Documents/USAIDCSP

Customer Service Plan

Strategic_Plan

Start: 2011-10-26, Publication: 2012-04-26

Source: http://www.usaid.gov/open/USAIDCustomerServicePlan2011-10-26.pdf

The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or striving to live in a free and democratic country. It is this caring that stands as a hallmark of the United States around the world -- and shows the world our true character as a nation. This customer service plan, issued in accordance with Executive Order 13571 Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service, addresses issues intended to help ensure that the Agency’s programs and priorities are as responsive as possible to customer needs. USAID seeks to identify who its customers are and to secure their participation in order to better target its project approaches and to focus its efforts and resources on the most productive tasks.

USAID best practices in working with customers include: Exercising participatory planning techniques to obtain direct involvement of customers and to identify their aspirations and priorities; Consulting with organizations that represent the interests of customers; Monitoring customer participation and consistently seeking feedback through surveys, field visits, and open forums to determine if USAID’s efforts are consistent with the aspirations or needs of its customers; Using customer information to frame program strategies and to design specific interventions; and Communicating with customers on how their recommendations have been incorporated into programs and the results achieved. The majority of USAID’s customers are not the ‘traditional’ U.S.-based public. However, consistent with the intent of Executive Order 13571, USAID’s customer service plan highlights both the efforts the agency is undertaking to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aid delivery as well as our interactions with the U.S. public on whose behalf the agency provides humanitarian and development assistance. Given our diverse customer base, USAID has chosen to highlight a signature initiative that focuses on improving information for our core business and two additional services that focus on efficient internal customer processes and reaching the U.S. public with information about USAID’s work.

Submitter:

Name:Owen Ambur

Email:Owen.Ambur@verizon.net

Organization:

Stakeholder(s):

  • Customers: USAID policy defines ‘customer’ as the person or group who is receiving a service, or who is considered the recipient or beneficiary of a given result or output. There are several different types of USAID customers: Ultimate, Intermediate, Internal/process, and Washington and U.S.-based customers.

  • Beneficiaries of USAID Assistance: Ultimate customers: Those host country individuals, especially the socially- and economically-disadvantaged, who are beneficiaries of USAID assistance and whose participation is essential to achieving sustainable development results.

  • Socially Disadvantaged Individuals

  • Economically Disadvantaged Individuals

  • Recipients of USAID Services: Intermediate customers: Those organizations, including host country governments that receive USAID services to implement programs that are designed to benefit the ultimate customer. This includes private voluntary organizations (PVOs), private sector contractors, and host country entities.

  • Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs)

  • Private Sector Contractors

  • Host Country Entities

  • Bureaus within USAID: Internal/process customer: Bureaus, Offices, Operating Units, and individuals within USAID that benefit from and participate in the activities undertaken by other Bureaus, Offices, Operating Units, and individuals within the Agency.

  • Offices within USAID

  • Operating Units within USAID

  • Individuals within USAID

  • U.S. Government Entities: Washington and U.S.-based customers: U.S. Government entities, or individuals representing such an entity, at whose behest USAID carries out its programs and who have a stake in the program results that USAID produces. Examples include Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Department of State.

  • Individuals Representing U.S. Government Entities

  • Congress: Congress represents U.S. taxpayers.

  • Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

  • Department of State

Content
Visions
Missions
Values
1: PROGRAMMING RESOURCES TOOLBOX
2: DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE CLEARINGHOUSE (DEC)
3: Public Information