DDI has been the implementing partner of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) in Nigeria since November 2002 to date. USADF and DDI entered into a partnership for the promotion of community-level development. Under the partnership, DDI provides technical assistance to USADF grantees in Nigeria in such areas as grants management, developing proposals for funding, designing business plans, providing technical assistance and training for approved projects, monitoring project implementation while also providing remediation support, and evaluating project success in meeting development objectives.
Screening of grants applicants: DDI complements USADF’s role in project screening by using the local knowledge and institutional memory of our staff to ensure that USADF’s resources are channeled to those projects that are most consistent with its strategy and have the greatest likelihood of success and potential impact.
Pre-grant award due diligence: DDI independently verifies, validates, and assesses the quality, integrity, and completeness of the key information required to make a well informed grant funding decision and avoid waste, fraud, and abuse.
Financial record-keeping: DDI trains and provides on-the-job technical assistance to grantees to help them maintain clear, accurate and complete records which identify the source and application of funds received from USADF.
Disbursement tracking: DDI maintains records and tracks budget commitments, obligations and disbursements of all USADF grantees. We review disbursement requests and make appropriate recommendation to USADF with regard to the amount required and the timing.
Project and financial reporting: DDI ensures that the project reports submitted by grantees accurately reflect the progress of their projects. We also ensure that the financial reports accurately reflect on the status of the receipt and use of USADF grant funds. These reports enable us to effectively track the use of grant funds, to measure the effectiveness of the grant project execution and to identify problem areas. We conduct training to USADF grantees on the financial reporting requirements as soon as possible after the grant agreement has been signed.
Budget formulation and management: DDI assists grant applicants to develop work plans and grant budgets which form the basis for determining how much money USADF will obligate in a grant.
Monitoring: Effective monitoring of projects is a necessary element of DDI’s grants management strategy. While a minimum level of monitoring is necessary to verify information provided by grantees, to ensure compliance with USADF’s requirements and ensure the effective use of resources provided by USADF, the level and intensity of monitoring activity provided by DDI in general depends on the stage of implementation, the nature of the project, and problems or issues reported by the grantee or identified during previous monitoring.
Grant closeouts: When a grant ends, either because it expires or is terminated, DDI ensures that all grant funds disbursed to the grantee have been properly accounted for. Pre-closeout visits are conducted within the three-month period before the expiration of the grant, while final closeout visits are conducted shortly after the expiration of the grant.
Click here https://goo.gl/qKtcw to view the current USADF-funded projects supported by DDI.
