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A New Way Forward on Global Development: How the Leaked White House Plan Measures up to Global Washington’s Principles of Aid Effectiveness

by Linda Martin, Global Washington Volunteer

As the U.S. government is poised to enact historic changes in foreign aid policy, Global Washington has convened members of Washington State’s global development sector to offer support and recommendations for these changes. Global Washington’s main recommendation is to base reforms on our four Principles of Aid Effectiveness: 1) Transparency and Accountability 2) Consolidation and Coordination of efforts 3) Local Ownership and 4) Targeting Aid to communities most in need.  These principles are presented in Global Washington’s white paper, Making U.S. Foreign Assistance More Effective, which lays out a framework for assessing aid effectiveness.

What do Global Washington’s recommendations and the leaked White House plan for development policy, known as the PSD, have in common?  How does the PSD measure up to Global Washington’s four Principles of Aid Effectiveness?

The recently leaked Presidential Study Directive (PSD) is built on three pillars: 1) A development policy focused on economic growth, innovation and more sustainable, systemic solutions 2) A new business model which better leverages partnerships throughout the foreign aid life cycle; requires greater selectivity in types of aid programs offered and stresses accountability, and 3) A modern architecture which brings together the development skills and experience currently dispersed across government to  support common goals.

The directive also proposes a national Global Development Strategy and intends to “elevate development as a central pillar of our national security strategy, equal to diplomacy and defense”.  Global Washington strongly supports both these proposals.

Transparency and Accountability

The PSD stresses the need for scientific analysis to help guide policy and programmatic decisions, and proposes to empower partner governments which “set in place systems that reflect high standards of transparency and accountability,” by working with their institutions, rather than circumventing them.

We support a national Global Development Policy which stresses transparency and accountability, and would like to see a greater emphasis placed on transparency, to help ensure that “information on strategy, goals and spending is easily available to U.S. taxpayers and international beneficiaries, thereby increasing accountability.”

Consolidation and Coordination

Global Washington recommends “giving USAID autonomy from the Departments of State and Defense so it may effectively oversee the national development strategy”. While the study directive falls short of this proposal, we are pleased with the administration’s decision to rebuild USAID as “our lead development agency” and to incorporate the work of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) with USAID’s efforts.

Targeting

Overall, the administration is planning a shift from emergency based or basic needs aid, to sustainable solutions, particularly in the areas of health and agriculture.  Global Washington encourages our government to “target aid to countries and communities most in need” and to help the poorest countries meet the challenges of climate change, through increased aid.

We agree with the PSD’s proposal to focus on fewer recipient countries, to concentrate resources where the U.S. expertise can do the most good, and to employ rigorous monitoring to determine the most successful methods for reaching desired outcomes.

Local Ownership

The United States proposes to work directly with partner governments to address local priorities, and to mold U.S. development strategy to respond both to the unique circumstances of those in need. The directive emphasizes the use of in-country staff and local resources to implement programs.

We support these actions and encourage even earlier collaboration, in the planning and design of aid packages. Early involvement can help ensure program success and encourage local ownership. We also encourage the administration to help develop the capacity of local institutions and infrastructure, to ensure adequate delivery systems, and to develop in-country expertise necessary for sustainable, systemic solutions.

Global Education: A Missing Link to Development?

As the administration moves forward with a National Global Development Policy, we strongly recommend global education as a critical policy component with long term funding. Cultural competence is increasingly necessary for the U.S. to be competitive in a global economy. Education has a proven positive impact on health, reduces gender based violence, and boosts economies. We recommend the funding of programs in poor countries, which develop institutional capacity and the infrastructure necessary for children to safely attend school; and U.S. policies which facilitate student research collaborations, ensure flexible visa access for students, improve cross-sector program coordination,  foster language acquisition, and expand student exchange. We encourage the funding of innovative programs from the elementary to university level, which prepare children, youth and adults to embrace global citizenship for a better world.

A New Era

Comprehensive reform of U.S. foreign assistance will not be easy, but we have a great opportunity before us – to redefine our role in alleviating poverty, and to re-establish the U.S. as a leader in delivering a new kind of aid for a new era. We have the opportunity to raise the bar, by developing a framework based on transparency, accountability, collaboration, and local ownership. Through education, we can bring the best expertise worldwide to bear on the challenges the world’s poorest face. Through capacity building, we can help ensure the long term success of the institutions and infrastructures that deliver aid.

Global Washington is hiring!

Global Washington announces a position opening for Office Manager.  Deadline for applications June 15^th, 2010.

Organizational Description

Global Washington is a membership organization serving the global development sector. Global Washington has become a catalyst for strengthening the global development sector and its member organizations by leveraging resources, increasing visibility, sharing best practices, convening the sector by country, issue and organization type, and advocating around education and global engagement and foreign policy.

The vision of Global Washington is to promote Washington as a recognized center of innovative, productive and collaborative global engagement.

Function Summary

The Office Manger works closely with the Executive Director and other staff and volunteers to increase the visibility of Global Washington and global development sector.  This is a part-time (32 hours per week),administrative position.  The staff includes: Executive Director (full time) , and Policy Coordinator (half time).

Position Description
The Office Manager is  responsible for:  1) administrative support,   2) Financial tracking of organizational activities, 3) Coordinating events logistics and support ,  4) communications including the production and distribution of communications products for Global Washington members and community, including the website and  newsletter. This position reports to the Executive Director.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Administrative Support

— Processes received donations in accordance with Global WA procedures, including tracking of funds and weekly bank deposit

— Assists with Accounts Payable by recording and preparing all invoices

— Maintains petty cash system

— Researches invoices and miscellaneous financial information for Executive Director as needed

— Data entry and updating of membership database to maintain member records and files

— Assists with organizational technology and office equipment, including working with computer consultant to ensure computer systems are functional, overseeing voice mail system, and troubleshooting equipment issues

— Inventory and purchasing of office supplies

— Scheduling of staff meetings and other staff activities

— Providing administrative support for Board of Directors activities, including meeting logistics; preparation, assembly and distribution of quarterly Board notebooks; and staffing Board meetings as requested

2. Event Logistics

— Organize logistics of on-going events

— Send out electronic invites for all events and track attendance

— Plan and coordinate a weekly calendar of emails going out to members and other lists

— Provides event support including producing materials, promotion, and registration

— Oversee the process of registration and logistics with the Executive Director for the Annual Conference

— Staff all events as needed

3. Member Communications

— Coordinates the timely release of Global WA’s newsletter, including working with volunteer contributors, and editing and publishing electronically

— Communicate with member organizations on a regular basis and build their presence in the Global Washington website and newsletter

— Develop Global WA presence on social networking sites

— Explores strategic opportunities to reach new members, including sponsorships, email list trades, etc.

4. Website and Technology

— Input and update mailing list

— Coordinate and update events page on the website

— Update website on a regular basis

— Ensures consistency of style, tone and design

Skills and Qualities

— Event planning experience

— Book Keeping and financial tracking experience

— Excellent written and verbal communication skills

— Knowledge of the nonprofit sectors

— Ability to work with electronic communication tools and current technology in the support of marketing, web-based programs, and event planning

— Experience with using an array of database technologies

— Ability to manage several projects at once, pay close attention to details and follow-through

— Ability to work cooperatively, foster team spirit and maintain a sense of humor

— Organized and detailed work habits.

Please email resumes to bookda@globalwa.org.  Deadline for applications June 15^th, 2010.

Fragmented Aid: the Case for a National Strategy

Since the implementation of the Marshall Plan after World War II, America’s foreign assistance operation has grown considerably. In that time, one would expect the overall strategy would be refined and streamlined to effectively balance the foreign policy goals of the U.S. while meeting the needs of the developing world. Unfortunately, the U.S. aid structure has evolved to become a bloated and unwieldy behemoth with no clear, overarching strategy.

The Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961 sought to organize the international development goals under a single act. In the time since the passage of the FAA, over 400 objectives have been identified through nearly 400 directives, all of which is managed by 12 different departments, 25 agencies, and nearly 60 government offices. To understand the complex and often confusing maze that is U.S. foreign assistance, one can marvel at Lael Brainard’s “Messy Web of the U.S. Foreign Assistance System.” (attached)

Such a muddled structure inevitably leads to miscommunication among the many different entities and a breakdown in the process. With little coordination and virtually no communication, development agencies are often tripping over one another, managing similar projects in the same area. In his article, “Aid Needs Help,” Ray Offenheiser noted “two separate USAID contractors recently discovered by chance they were doing virtually the same project, in the same town” in Afghanistan. To combat the replication of projects and ensure the deliverance of aid, action must be taken to reform the process and elevate a coherent national strategy for development.

Overall, the U.S. foreign assistance process lacks the transparency necessary to effectively meet the needs of the world’s poor and is in dire need of significant reform. Paramount to this reform effort is a comprehensive, national strategy for development policy. As a first step in creating a manageable and effective foreign assistance structure, a national strategy would serve to elevate development as a key component of U.S. foreign policy and increase coordination and transparency within the foreign assistance structure. But what should be included in such national strategy?

The chief component of a national strategy for U.S. foreign assistance would be a cohesive set of clearly established goals and objectives with both short and long term implications for poverty reduction. These objectives should be developed independently of diplomatic strategies and concerns to ensure aid is targeted to those most in need as opposed to partner countries. While foreign assistance goals should be developed separate of other policies, they must be able to interact with other policy areas at a high level, making sure that trade, agriculture and industrial policies complement rather than hinder aid programs.

To ensure such a national strategy would be able to function effectively, the foreign assistance structure must undergo certain institutional reforms. Rewriting the FAA of 1961 would be a necessary first step in clearly defining the role of each institution in the U.S. foreign aid structure. Most important to the coordination and success of a national development strategy is an elevated and empowered USAID, or a cabinet level department of foreign aid.

Accountability and results are also central to creating a foreign assistance structure that will support effective and sustainable development. Within a national development strategy, the U.S. should create systems of monitoring and evaluation systems in the government and independent of the foreign assistance system. Such evaluation mechanisms will simultaneously increase transparency and ensure the national development strategy is being implemented by all development entities, thus increasing coordination. Monitoring development activities by the government and independent entities will also foster a results-based approach to foreign assistance programming, leading to more effective and sustainable project designs.

Without a national strategy for development the foreign assistance structure will continue on its path to become even more of a bloated, bureaucratic mess. For more information on Global Washington’s recommendations for ways to restructure U.S. foreign assistance, please refer to our white paper.