{"id":20751,"date":"2019-12-03T21:39:39","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T21:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/03\/how-this-tool-will-help-usaid-provide-foreign-assistance\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:42:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:42:24","slug":"how-this-tool-will-help-usaid-provide-foreign-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/it-networks\/2019\/12\/03\/how-this-tool-will-help-usaid-provide-foreign-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"How this tool will help USAID provide foreign assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United States Agency for International Development is developing a digital tool to help it assess the \u201cdigital ecosystem\u201d of countries it assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tool, called the Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA), will be piloted in Colombia and Kenya starting in January, according to Michelle Parker, a senior policy adviser at USAID\u2019s Center for Digital Development. The USAID team plans to identify two more countries to pilot the tool in and refine it until August, when USAID plans to formally launch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to understand what is happening in a country\u2019s digital ecosystem, we need to be able to assess it,\u201d said Parker, speaking Dec. 3 at the Professional Services Council Development Summit in Washington. The development team is building the tool \u201cpretty much from scratch,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To build the assessments, USAID, which provides aid to foreign civilians living in underdeveloped nations, will score the country\u2019s digital governance, censorship, regulations, digital financial services, platforms and access and use to evaluate a country\u2019s digital ecosystem. Parker said the the agency wants to be able to share some information publicly to help coordinate with its different donors across the world in how they approach investment in other countries digital ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tool is just one part of USAID\u2019s first-ever digital strategy, which is scheduled to be released early next year, officials said. Through the strategy, USAID wants to go \u201cdigital by default,\u201d agency officials said, shifting to a mindset where using digital platforms is the forethought, not a second- or third-tier option.<\/p>\n\n\n\t