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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog
Posts Tagged: development policyFrom the White House with Love: Call for Global Development Council NomineesFebruary 13, 2012Posted by Sarah Jane Staats in Aid Effectiveness Tags: development policy, On the Hill
The development community got an early Valentine from the White House: an executive order establishing the President’s Global Development Council. The council’s mission is to inform the president and other senior government officials on U.S. global development policies. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help the White House generate nominees for the twelve non-government seats at the table. 2 Comments »Where Does Congress Fit in the New Development Policy?October 5, 2010Posted by Connie Veillette in Aid Effectiveness, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Congress, development policy
At a recent USGLC roundtable discussion on the President’s new development policy, Secretary Clinton rediscovered a pearl of a quote –
For those in the audience unfamiliar with this quote, Secretary Clinton took great delight in revealing that these words came from President Kennedy in 1961. From my perspective, the source of this quote makes it even more intriguing – it is part of a “Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid” submitted by the President justifying a new approach to aid. Read More… Comment »Road Under Construction: What Does the PPD Mean for USAID?September 28, 2010Posted by Connie Veillette in Aid Effectiveness, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: development policy, USAID
President Obama and Secretary Clinton have been quite vocal in pledging to rebuild USAID into “the world’s premier development agency.” The newly issued development policy does not make it clear just how that will happen, or if it will happen at all. In general terms, any government agency is strong only to the extent that it has at least these three conditions:
These issues have been points of contention between State and USAID through both the PSD and QDDR processes. The newly released global development policy represents an attempt by the White House to adjudicate between calls from the development community (and some voices within the administration) for a strong and independent aid agency and arguments from the State Department on the need to more fully integrate diplomacy and development. I fear that reality will not match the rhetoric in this case, and political dynamics will continue to work against USAID. Read More… 3 Comments »Dear Clinton, Jones, and Summers: Five Step Improvement Plan for U.S. DevelopmentJuly 15, 2010Posted by Nancy Birdsall in Aid Effectiveness, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: development policy, Foreign Assistance Act, psd, USAID
Six months after the Haiti quake, many people are frustrated that the U.S.-led relief and reconstruction effort has not made more rapid progress. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Raj Shah are headed for Pakistan, where the strategic stakes are larger, development challenges even more complicated, and U.S. policy muddled at best. Eighteen months into the administration, the federal government remains abysmally organized to address Haiti, Pakistan and other development challenges. When it comes to global development, I’d give President Obama and his top advisors an A for strategic vision and a big fat F for failure to get on with it. Hillary Clinton gave a great speech about development way back in January, pegged to the appointment (finally) of a new head of USAID. A draft presidential study directive leaked two months ago said all the right things (development is about trade, climate and migration policy not just aid and the U.S. government should eschew doing everything in favor of what it can do especially well). But objections presumably from the State Department about the proposed “architecture” (who is in charge of what) are apparently stalling its release – to the point where the passage of time risks making it irrelevant. The White House incorporated the good vision in the leaked PSD into a press release on “a new approach to advancing development” issued at the G8 – so between Secretary Clinton and the White House strategy: An A for vision. Read More… Comment »Will Obama’s National Security Strategy Get the Development Policy Ball Rolling?May 25, 2010Posted by Sarah Jane Staats in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: development policy, presidential study directive
Update: President Obama’s National Security Strategy is now available here. You can also watch Secretary Clinton’s remarks on the new strategy. More analysis here! The Obama administration is set to unveil its National Security Strategy (NSS) this week. President Obama previewed the strategy during his West Point commencement speech (the same venue where former President George W. Bush previewed the 2002 National Security Strategy). The new strategy will cover prevention of nuclear proliferation and terrorism as well as the use of defense, development and diplomacy in the U.S. national security interest. In his West Point remarks, President Obama characterized the challenges of our times as “countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials; combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; preventing conflicts and healing wounds.” Read More… Comment »The Devil’s in the Big PictureMay 11, 2010Posted by Casey Dunning in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: development policy, presidential study directive, U.S. Development Strategy, USAID
In the past few months many new initiatives have moved from rhetorical promise to concrete plan. The administration and Congress have put forth their proposals and held hearings on global hunger and food security for the new ‘Feed the Future’ Initiative. Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Chairman John Kerry and Bob Corker introduced the ‘Haiti Empowerment, Assistance, and Rebuilding Act of 2010’ to legislate and coordinate the many on-going Haiti projects in USAID, the State Department, the Treasury Department and beyond. In February, the administration issued its Global Health Initiative (GHI) consultation document and just recently the SFRC picked up the GHI baton by including directive language in its State Re-Authorization bill. While each of these proposals will no doubt serve its intended sector well, what do initiatives springing up like wildflowers mean for broader U.S. foreign aid reform? Read More… Comment »Help Wanted: Ideas to Inform White House Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Development PolicyOctober 2, 2009Posted by Sheila Herrling in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: development policy, presidential study directive, psdOne month and four interagency meetings into the Presidential Study Directive (PSD-7) to review and provide strategic direction on U.S. global development policy, what do we know about what’s going on? We know the exercise includes all agencies with a stake in the development policy arena (which is many!). We know that it is not a study of foreign aid, but the entirety of U.S. development policies, programs and tools. We know the NSC is trying hard to base the deliberations less on opinion and more on analytics, data and experience from the field on what works. Read More… 5 Comments »
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