Ambassador Mark Green, Managing Director of the Malaria Policy Center, writes a compelling narrative about why he cares about foreign assistance reform and why now is the right moment for action.
“We want to let people know about the work we do…our successes, our failures, and how we learn always to do better. I hope this will be a place where you can get to know the thousands of development entrepreneurs who make up USAID’s talented staff, the work of our partners, and the beneficiaries of America’s support around the world.”
“In practical terms, elevating development, as Secretary Clinton has pledged to do, means providing the USAID administrator autonomy over policy, program and budget decision-making sufficient to get the biggest bang for our development bucks. Of course this is not an entitlement for the agency. As with other agencies, we should set the bar high for USAID and expect to see — and measure — strong performance and results, with programs and resources scaled up or down accordingly.”
First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama appeared at this week’s U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) town hall meeting to recognize and give thanks to agency employees and the work they do on behalf of millions around the world.
“This is a time to be bolder, to reach beyond our comfort zone, and to be imaginative about how we can work better, cheaper, and faster in the pursuit of high impact development.”
MFAN congratulates U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah for his visionary speech yesterday to supporters of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. In the speech, Administrator Shah strongly endorsed elevating development as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy and empowering it as a distinct discipline that requires unique resources and authority.
Two MFAN Principals – Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund, and Carol Peasley, President, Center for Population & Development Activities – put out their thoughts on the heated policy debate and what it will take to keep reform moving forward.
“The hard bits are its agenda are embedded in the rest of the directive, which calls for a deliberate development policy, a new business model, a new architecture, and a new compact with Congress.”
Yesterday, ForeignPolicy.com’s Josh Rogin published an unreleased draft version of the National Security Council’s Presidential Study Directive on Global Development Policy (PSD-7), which is a landmark review of the strategy and structure behind U.S. development and foreign assistance efforts.
“The administration needs to step back and deliver a clear articulation of mission and strategy to guide reform — a National Strategy for Global Development. For those of us in the development community, such a strategy should answer a few basic questions. What are the intended outcomes of U.S. global development policy? How do we know we are investing in the right things? How do we know if development assistance efforts are successful? And how can we best help poor countries — and poor people — lead their own development?”
