USAID Program Cycle Mechanism

EI leads the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Program Cycle Mechanism (PCM) contract in partnership with Bixal, Deloitte, Social Solutions International, and Training Resources Group (TRG).

PCM helps Mission, bureau, and office teams tackle some of the Agency's biggest priorities and toughest challenges, including strengthening award management, expanding localization, creating systems and demand for adaptive management, and facilitating learning through communities of practice.

The Program Cycle is USAID’s operational model for planning, delivering, assessing, and adapting development programs. PCM supports the efforts of the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL) to advance effective Program Cycle implementation across the Agency. Through PCM, PPL offers technical assistance with: policy and strategy; activity and project design; monitoring and evaluation; collaborating, learning and adapting (CLA); knowledge management systems; and technical guidance and tools.

With more than 70 staff supporting more than 100 Mission and Washington teams to date, EI and our four PCM partner organizations draw on an expansive network of expertise and shared learning to work with teams to develop tailored, lasting solutions.

PCM builds on a decade of USAID progress to strengthen its capacity to do development better. The PCM buy-in mechanism can serve USAID Mission and Washington teams with the option of full- and part-time support under a co-created scope of work, or up to two years of embedded support integrated within the buy-in office.