blog logo image

Posts Tagged ‘President Obama’

More QDDR Reactions from MFAN Partners

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Bookmark and Share

MFAN Partners continue to respond to the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), which Secretary Clinton released last week. If you missed our first recap, click here.

Save the Children LogoCharles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children and MFAN Principal said, “With the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the QDDR reflects a serious effort to elevate the role of ‘civilian power’ in U.S. foreign policy. That’s critical for the wellbeing of children in need worldwide.” He continued, “The world’s top military power must also be as powerful a force at preventing conflict and at responding to the devastating and destabilizing conditions that war, natural disaster and poverty create,” MacCormack said. “This first of a kind, high-level review of U.S. civilian capacity lays the groundwork for more effective and efficient U.S. diplomacy and development work.”garrett_1

MFAN Principal and Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations Laurie Garrett commented, “The State Department’s QDDR seeks to prepare all foreign assistance entities in the U.S. government for likely budget cuts, and move development and global health into what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described as ‘civilian power in the twenty first century.’ Overall, it creates a complicated set of networks and bridges across the entire government, reflecting the need to minimize use of private contractors, and respond to a broader, transnational, set of challenges to U.S. foreign policy interests.”

Initiative for Global DevelopmentMFAN Partner the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) said in a statement: “IGD commends the Obama administration for the significant steps it has taken – first with the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development announced in September at the United Nations and now with the release of the QDDR – to  improve the effectiveness of U.S. global development efforts and increase economic growth and opportunity around the world…IGD will be monitoring implementation of the reforms introduced by the Obama administration and will continue to provide the input of its business members to improve the effectiveness of U.S. development policies and re-establish the United States as the global leader on international development.”

Other Partners have started to take a deeper look into the QDDR to understand how it fits into the broader reform agenda of the Obama administration. At ONE, MFAN Principal Larry Nowels co-authored a blog post with MFAN member Sara Messer which praises the QDDR for several long overdue reforms. Still, Nowels and Messer point out three major areas that require “further review, planning and negotiation,” identified as the following:

  • Partnering with Congress: In her speech, Secretary of State Clinton noted that the QDDR took place foremost with fiscal responsibility and efficiency in mind. While the funding landscape ahead is challenging, the reforms for greater efficiency and measurable results should appeal to a Congress looking to reduce the deficit and maximize the impact of government spending. The QDDR offers a blueprint that is ahead of this debate and the State Department and USAID should seize the opportunity to forge a positive association with lawmakers. For two years, the administration has missed several critical opportunities to partner with Congress on global development initiatives. The QDDR offers a new opportunity, although in a difficult context.
  • Making tough decisions: President Obama’s Global Development Policy called for greater focus on where the US had comparative advantage and could make the most impact. The QDDR reinforces this principle and sets out six areas of focus: food security, health, climate change, economic growth, democracy/governance and humanitarian assistance. But what has not been said is where the US will pull back. Gaining consensus around where to cut will be difficult, but the QDDR does not help us understand where that might take place. Let’s hope that the FY2012 budget request will begin to define where the Administration has made these tough choices.
  • Harmonizing foreign assistance: The QDDR represents a solid effort to integrate and bring coherence to foreign aid policy and programs. But there are many other agencies besides State and USAID that provide some form of foreign assistance. The report defines “civilian power” as including all US government agencies, not just State and USAID. But breaking down entrenched bureaucratic priorities and convincing all agencies to work under the leadership of USAID on development assistance will be daunting. If we are to achieve a true “whole-of-government” approach, the heavy lifting lies ahead with the agencies and personnel tasked with implementation, and with other agencies whose cooperation they seek. The QDDR takes a leap towards streamlining and modernizing US foreign assistance. Now the hard work of implementation begins.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in MFAN News, State Department, USAID | 1 Comment »

MFAN Partners React to QDDR Release

Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

Below are excerpts from MFAN Partners’ statements in reaction to the release of the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) yesterday.  Stay tuned for press coverage of the rollout.

breadMFAN Co-Chair and President of Bread for the World Rev. David Beckmann stated, “The QDDR is an important step in reforming U.S. foreign aid, making U.S. support for development and poverty reduction around the world more effective,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “This is yet another way the administration is showing its dedication to providing effective assistance to people all over the world who desperately need it.”

Sam Worthington, MFAN Principal and President and CEO of InterAction, noted, “QDDR is more than just an acronym. This reviewInteractionseeks to use aid and diplomacy more effectively in order to streamline and better coordinate development to meet our national interests,” said Samuel A. Worthington, president of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs. “We urge Congress to support the many positive changes being proposed and to provide the necessary resources for USAID and the State Department as they implement a new, more effective, approach to global development.”

ONEMFAN Principal and ONE CEO David Lane said, “In tough fiscal times, the business of development must be reformed to make the most of every dollar that America invests to help the world’s poorest. It must also increase transparency and improve governance so that progress is sustainable. The reforms outlined in the QDDR, in addition to ongoing efforts like USAID Forward, are central to making America’s development business model better.”Oxfam

Oxfam America’s Paul O’ Brien, vice president of policy and advocacy campaigns, commented, “The QDDR is animportant step in reaffirming the efforts to modernize USAID and further elevate it as ‘the world’s premier development agency.  But the document leaves open the question of how the United States will resolve situations where diplomacy and development will require different approaches and tradeoffs.”

USGLCMFAN Principal and Executive Director of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Liz Schrayer said, “The QDDR represents a bold step towards implementing a smart power foreign policy by elevating our civilian power and ensuring effective, results-driven programs,” said USGLC Executive Director Liz Schrayer.  “This review can help ensure international affairs programs continue to make a critical impact in advancing our national security and economic interests.”

Women Thrive Worldwide logoMFAN Principal Ritu Sharma, President and Co-founder of Women Thrive Worldwide, noted, “This common-sense approach is a fundamental game-changer for millions of women and girls in villages around the world. What this means is that all programs that the U.S. implements moving forward, worth tens of billions of dollars, have to take the needs and voices of women and girls into account. We have long advocated a move beyond the special, small, separate women’s projects.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Community | 1 Comment »

MFAN Statement: QDDR Paves Way for Real Reform

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

December 15, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram:

With today’s release of the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), the Obama Administration has finalized its roadmap for how U.S. foreign aid can be made more effective, efficient, and accountable in the 21st century.  This is absolutely critical in a resource-constrained world where our efforts to save lives and help vulnerable people build their own livelihoods are as important as our military and diplomatic activities.

Secretary Clinton, Administrator Shah and all the professionals who worked on the QDDR at the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and elsewhere across the government deserve enormous credit.  We are particularly pleased that the QDDR:

  • Strengthens the position of development as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy and sets the stage for civilian development professionals to play a leadership role in America’s global engagement.
  • Institutes changes that will bring clearer lines of authority and responsibility for results to our marquee development programs, by putting USAID’s development experts in the lead on programs like Feed the Future and the Global Health Initiative; giving the agency a stronger voice in the interagency policymaking process; and making USAID Chiefs of Mission the lead development advisors to U.S. Ambassadors in the field.
  • Strengthens monitoring and evaluation of development programs and makes future funding of such programs contingent on real results.
  • Places an emphasis on helping recipient countries take ownership of their own development.
  • Brings more transparency to development programs, including by instituting long-term development planning for recipient countries and launching a new web-based dashboard where the public can see how U.S. foreign assistance is delivering results.

These reforms would pay major dividends in terms of lives saved and improved around the world – and they would make sure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are getting into the hands of people who need them.  But they will only have lasting impact if the Administration and bipartisan Members of Congress work together to develop and pass legislation that establishes them in law.  We look forward to working with the Administration and Members of Congress on this legislation, and we stand ready to make sure the reforms are implemented effectively and transparently.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in MFAN Statement | 2 Comments »

From Paper to Product: Key Benchmarks for Effectively Implementing the President’s Development Policy

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

obama-signs-billWith his speech laying out a new U.S. approach to development at September’s UN Millennium Development Goals Summit, President Obama has outlined a future in which development serves as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy, delivering greater results for people in poverty around the world and for U.S. taxpayers.  The President’s policy provides a long-overdue roadmap for more strategic, effective, accountable U.S. foreign assistance, and puts forward a mechanism for regularly refreshing our development approach through the establishment of a U.S. Global Development Strategy.

As with most ambitious policy pronouncements, the true test will come with implementation.  We are pleased to see explicit mention of the President’s commitment to “working closely with Congress to establish a shared vision of the way forward on global development,” including a desire to be given more flexibility for funding allocations in exchange for greater accountability to Congress.  It is now time to delineate a clear mechanism for doing so.  MFAN continues to believe that the only durable vehicle for this “grand bargain” is new legislation to replace the outmoded Foreign Assistance Act, now 50 years old and trapped in the Cold-War era.  This bargain should reflect a shared vision of the management of U.S. foreign assistance and a balance between granting the Executive Branch authorities that it needs to respond to a rapidly changing world and securing the rightful role of the Congress as a partner in setting national priorities and ensuring accountability to American taxpayers, with special emphasis on poverty reduction and economic growth, greater transparency and effectiveness, a strengthened development agency, and greater participation by civil society in developing countries.  Done purposefully, inclusively, and transparently, a modern, up-to-date legislative framework that reflects current global realities and challenges would reestablish confidence in foreign assistance as an indispensible aspect of the U.S. approach to global development and foreign policy at a time of constrained budgets.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in MFAN News | 1 Comment »

Save the Children Releases Recommendations on Local Consultation and Engagement

Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Bookmark and Share

In a new policy brief called “Consultation & Participation for Local Ownership: What? Why? How?,” MFAN Partner Save the Children examines how to make the Obama Administration’s emphasis on “country ownership” a successful model for stakeholder participation in development programs.

Through two major initiatives on global food security and global health (Feed the Future and the Global Health Initiative, respectively), as well as his new global development policy, President Obama has established country-led approaches as a core principle of effective development practice, so that U.S. assistance is more responsive to recipient-country priorities.  This brief makes suggestions for how the U.S. government can best strengthen its own models of engagement and consultation, while also providing support to national governments and civil societies “to make their own processes more inclusive, more fully owned, and ongoing rather than one-off.”  As Save points out, “When done well, wide stakeholder consultation and participation in program design and implementation lead to mutually reinforcing benefits, encouraging the local ownership of development resources and activities.”  These benefits include increased sustainability, better targeting of resources, and greater accountability among all stakeholders.

logo_stcSpecifically, Save suggests three overarching strategies to facilitate effective and meaningful engagements with local governments and citizens:

  • Tailor participatory requirements to country-specific contexts;
  • Give equal emphasis to both the quality and quantity of engagement; and
  • Equip U.S. policies and bureaucratic structures with adequate country-level flexibility.

According to the brief, minimum standards for engagement “should not be overly prescriptive.”  Guidelines should instead allow for U.S. government personnel and other in-country experts to identify opportunities for meaningful host country participation according to each country’s institutional capacity and political culture.  To do this, Save offers the following:

  • Establish levels of and approaches to engagement tailored to each country’s circumstances: The processes and approaches used by the U.S. and national governments to conduct their consultations should be selected according to the capacities and willingness of governmental and non-governmental actors.
  • Consider different modalities to institutionalize stakeholder engagement: Depending upon the capacities and willingness of host governments and nongovernmental stakeholders, there are a variety of institutional structures and modalities that can be used to promote the ongoing and quality engagement of stakeholders with each other around development policies.
  • Establish transparent selection procedures for nongovernmental representatives to improve the quality and diversity of participation: Those organizing consultations or other events to engage public stakeholders should publicize their events widely and appropriately, also actively seeking the inclusion of organizations working for the poorest and most marginalized. If the consultation process cannot be open to all, nongovernmental groups should be relied upon to select their own representatives according to a transparent system devised by themselves.

The brief also highlights bureaucratic obstacles in our foreign assistance structure to sustainable, locally-owned development, and applauds the efforts of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for undertaking reforms to address some of them in what they’ve called USAID Forward.  In addition, Save makes the following recommendations:

  • Reduce earmarks and directives on foreign assistance and increase country level flexibility to program resources: In many countries, earmarks are prohibitively high, restricting the ability to reprogram funds if circumstances change and preventing U.S. government personnel from responding to the outcomes of discussions, analysis and consultations with stakeholders.
  • Augment USAID’s staff numbers and supplement mission operating expenses: Throughout its research, Save the Children has heard the frustrations of USAID personnel about their transformation from direct practitioners of development programming to contract managers.  In countries like South Sudan where security concerns and transportation costs are burdensome on budgets, staff often felt they were overly confined to mission compounds and restricted in their interactions with beneficiary communities of U.S. assistance.

Click here to read the report and here to learn about other work by Save the Children on aid effectiveness.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Community, Obama Administration, USAID | No Comments »

Page 3 of 3412345102030...Last »