Champions of Aid Reform: A Decade of Aid Effectiveness and the Future of U.S. Assistance


As MFAN celebrates 10 years of aid reforms, we thank our congressional allies, our administration partners, and the MFAN community for articulating the value of foreign assistance and advancing reforms to achieve even greater impact. On December 4, 2018 we had the pleasure of joining leaders from the aid community, MCC, USAID, and OPIC to honor … Continue reading Champions of Aid Reform: A Decade of Aid Effectiveness and the Future of U.S. Assistance

Setting the Gold Standard for Transparency: The Opportunity for the New U.S. Development Finance Agency


In a rare example of agreement from Capitol Hill to the White House to the development community, the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act (BUILD Act), P.L. 115-254, was signed into law on October 5, 2018. This legislation creates the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The new agency not only combines the … Continue reading Setting the Gold Standard for Transparency: The Opportunity for the New U.S. Development Finance Agency

Co-Chairs Thank Stephanie Cappa, Deputy Director & Senior Policy Advisor, for Four Outstanding Years at MFAN


December 5, 2018 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs George Ingram, Lester Munson, and Tessie San Martin. The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network offers its sincerest thanks to Stephanie Cappa, Deputy Director & Senior Policy Advisor, for her four tremendous years at MFAN and her leadership … Continue reading Co-Chairs Thank Stephanie Cappa, Deputy Director & Senior Policy Advisor, for Four Outstanding Years at MFAN

Transparency of the Future: A High-Quality, Highly Usable U.S. Foreign Aid Dashboard


Transparency and access to data is an important part of aid effectiveness. Aside from providing people with the right to access information, the aim of aid transparency is threefold: to better coordinate aid, enable more accountability, and allow for in-country actors to know what is happening in their own communities, thus giving them more ownership … Continue reading Transparency of the Future: A High-Quality, Highly Usable U.S. Foreign Aid Dashboard

Implementing the BUILD Act: Four Areas for Focus


Read MFAN Deputy Director & Senior Policy Advisor Stephanie Cappa’s op-ed on implementing the BUILD Act and planning the U.S. Development Finance Corporation on Devex.    

USAID’s Proposed Transformation: Highlights & Questions


The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) welcomes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Transformation proposal to strengthen the Agency’s ability to deliver on its development and humanitarian mission. The Agency’s proposal meets four out of five of MFAN’s widely endorsed structural requirements for an effective aid agency. USAID: 1) remains an independent lead aid agency; … Continue reading USAID’s Proposed Transformation: Highlights & Questions

Major overhaul sets up U.S. aid agency to be more effective, efficient and accountable


In 2017, the Trump administration instructed all federal agencies to review their operations and propose opportunities for efficiency gains. As part of this effort, the administration published its reorganization proposal  for a number of agencies and functions. While the U.S. foreign assistance community has seen its share of unique surprises over the last 20 months, … Continue reading Major overhaul sets up U.S. aid agency to be more effective, efficient and accountable

Community Roundup: Support for Final Passage of the BUILD Act


On October 3, 2018 Congress passed the bipartisan Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018 (H.R. 5105/S. 2463), authorizing a new International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) and establishing a wider set of development finance tools. MFAN has advocated for development finance reform and has engaged with Congress on this legislation to … Continue reading Community Roundup: Support for Final Passage of the BUILD Act

Trump Administration Misses Deadline to Consolidate Aid Data


October 4, 2018 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs George Ingram, Lester Munson, and Tessie San Martin. Unfortunately, the October 1, 2018 date set by The Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act (FATAA) of 2016 for the State Department and USAID to consolidate data collection … Continue reading Trump Administration Misses Deadline to Consolidate Aid Data