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Understanding the Data

In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Bulletin 12-01 - Guidance on Collection of U.S. Foreign Assistance Data , the Foreign Assistance Dashboard aims to incorporate all U.S. Government foreign assistance budget planning, financial, and program data in a standard format. It will enable users to track, analyze, and monitor aid investments over time from initial Congressional request to disbursement at the activity level. The Dashboard is not an accounting tool, but a way to help the U.S. Government be more transparent. Thus, it may not always be possible to trace funding amounts through the stages of the U.S. financial processes (appropriation, obligation, spent) on a dollar for dollar basis within the Dashboard data.

The U.S. government disburses foreign assistance through more than 20 agencies. This pie chart shows the slice of the federal budget that is appropriated for foreign assistance managed by the Department of State, USAID, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which represents about 1% of the U.S. Government’s federal budget.


These funds are invested around the world in many different sectors, and are implemented through a wide variety of partners. The Foreign Assistance Dashboard will assemble all of this information, and much more, into one central, standardized repository. This effort will take place over time and not all of this information is yet available.

Data is being added to the Foreign Assistance Dashboard in phases, and OMB Bulletin 12-01 offers federal agencies guidance on the collection of U.S. foreign assistance data and joining the Foreign Assistance Dashboard in an incremental and thorough way. Over time, the Dashboard will contain budget planning, financial, and program data for all of the U.S. Government agencies that receive appropriated foreign assistance funds. In its current phase, the Foreign Assistance Dashboard presents foreign assistance budget planning, obligation, and spent data for USAID, and MCC, as well as budget planning data for the Department of State. This is only an initial data set. Other U.S. Government agencies that receive appropriated foreign assistance funds will be phased into the Foreign Assistance Dashboard over time and in accordance with OMB Bulletin 12-01. Please see the What’s Coming page to view the sequence for adding U.S. Government agencies to the Dashboard.

For more information about how funding is requested and appropriated and what it means to obligate and disbursed funds, visit the About the Budget Process. The Glossary of Terms is also available to provide definitions of terms used throughout the site.