• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • Opinion
    • Contributors: George Ingram, Carolyn Miles and Connie Veillette

    Charting a way forward on US development policy

    The next two years are a crucial window of opportunity for U.S. aid reform. In an exclusive opinion, the co-chairs of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network share their vision for a reform agenda to improve development policy and practice, and make U.S. assistance dollars work smarter beyond 2014.

    By George Ingram, Carolyn Miles, Connie Veillette // 16 April 2014
    A staff from the USAID-funded Securing Rights to Land and Natural Resources for Biodiversity and Livelihood in the Northeast Coast project reviews a map of natural resources at the Aweer community of Lamu in Kenya. Photo by: U.S. Agency for International Development / CC BY-NC

    The United States has an important leadership role to play when it comes to supporting development and reducing poverty around the world.

    Foreign assistance serves our national interests by enhancing national security, expanding global economic opportunities and promoting American values. In 2008, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network was established because of the growing recognition that U.S. foreign assistance and development policy needed to be strengthened and modernized in order to confront today’s challenges and bring about a more peaceful and prosperous world.

    Since MFAN’s founding, we have seen the administration and Congress take actions to improve development policy and practice, and make U.S. assistance dollars work smarter. On April 16, with the launch of our new policy paper “The way forward: A reform agenda for 2014 and beyond,” we both reflect on past achievements and humbly recognize there is much more work to be done.

    MFAN’s new agenda outlines two powerful and mutually reinforcing pillars of reform: accountability through transparency, evaluation and learning; and country ownership of the priorities and resources for, and implementation of, development. These pillars are vital to building capacity in developing countries to enable leaders and citizens to take responsibility for their own development.

    We applaud the many actions that have already been taken or put in motion to advance accountability and country ownership. For the Obama administration, these include the commitment to fully implement the International Aid Transparency Initiative, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Partnership for Growth and Local Solutions initiatives, and the Millennium Challenge Corp.’s commitment to transparency reflected by its top ranking on the 2013 Aid Transparency Index.

    Congress has also taken up the reform cause with the creation of the Congressional Caucus on Effective Foreign Assistance, the introduction and reintroduction of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act, and recent efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of international food aid.

    The next two years are an important window of opportunity for U.S. aid reform. The midterm elections in 2014 are certain to shake up the membership of Congress. In 2015, the Millennium Development Goals will expire and a new global development agenda will take its place. And 2016 will bring with it the end of the Obama administration.

    We urge the administration and Congress to work together to institutionalize the important reforms that have already been introduced and continue to push forward on strengthening country ownership and accountability. We will be tracking progress made on the key reform actions we outline in the paper and sharing our thoughts with the community, the administration, and Congress.

    We invite — and look forward to — the dialogue that these recommendations will generate.

    Join the Devex community and access more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.

    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Trade & Policy
    • Funding
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
    The views in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect Devex's editorial views.

    About the authors

    • George Ingram

      George Ingram

      George Ingram is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; a board member of MFAN and USGLC and chair of Friends of Publish What You Fund; with a career in development spanning U.S. Congress, USAID, and civil society.
    • Carolyn Miles

      Carolyn Miles

      Carolyn Miles is president and CEO of Save the Children and co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. After starting out as an entrepreneur and working in Hong Kong for American Express, Miles joined Save the Children in 1998 and was also COO from 2004-2011.
    • Connie Veillette

      Connie Veillette

      Connie Veillette is a senior fellow for global food security and aid effectiveness at The Lugar Center and co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    The Trump EffectHow US aid can appeal to ‘America First’ Republicans

    How US aid can appeal to ‘America First’ Republicans

    The Trump EffectWhat the sector would like to see to replace USAID

    What the sector would like to see to replace USAID

    The Future of US aidOpinion: US foreign assistance recasting is a test of national strategy

    Opinion: US foreign assistance recasting is a test of national strategy

    The Future of US AidHow is this ‘reimagined’ proposal for USAID hitting the sector?

    How is this ‘reimagined’ proposal for USAID hitting the sector?

    Most Read

    • 1
      Closing the loop: Transforming waste into valuable resources
    • 2
      How to use law to strengthen public health advocacy
    • 3
      House cuts US global education funding 20%, spares multilateral partners
    • 4
      FfD4 special edition: The key takeaways from four days in Sevilla
    • 5
      Lasting nutrition and food security needs new funding — and new systems
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement