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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: Raj ShahUSAID Enables Results-Based Programming by Reforming (Ho Hum) Procurement ProcessesDecember 9, 2010Posted by Mead Over in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: GAO, Raj Shah, USAID
The eyes of even the most passionate foreign aid advocate are likely to glaze if you raise the subject of “procurement reform.” But in the just-released transcript of remarks made November 12 to an audience of USAID contractors, Maura O’Neill, Chief Innovation Officer to USAID Administrator Shah, and Ari Alexander, a member of USAID’s procurement reform team, admit that USAID procurement practices have been so dysfunctional as to have caused “great difficulty” for in-country local partners. According to Mr. Alexander:
Well, yes. But then in the past this has not been viewed as a big problem, because USAID awarded multi-year, multi-million dollar “Indefinite Quantity Contracts” (IQCs) to large U.S.-based contractors and delegated to these large, competent, sophisticated enterprises the task of working with local partners. The assumption was that the big US-based contractor would be able to fulfill all those onerous red-tape requirements and then implement programs in recipient countries through a combination of expensive itinerant international consulting teams, palatial country-based offices and sub-contracts with local partners. Read More… 8 Comments »Shah Charting New Course at USAIDOctober 13, 2010Posted by Connie Veillette in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: QuODA, Raj Shah, USAID
Observers of U.S. foreign assistance lament the decline of USAID resources, staff and expertise. Many old hands remember the days when it was the global leader in development. Yet, calls to rebuild USAID are everywhere today, from the White House to the State Department to Capitol Hill. President Obama and Secretary Clinton vowed to make USAID the world’s premier development agency and legislation on the Hill clearly seeks to elevate not just development but USAID as well. Despite some healthy skepticism about whether and how those promises are being fulfilled, a closer look inside the agency suggests some positive changes are underway. Read More… 2 Comments »Mangoes vs. Peanuts and More: What We Saw and Didn’t See in Hillary Clinton’s Trip to PakistanJuly 22, 2010Posted by Wren Elhai in Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Energy, On the Hill, Pakistan, Raj Shah, Trade, USAID
This is a joint post with Molly Kinder. This week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan was front-page news in every Pakistani newspaper (and most here in the United States as well). Clinton brought with her two main things: a long list of new aid projects worth half a billion dollars—see the box below for what was on the list—and a strong message to Pakistanis that the United States intends to stick it out for the long haul. Before the trip, we thought this was the best chance Clinton would have to signal to the Pakistanis that the U.S. development program wasn’t the sort of fickle short-sighted engagement they’ve come to expect from the United States. (And we outlined an idea for how she should do that). The result: while Clinton’s visit fell short of being a real game-changer, it was a clear, though incremental, step forward. Read More… 3 Comments »Name a Leader, Not Just Another Coordinator for Feed the Future (And Name Raj Shah!)June 25, 2010Posted by Nancy Birdsall in Aid Effectiveness, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: feed the future, Raj Shah
The Obama administration’s new Feed the Future initiative awaits the appointment of what is being called a global food security “coordinator.” But a “coordinator” is not what this signature U.S. development program needs. It needs a leader: an official with policy and budget authority to execute his or her responsibilities. That leader should be USAID Administrator Raj Shah.
Why a leader and not a coordinator? U.S. development programs suffer from gross fragmentation and a confusing array of mandates and directives. The creation of another new coordinator for a single sector-focused initiative without making sense of the rest simply adds to the chaos. (And may eventually require a coordinator for all the new coordinators!) Moreover, one person needs to be accountable to President Obama, Congress and American taxpayers for the new resources. That same person must be accountable to Secretary Clinton, in whose department the initiative resides and to whom he or she would report. Read More… 3 Comments »Raj Shah Back from Pakistan, Sheds New Light on U.S. PlansApril 20, 2010Posted by Molly Kinder in Fragile States, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Tags: Pakistan, Raj Shah, USAID
This is a joint post with Wren Elhai Last week, USAID Administrator Raj Shah returned from his first trip to Pakistan since he took office at the beginning of the year. His trip followed close on the heels of last month’s high-level U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington, and was intended to signal that the optimistic words of the strategic dialogue will translate into concrete action. Transcripts of Shah’s press conferences for reporters in Pakistan and in Washington contain helpful information on the direction that the administration is taking in its development strategy in Pakistan. At the very least, it’s the first time we’ve heard Administrator Shah speak at any length about the details of U.S. aid programs to the country. Read More… Comment »
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