Drawing on technical expertise within both the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the standard foreign assistance indicators were developed to measure and illustrate what foreign assistance accomplishes. Standard foreign assistance indicators measure both the outputs directly attributable to the U.S. government as well as outcomes to which the U.S. government contributes.
Performance target and result data are collected against these indicators on an annual basis, and reported to the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources (F). Indicator data, combined with expert analysis from the field, evaluation information, and strategic policy priority considerations can be used to inform broad-based strategic budget and planning decisions to ensure that foreign assistance resources are focused on moving countries forward and transparently demonstrating the basis upon which allocations are made.