 |
|
|
|
 |
- 10/21/08: Remarks by Henrietta Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance at the White House Development Summit
- 10/08/08: Remarks by Henrietta Fore, USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance at The President's Freedom Agenda
- 10/01/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at the Ceremony Marking the Full Operational Capacity of Africa Command (AFRICOM)
- 09/25/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at 2008 Millennium Development Goal Malaria Summit, New York - "U.S. Leadership in the Fight Against Malaria"
- 09/22/08: Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore, Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, at the White House Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy - "U.S. Commitment to Advancing Global Literacy"
 RSS Feed for Recent USAID Speeches and Testimony
|
|
|
|
|
Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore
Administrator, USAID and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance
The Future of Foreign Assistance
Center for U.S. Global Engagement - 2008 Washington Conference
Election '08: The Global Impact
The Mayflower Hotel, Grand Ballroom - Washington, D.C.
Opening Plenary Remarks
July 15, 2008
Thank you, Tony.
Liz Schrayer, George Ingram... and to the business leadership with us today... to the vital NGO, humanitarian and faith-based organizations here... the military, political, government and community leaders... the experts in development, in foreign policy and in national security: You are all in the best of company. And I am delighted to be with you.
As I was looking forward to this morning, there were two thoughts that I really wanted to share with you. The first? The Global Leadership Campaign and the Center for U.S. Global Engagement are vital to the work we do.
I can think of no stronger, clearer voice in public life that more effectively supports the mission of international development. We've all felt the impact of your advocacy, right up through the 2009 budget resolution process. Your efforts make possible some of the most positive moves America can make on the larger world stage. I thank you.
The second idea I wanted to share calls for some imagination on your part. Our theme here -- as we approach the modern social miracle of a general election - is vitally important. Anticipating the transfer of power is democracy's way of asking a nation to take stock. Both in its internal affairs, and its role in the world.
So where have we been most successful? What can we learn, and where should we be going? In advance of this fall's election -- what would we want any administration to report about our progress in development, in the year 2012?
Shall we seize the moment and think about what we would want to accomplish by 2012?
The Future of Foreign Assistance
We would look back, knowing that as this decade drew to a close, we began to do business entirely differently. We would be proud to say that, along with challenging each other, we continually challenged our own expectations. Our assumptions. Ourselves.
We would be confident that we seized the moment by reaching a new consensus in international development, to work together in ways we never have before -- in a spirit of genuine consultation. A new consensus among the larger community of development experts and partners, corporations and contractors, entrepreneurs, NGOs, foundations, the Congress, and the federal government as a whole.
This new consensus would be the development equivalent of a Galilean revolution: one that puts the host country - its priorities, capacities, norms and local design - at the center of our collective thought and action. Around which the rest of our organizations would revolve, be rewarded, and exist to serve.
Why is it... that we are all rewarded for excelling as individual organizations... when in fact we must learn to operate as a cohesive, coherent, coordinated whole? Why are we all passionately devoted to our organizations, disciplines, agencies, regions, or sectors... when host governments say what they want from the development community, the private sector and the U.S. government is coordination of our efforts and direction.
That sounds simple enough. And yet, given the complexity and the number of players in motion, simplicity is increasingly elusive.
Well, by 2012 we would have answers to such questions. With the support of the Congress, we would be able to commit to, and act on, true country-based planning. Ambassadors and USAID Mission Directors would have the authority to work with host governments, with NGOs in-country, and with other donors to determine where the real demand is, and where the comparative delivery advantages are.
Those country-based plans would represent the mix of priorities vital to the people we mean to help. Rather than operating as a thousand forces for good - which at times leads to a thousand points of contention - foreign assistance funding and execution would be far less supply-side oriented, and much more demand-driven. More predictable and effective, year over year. And this is key: with more country-based flexibility to respond to crises as they arise.
And that, in turn, would mean that the tireless work of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and the Center for U.S. Global Engagement to secure an international affairs budget worthy of this country's role in the world - along with being appreciated -- will have been entirely justified.
Organization: Respond, and Evolve
What else would we have them say about us, in 2012?
They would say we aggressively pursued foreign assistance in the largest sense -- as a pivotal element in maintaining global security, and as vital as diplomacy and defense.
They'd say we more deliberately enlisted economic development to reduce poverty and usher fragile nations and their struggling youth toward the stability that derives from prosperity and self-sufficiency.
Whenever a crisis broke out, anywhere in the world, we would be in a far better position to respond. Recognizing development's pivotal role in security, we would have capacity for reconstruction and stabilization efforts. Rather than reacting ad-hoc, we would have a strong Civilian Response Corps - launched this year, grounded in best practices and lessons learned, and able to deploy to a crisis with as little as 48 hours' notice.
Across the span of our development efforts, along with being better positioned to respond... we would also show ourselves more than willing and able to evolve.
New Partnerships
We would have deployed new models, new partnerships that apply the unique abilities of every player - public, not-for-profit, NGO and private - to deliver what none could possibly manage alone, or sustain for long. Partnerships that begin with the country, and the country's development plan.
I've seen this approach at work in Afghanistan, at a donor coordination forum hosted by the Afghan government that included 33 donor countries - where a remarkable level of cooperation is restoring that country's physical and social infrastructure after decades of war.
You can see it in Islamabad, where we are partnered with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the Aga Khan Foundation and local NGOs, to help the Government of Pakistan earn the trust and confidence of Pakistani parents that their children will receive a quality education.
And you can see it in Peru, where the local and international private sector now support development in some of the most impoverished regions and highlands of that country. NGOs, grantees, contractors, local government, universities, local companies and the U.S. government -- all deeply, effectively involved in reducing poverty and raising incomes above 50 cents or one dollar a day.
The Global Development Commons
I believe that by 2012, such coordinated partnerships will define our greatest successes in international development and foreign assistance. We are committed to changing the way that we do business, to become more open and collaborative, a concept we call the Global Development Commons. By working together, sharing information, and coordinating our actions, we will improve the quality of our investments. We are taking steps to both improve the ability of the U.S. Government to share knowledge with the development community, and give to people in the developing world the tools they need to lead their own development.
For example:
We are working with Google to develop the capacity to search across all information created by programs funded by the U.S. Government.
We are building systems with partners which allow the U.S. Government other donors to map out their activities, so that they and host governments can see where work is being done within countries and across countries.
We are bringing together coalitions to build information portals for subject-areas which are in demand such as food security.
And we are reaching out to technology manufacturers of mobile phones and other devices to see if the usability of these tools can be improved for those in the developing world.
USAID Revitalized
In 2012, what of USAID itself? By 2012 we will have begun to rebuild and revitalize a skilled and diverse base of talent -- looking back with pride on the early years of USAID's Development Leadership Initiative. Recruiting and retaining people with world-class skills in policy... partnerships... public outreach... procurement... and the operational and technical skills needed by the countries we serve.
Our people will have renewed and reshaped their commitment to grow with us. New recruits will say they joined us from investment banks and leading corporations because they wanted a chance to make a difference. And you know what they tell us now? That USAID is their dream job.
We will have doubled the size of the Foreign Service workforce by 2012, with at least half of them speaking critical languages. By 2012 every Mission will have an Alliance Officer, to coordinate even stronger partnerships than those we have today.
And with an adequately scaled base of talent, we will be able to design smaller, more tailored efforts. Further strengthen country ownership of development programs. Bring technical expertise in new areas. And ensure that our programs, sectors, NGO, public and private sector assets are better coordinated - and truly reflect the development priorities of the people we all exist to support and serve.
Conclusion
Now: I realize, this morning, that in framing the global development agenda for the next four years in roughly 10 minutes, I cannot possibly have done justice to all of the ideas and expertise in a room like this one.
But I would challenge you to consider seriously how we can seize the moment to seek a New Consensus in development and foreign assistance, to work together in ways we never have before. How we can put the host country's priorities at the center of our collective thought and action. Respond to crises as they unfold. And learn to evolve our thinking, the models we apply, and the organizations we deploy to support development, prosperity and security around the world.
If we could make it so - and with enough will, we can - the landscape of development in 2012 will be vastly changed, and entirely worthy of the people we serve.
In Washington this time of year, there is much talk of legacy. We have made such large strides together in this decade. We have nearly tripled our Official Development Assistance since 2001; started a historic rebuilding of our people; and taken steps to renew our intellectual lead in the world, our commitment to the power of public-private partnerships, and our dedication to reducing poverty. With your help, we have gotten all this done. We are just starting to pickup momentum. And a new decade lies before us!
Let us seize the moment together.
Back to Top ^
|
