USAID’s self-inflicted wounds

5 Comments

• Tweets that mention Democracy and Society » USAID’s self-inflicted wounds -- Topsy.com August 17, 2010 at 12:11 am

  [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Craig Zelizer, DG Program. DG Program said: New Post: discussing USAID's Self-Inflicted Wounds and @elizabethcutler's post at Budget Insight http://fb.me/GpzkPjFJ [...]
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  Sue August 18, 2010 at 3:14 pm

  It’s a great atricle pointing out significant questions one by one. I think bereaucracy and leadership problems are belonged to not only USAID, but also every government-based organization, sometimes even non-governmental organizations. The most fundamental question is “There is a lack of political consensus on why the US gives foreign aid”. basically I think providing foreign aid is important task for all states in the world because we are living in the world connected to all so one issue is for all(as liberalists think). However, it’s also important for one’s national interests (I don’t neccessarily mean ‘soft power.’ I mean generally). The United States has tried to create good foreign relations with others by providing foriegn aid and making them to be familiar with the value of democracy and freedom, which is the universal values as well as those of America. However, the problem is that the rest of the world is getting suspicious about the America’s leadership and mission so not always friendly (sometimes even hostile) to the projects running by the US government, though its work is for all.
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  Sue August 18, 2010 at 3:19 pm

  Therefore, in conclusion, the problems USAID are faced with need to be handled by not only USAID itself, but also the whole US government. I think we need a big picture. It’s unfair to blame USAID only.
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  Elizabeth August 18, 2010 at 5:15 pm

  This is my response on the original Budget Insight post but I wanted to post it here too…thanks for holding me accountable, Barak–now if only someone were doing the same for USAID. Oh, snap!

  Thanks for the feedback, Barak. I approached this piece with the goal of unpacking the background of why USAID is so often the talk of the (wonky development policy) town. In doing so I wasn’t really looking internally, but you are totally right that therein lie a plethora of factors that are worth exploring. That said, I do believe that much of USAID’s own issues would be easier for them to work on (such as epic quantities of red tape, reporting processes, etc) if they had a “full crew” as the CGD has pointed out. And that depends on the President nominating the appropriate people and Congress confirming them in a timely manner.

  I also think an angle of this issue that needs to be explored further is that of modernizing/rewriting the FAA. And perhaps if that were to actually happen, USAID would be held accountable for defining itself in contemporary terms and goals.
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  Barak August 18, 2010 at 8:32 pm

  I think both of these points are spot-on. The personnel shortage at USAID is appalling and serious compromises the quality of USAID projects. Sue is also right – people in a lot of countries are really suspicious of US motives for providing aid and in many cases those fears are justified.