INSIDE USAID
In this section:
Natsios Moves to Reinvigorate ACVFA
5 Missions Implement Phoenix
Judge Mihm Honored by USAID
Natsios Moves to Reinvigorate ACVFA
In a move indicating increased importance and commitment, Administrator Natsios has appointed a new executive director to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA), placed the position in his immediate office, and made five new appointments to its board.
Established in 1947 in the aftermath of World War II, ACVFA serves as a link between the U.S. government and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) active in humanitarian assistance and development work overseas. ACVFA comprises citizens with extensive knowledge of international development, and helps provide the underpinning for cooperation between the public and private sectors in U.S. foreign assistance programs.
"This advisory committee serves as a forum for discussing and making recommendations to me on policy issues pertaining to foreign assistance matters in which the U.S. government and PVOs interact," said Natsios. "Because I take seriously this undertaking and their advice, I felt it was best that the executive director be in my office, so that I could more readily call upon the committee at any time, and not just await their recommendations after each of their three meetings yearly."
In addition to moving the executive director position into his office, Natsios appointed Jocelyn Rowe as ACVFA's new executive director.
Having joined USAID at the beginning of June, she is focused on the committee's next meeting in October. The agenda includes a discussion about the crisis in Darfur, the Global Development Alliance, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Prior to joining USAID, Rowe was with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she was a special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary for children and families.
With the recent move of her position to the Administrator's office, Rowe is also focused on strengthening the relationship between ACVFA and the Administrator.
When ACVFA convenes for its third meeting this year October 27, it will include five new members. They represent a variety of professional backgrounds, including the business sector, PVOs, public policy thinktanks, and NGOs.
The new members are Iqbal Noor Ali, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Aga Khan Foundation; Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and with the National Endowment for Democracy; Benjamin Homan, president of Food for the Hungry; Michael Nyenhuis, president and CEO of MAP International; and John Sullivan, executive director of the Center for International Private Enterprise.
Each new member brings a different perspective and set of issues Administrator Natsios wants to see discussed at meetings.
"The question of alleviating poverty as a means of reducing instability in the world" is the issue that Iqbal Noor Ali of the Aga Khan Foundation said he wants to see the board discuss.
"Given the youth unemployment rates and the strategies to help people increase their incomes and get employment, this subject is not only crucial to their future, but also to ours in the United States," he said. "That's one message I want to relay to the Agency."
The foundation works to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development in Africa and Asia.
For Benjamin Homan of Food for the Hungry, a main point to drive home during ACVFA meetings is the importance of education.
"The resources of the mind are extraordinary, but some folks have not reached that potential yet," he said. "Part of our challenge is creating change that will help outlast us, and education, I think, is the key."
Food for the Hungry works on education, healthcare, and food security.
"I see part of my role as a member of ACVFA as one of those folks who, like everyone else, is paying taxes and wants to see great results, and who wants the United States to remain fully engaged with other cultures," Homan said. "We can't view our own nation as an island."
Most of the new board members have worked—individually or through their organizations—with the Agency for decades. Larry Diamond, for instance, helped draft Foreign Aid and the National Interest, a January 2003 report that proposes that U.S. foreign aid should focus on countries with good governance.
"I bring my long-time advocacy for the principles that are expressed in the Millennium Challenge Corporation: rewarding good performance and quality of governance are key factors in fostering development and shaping decisions about development assistance allocations," Diamond said.
The committee currently has up to 18 members. The charter calls for up to 24. Members are appointed by the USAID Administrator for three-year terms as representatives from their organizations. They serve without compensation.
5 Missions Implement Phoenix
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USAID/Cairo's financial management team watched with bated breath as the first live Phoenix transaction took place August 10, 2004.
Sherif Zohdi, USAID |
Five missions—Egypt, Ghana, Peru, Columbia, and Nigeria—went live with Phoenix, the new financial management system, August 10.
The transition was smooth, said Lisa Fiely, USAID's chief financial officer, because of the efforts of the missions' financial management staff, who had to "learn a new system while still meeting daily job responsibilities, and working long hours that at times included weekends."
Phoenix has been supporting accounting transactions at USAID's headquarters since 2000. Now that the first five missions are using the system successfully, the Agency plans to roll out Phoenix to approximately 50 missions next year.
Phoenix, unlike the current overseas Mission Accounting and Control System it replaces, is compliant with federal regulations. Financial transactions on Phoenix are posted immediately to a general ledger.
"We are taking the lessons learned from the pilot phase of the project and anticipate making some changes—especially in the areas of training and user support," said Steve Crabtree, USAID's financial systems integration program manager.
Deploying Phoenix overseas is part of the Business Systems Modernization initiative, a key component of USAID's Business Transformation Plan.
Judge Mihm Honored by USAID
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Left to right: Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Kent Hill, Judge Mihm, and Assistant Administrator for Legislative and Public Affairs Edward Fox.
Harry Edwards, USAID |
Federal District Court Judge Michael Mihm was honored by USAID for his decade-long volunteer efforts in building relationships between American and Russian judges through Agency-funded rule of law and judicial reform programs.
Mihm has advocated the need to build Russian legal institutions and have personal interaction between judges to develop an independent, ethical, and professional Russian judiciary.
"[Russian judges] do not have the same level of independence and professionalism that our judiciary has," said Mihm. But through these exchanges, "they embrace the ideal that, with hard work and sacrifice, they can, over time, develop a judiciary that is honest, professional, and responsive to the needs of the people."
Mihm received USAID's Outstanding Citizen Achievement Citation at a ceremony in his hometown, Peoria, Ill., August 6.
More than 200 people attended, including elected public officials, state representatives, local media, Russian dignitaries, and Russian Americans.
Sarah Berry contributed to this article.
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