Opinion Pieces Discuss Recommendations For U.S. Foreign Aid Reform

Devex: Opinion: 4 pragmatic steps to jump-start foreign assistance reform
Cindy Huang and Jeremy Konyndyk, both senior policy fellows at the Center for Global Development

“…The administration and Congress, along with other partners, should better equip the U.S. to address the big development priorities that will define the next decade and beyond: State fragility, inclusive growth, global health, and humanitarian assistance. In the long run, this will require major changes to the U.S. development apparatus. … To be sustainable, it will need to be a collaborative process between Congress and the administration. … [T]here are a number of pragmatic steps that could be taken more immediately to jump start reform. … 1. Adapt foreign assistance to the realities of operating in fragile states. … 2. Focus on inclusive growth as a development objective. … 3. Reinforce — and grow — existing global health leadership. … 4. Streamline existing humanitarian aid efforts. … By implementing changes that enable greater value for money, the U.S. will be able to better maximize its impact within a flat or declining resource environment. … [T]hese would be important first steps toward an aid system that is ready to confront present and future challenges” (7/28).

Devex: Opinion: A new vision for U.S. foreign assistance
Dan Runde, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development and William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at CSIS

“…In response to the Trump administration’s call for greater effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in U.S. foreign assistance, the Center for Strategic and International Studies convened a bipartisan task force on foreign assistance reform and reorganization. … The 30 task force members … agreed to three big ideas that constitute the core recommendations of the group: 1. Maintain USAID as an independent agency overseeing federal foreign assistance efforts, develop a clearly articulated development strategy, and assign the USAID administrator as coordinator of foreign assistance. 2. Address duplication of effort and generate budget savings while maintaining functional coherence. 3. Modernize the personnel system, make the procurements system more efficient, and streamline reporting. … To meet [future] challenges we need an updated and strengthened American foreign aid program that is more catalytic, enables private investment and savings, and ensures that governments ‘mobilize their own resources.’ Now is the moment for new ideas and bold reform” (7/28).

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