Progress involves change. USAID descriptions of the progress its programs and projects have made are often phrased in terms improvements over a baseline or the distance already covered towards a defined target.

Baselines and targets are essentials points along a continuum of change, and are required for indicators USAID identifies in its CDCSs and project designs. Baselines are also critical for impact evaluations, where it is essential to know the pre-intervention status of people or areas that will and will not receive assistance in an effort to precisely understand the effects of an innovative approach for addressing a development problem. This itinerary will strengthen your ability to locate existing baselines and design baseline studies, establish realistic targets, and produce indicator tables needed for USAID PMPs and M&E Plans.