The Obama administration seems to have taken the idea of creating a cabinet-level international aid department off the table. Officials have drafted seven preliminary recommendations for how to revamp U.S. aid operations, according to a top State Department official.
The review recommends that the role of development must be on-par with diplomacy and the ultimate responsibility to elevate aid should be in the hands of the Secretary of State, since this is already required by statute, Anne-Marie Slaughter said May 5 at a Washington event organized by the Society for International Development.
"The divide between foreign policy and development, or what is often perceived as that divide, is erased in this administration," said the U.S. State Department director of policy planning. "The idea that development is subordinate to diplomacy makes no sense conceptually, and the way we're thinking of our foreign policy, the twin pillars of development and diplomacy merit equal weight as a matter of American national interest."
Aside from the resolve to integrate development and diplomacy, administration officials, lead by Jacob Lew, deputy secretary of State for management and operations, have drafted the following recommendations, according to Slaughter:
1. Create a common development plan that defines an integrated set of development objectives across the federal government for all aid programs.
2. Develop an integrative approach to planning and implementation of aid. This reflects the reality that State and USAID only account for 60 percent of the government's total aid budget. Other programs at the Millennium Challenge Corp., Justice Department and Department of Agriculture must coordinate their efforts on the ground and in planning with USAID and State.
3. Coordinate all aid programs through the U.S. ambassador at the country level.
4. Achieve greater flexibility by looking for ways to use funding more creatively and deploy resources quicker.
5. Increase accountability to aid recipients and taxpayers. Develop special metrics for how aid money is spent and what its impacts are. But, there shouldn't be a "fixation on a particular number," said Slaughter. Aid should be more evidence-based and demand-driven, and evolve from delivering services to building countries' institutions.
6. Develop broad problem solving coalitions by leveraging the full range of American assets in the private and nonprofit sectors for development. As an example, Slaughter cited pharmaceutical companies, nonprofits and governments coming together to fight AIDS.
The keys to carrying out these recommendations are expanding USAID's capabilities and eventually doubling the foreign assistance budget, with a focus on helping failing states, ensuring food security, developing markets and promoting global health. The White House has already set in motion these initiatives with its 2010 budget request.
"We are increasing our investments in the foundations of long-term development, even in a time of recent economic challenges," said Slaughter. She referred to plans to expand the number staff at State and USAID, although she acknowledged that these numbers will not reach the same levels as the "era of big government" in the 1960s and `70s.
"The task is to figure out what's the right comparative advantage and what's the right balance between government officials and non-governmental actors both private and nonprofit. Each actor has a distinct contribution to make," Slaughter said.
When Slaughter was asked by an audience member if a possible independent cabinet-level aid department might be created, her answer was simple: "No."
