LEAP III was a 5.5-year contract (May 2018 – December 2023) awarded to Integra to provide clear and unbiased analyses to support USAID interventions and programs operating optimally. LEAP III was intended to support economic growth and poverty reduction by increasing the effectiveness of USAID programs through better informed design, monitoring, and evaluation. As a contractual mechanism to accommodate buy-ins from USAID field Missions and Bureaus, LEAP III provided field support for analytical services when USAID Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI) staff were unavailable or specialized subject-matter experts were required. Integra assisted in various sectors, including economic growth, agriculture, women’s empowerment, environment, and infrastructure. The analysis provided under LEAP III included CBA, CEA, performance and impact evaluations, domestic resource cost analysis, inclusive growth diagnostics, macroeconomic and public financial management analysis, and other types of analysis as needed by USAID DDI and other Bureaus and Missions. The LEAP III team supported the presentation and dissemination of findings and lessons learned to USAID OUs, which helped guide the future program design, implementation, and evaluation of activities.
The activities completed during the contract period of performance covered all task areas noted as highly important in the LEAP III contract. The LEAP III team worked with 47 countries and 33 USAID Missions and Bureaus during the contract period. Under the LEAP III contract, the team brought 83 activities to completion: 21 performance and impact evaluations, nine CBAs and CEAs, seven PFM analyses, 17 policy analysis matrices, and domestic resource cost analyses, four inclusive growth diagnostic analyses, and 25 categorized as other analytical/project support.
Select activities completed under LEAP III included a portfolio evaluation of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Portfolio, a midterm evaluation of the US-Support for Economic Growth in Asia (US-SEGA) activity, a midterm strategic review of the USAID Catalyze program, and a data collection survey of women entrepreneurs in West Africa. Through its vast network of professional consultants, Integra could quickly respond to task orders from USAID with rigorous technical approaches and highly qualified teams. Integra provided evidence-based decision-making and analytical tools that supported missions in their private sector engagement. LEAP III also offered a vehicle to support capacity building for USAID staff, partner government, and civil society counterparts through various in-person and remote training events.
Capacity Building
LEAP III served as a vehicle for USAID Missions to support the capacity building of partner governments and civil society counterparts in its technical analysis domains. LEAP III provided inclusive in-person and virtual training opportunities for USAID Bureau and Mission colleagues, recognizing their integral role in the program’s success. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of Year 3 and in the remaining years forced LEAP III to find ways to conduct data collection and analysis activities remotely by leveraging local and regional expertise. Travel resumed in Year 5 as needed for meetings with Missions and data collection. LEAP III disseminated findings from its activities to various stakeholders after completing the activities.