Starting this fall, the list of data providers for the U.S. development agency's Country Roadmaps will include the Bertelsmann Stiftung as one of ten "independent, reliable third-party institutions." The USAID leadership decided to include the BTI's "Environmental Policy" indicator in its central evaluation tool of the Country Roadmaps and to make the BTI criteria of "Steering Capability" and "Resource Efficiency" available as secondary metrics for its offices in more than 100 countries.
Based on external data sources and independent evaluations, the Country Roadmaps (https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/) cover a total of 17 categories that assess the capacity and commitment of developing countries and emerging markets to self-reliant development. As one of these 17 categories, environmental policy is to be rated on the basis of BTI data, which thus account for one third of the overall economic policy assessment. The more than 10,000 USAID employees will also be provided with key results of the Governance Index in the BTI, which they are to use in portfolio reviews, for monitoring context indicators and for advocacy with government counterparts. Ultimately, the Country Roadmaps are an essential tool of the USAID headquarters for long-term planning and strategy development.
This prominent usage by USAID underlines the relevance of the BTI as an important provider of data and information for international development cooperation and increases its international visibility and reputation.
