expenditures less than $25,000 will continue to report expenditures as in FY19-21: not disaggregated by cost category, but still reported by intervention to the prime partner.

– COP21/FY22 ER reporting will require 1 prime partner ER template and x number of subrecipient templates. All templates will be submitted by the prime partner.

– By reporting expenditures in a separate template, subrecipients eligible to report will provide full cost category detail on their expenditures in addition to the program area and beneficiary information that was previously reported.

– Utilize this information now to prepare for next year!23


Questions?

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COP20/FY21 Expenditure Reporting RESOURCES

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Expenditure Reporting Available Resources: Guidance

Resources Available:

1. COP20/FY21 ER template

2. Classification Reference Guide version July 2021

3. What’s New for COP20/FY21 Reporting?

Navigate to datim.zendesk.com, PEPFAR Guidance 26


Expenditure Reporting Resources: Submission in DATIM

Step-by-Step Guides Available:1. Instructions for IP Users:

template completion & submission

2. Instructions for Agency Field users: reviewing, approving, or rejecting ER data

3. How to clear common errors

4. Approval statuses and actions

5. Requesting a DATIM user account

Navigate to datim.zendesk.com, DATIM Training & Tutorials, for step-by-step DATIM submission tutorials 27


Expenditure Reporting Resources: Help Desk Tickets

Reasons to Contact the Help Desk1. Invalid template upon

upload and cannot clear the error after checking DATIM tutorials

2. Mechanism is missing in DATIM

3. Cannot upload/submit4. Cannot reject/recall a

template5. Username/password

issues6. Technical glitches or

questions navigating the system

Navigate to datim.zendesk.com, Submit a Request 28


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Prior ER Webinar Recordings

ASAP-hosted COP19/FY20 Expenditure Reporting Webinars (September 2020, January 2021)

https://www.intrahealth.org/pepfar-expenditure-reporting-repeat

Additional details on Financial Framework, Expenditure Reporting process, and Data Use

https://www.intrahealth.org/pepfar-expenditure-reporting-repeat


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USAID-Specific Resources

1. COP20/FY21 COP Budgets (access through activity manager)2. Additive Data Reporting Guidance*3. Best Practices for Partner Reporting* 4. Data Quality Framework*

* To be distributed the first week of data collection via USAID Field Teams or can reach out to [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Technical Assistance for Local PartnersThrough ASAP, consultants will be available to support USAID local partners, located in Africa only, throughout the ER process

LPs will be notified shortly of their designated consultant POC

Consultants can help with:

• Categorizing and allocating expenditures• Understanding the financial framework as outlined in the PEPFAR

Classification Reference Guide• Reviewing data for completeness and accuracy prior to submission• Resolving errors and warnings from data validation checks• Navigating data submission process

Local partners based in Asia and the Western Hemisphere will still have technical assistance available through USAID/HQ backstops, and [email protected]



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Technical Assistance for USAID IPs and OUsEach OU USAID team will have a HQ-based USAID ER Backstop to support the ER process.

• Backstops will provide oversight and high-level technical assistance, particularly around data analysis and use

• Questions regarding categorizations, or definitions of program areas/cost categories can also be routed to your A/COR, and/or you can contact someone from the EA team at OHA by emailing [email protected].

All questions related to DATIM submissions (error upon upload, forgotten password, IM does not appear in DATIM, data approval app isn’t visible, etc.) please contact technical support at DATIM Zendesk.


Questions?

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PEPFAR Financial Data Use

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What is the Purpose of the Spend?Are we focusing our resources on the right strategies to reach our targets?

What types of activities/program areas should we be investing in order to get closer to epidemic control? Do we see that in the data? Do we invest too much in case finding and not enough in linkage and retention for care and treatment?

IPs that operate where there is better treatment and testing coverage might show higher expenditures in non-service delivery activities than service delivery, that reflects the program might be nearing a point of epidemic control (i.e. greater spend in Non-Service than Service Delivery) 35


Who Are We Serving?Are we focusing our resources on the right populations?

“Females: Young Women & Adolescent Females” (DREAMS) and “Males: Adult Men” are some of the priority PEPFAR populations

We can triangulate the expenditures of some of these priority beneficiary groups with other PEPFAR indicators to determine if we are investing at the right amounts for the groups of people we are targeting in our testing, linking them to treatment, and reaching them through prevention programs

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How Are We Spending Our Resources?What are we buying?

Are we spending our resources on the right things to meet our program goals/targets? Are different implementation models reflected with different spending patterns?How should we potentially shift investments in the next fiscal year to achieve greater program success?

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Data Triangulations:How did we execute the budget, what did we achieve?

Key QuestionsHighlights where there may be issues with spending and achieving

ConsiderationsWhy did we not achieve 100% of targets and yet we expended 100% of the budget? Was service delivery disrupted or more costly than anticipated?

Are we seeing efficiencies over time as IMs mature from start-up?

Can we improve our budget projections for next year?

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Accessing ER Data: IPs Can Download IM-Level Financial Data on PEPFAR Panorama Spotlight

• Spotlight is PEPFAR’s public data source

• Budget amounts are aggregated to the mechanism ID, budget code, and planning year level.

• PEPFAR partner expenditures are shown at the total mechanism level PEPFAR Panorama Spotlight:

https://data.pepfar.gov/additionalData 39

https://data.pepfar.gov/additionalData


PEPFAR Panorama Spotlight Dashboards

• Financial management visuals look at total funding and expenditure

• Partners can review their budget execution at partner/IM level

PEPFAR Panorama Spotlight: https://data.pepfar.gov/dashboards40

https://data.pepfar.gov/dashboards


Questions?

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What is your biggest challenge from prior ER cycles or your greatest concern for the upcoming reporting?

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Please answer the following question in the chat box:


Common Questions and Challenges

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How should IPs use the data?

How is the USG using the data?

Under which category should XYZ activity be

counted?

How are MER and ER data linked?

Are there acceptable rates or variances for budget versus

expenditure?

How should expenditures be aligned to budgets?

Are there expectations for certain thresholds (e.g.

%of budget for PM)? How do I get started?

What is the best way to map our expenditures to the ER

framework?How should expenditures be

allocated to various beneficiaries?

How can we translate our cost categories into the ER-defined

cost categories?What are the best ways to allocate staff time to

interventions?

What if we haven’t paid an invoice before Sept 30?

What is the last date to report FY21 expenditures?


Best Practices: EGPAF Examples

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Expenditure Reporting: Experiences and Perspectives from an Implementing Partner

Sushant MukherjeeDirector, Economic Analysis

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)Sept. 22, 2021

ER Approach: Guiding Principles• “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”: this is a complex and

dynamic exercise; obtaining thoughtful estimates that reasonably represent the reality of project’s spending is a more realistic goal than trying to rebuild systems from scratch to capture this data at a high level of precision.

• Dialogue and Collaboration: ER necessarily involves a wide range of stakeholders, including finance, programs, M&E, grants; reports should not be completed without close collaboration from all stakeholders, as well as clear dialogue with donor throughout ER process.

• Learning: As much as feasible, EGPAF is committed to using ER data to learn about its programs, including whether it is adequately investing in certain program areas, over-resourced in areas that are no longer strategic priority, using ER data to have more informed dialogues with donor, etc.

Methodology at a Glance• Directly Assigned Costs: Where feasible to directly assign expenses, we will do so. For example, if we

purchase Cervical Cancer supplies, we can clearly assign to a Cervical Cancer intervention under Supplies-Health.

• Salaries: Staff time for non-operations staff is assigned to specific interventions based on Level of Effort (LOE) estimation, as undertaken by senior programs staff.

• Sub-grantees: Sub-recipient costs are assigned to specific interventions based on estimation of which interventions relate to their technical scope.

• Other cross-cutting costs that benefit more than one intervention (the majority of our costs) are allocated using one of a number of possible strategies:

o LOE (e.g. we often allocate travel costs by LOE of program staff, since, for large projects, it is not feasible to code each site visit expense with a specific intervention, plus labor is seen as an appropriate proxy for travel).

o Technical Allocation (senior program staff will determine the most appropriate distribution of certain costs by intervention)

o Patient Volume (e.g. we may allocate certain costs by volume of patients related to a given intervention)

ER Reporting ProcessBuild / Update

Internal ER Tool

Develop Allocations for Personnel, Subs, Other

Expenses

Pull in Expenditures and Compile First

Draft of ER

Conduct Analysis / “Reality Check” relative

to COP (FAST), and adjust.

Review of Complete ER Draft

Revise ER based on Feedback

Upload / Submit ER File into

DATIM

Can start before all expenses captured.

Must involve senior leadership.

A Multi-Disciplinary Approach is Essential

Programs

Finance/ Operations

M&E / SI&E

Expenditure Reporting • Technical allocations

for staff and subs• Help to define cross-

cutting allocations –e.g. we renovated a waiting area – what intervention(s) benefited?

• Triangulating with MER data – e.g. we report MER data on VMMC and HTS_INDEX but no costs reported for HTS or VMMC.

• Ensuring total $ align with spending during reporting period.

• Coding / tagging individual transactions to interventions.

Lessons Learned and RecommendationsStaff: Having senior management develop allocations for all staff elicits better data

quality than asking individuals to disaggregate timesheets by intervention.

Sub-Grantees: Grants and technical teams can work together to determine which interventions are relevant for a sub-award based on its technical scope. In FY22, when ER moves to sub-level reporting, prime should develop internal guidance and an internal training for sub partners to ensure subs have same understanding of ER guidance.

Communicate with Donor / Mission regularly: Critical to reach out proactively to missions about ER prior to submission, including any advice they have on how to handle inevitable deviations between $ by intervention in the ER and the COP allocations / FAST tool. Also reach out to USAID HQ liaisons for ER reporting, who can play a key role interfacing between missions and partners.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations Radical changes in coding and capturing data is not always necessary or

advisable. Focus more on how you can adapt existing systems / procedures to capture better data, and less on rebuilding systems from scratch, or hiring additional human resources, to focus exclusively on ER. Examples of changes we made include:

o Rather than trying to find new accounting software, or fundamentally change how we capture financial data, we used a field in QB to start tagging expenditures that could be directly assigned (e.g. program supplies, trainings), with ER interventions.

o We modified budget template to clarify which staff and contracted workers are Clinical vs Ancillary vs “Other.”

Lessons Learned and Recommendations State your assumptions. Allocations and assumptions are fine, but clearly state and

document assumptions in any internal template you are using. This will also help to ensure consistency in reporting.

SD versus NSD? Just do your best, and focus on getting the program area right. For SD versus NSD distinctions, FAST / COP allocations typically do not provide funding to sufficient NSD interventions. E.g. you do training and supervision on HTS, but only intervention for HTS is SD. If mission will not allow you to add an intervention, just classify NSD spending under SD for the appropriate program area.

Start early. Most work related to ER reporting can be completed well before all expenditure data is captured. For annual ER reporting, EGPAF typically begins revisiting assumptions, updating allocations, and compiling initial spending data as early as August.

Thank you!

• Contact Information: • Email : [email protected]



Q&A

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