Stefan Dercon was policy adviser to then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab when the U.K. government slashed its foreign assistance budget. While the U.K. aid community has struggled to get clear information about how that process unfolded, Dercon gives us a rare look behind the curtain.
Today we’re also sharing tips for consulting applications, and looking at USAID’s chronic workforce planning challenge.
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Stefan Dercon left the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in May. The former Department for International Development chief economist — and self-described “eternal optimist” — had returned to government service when the FCDO was created in 2020 with a sense of “responsibility to make sure [the new department] becomes as good as it can,” he tells my colleague Will Worley in a wide-ranging interview.
But he quickly found himself at the center of a heavily criticized effort to reduce U.K. aid spending by £4.6 billion, which Dercon says required cuts to “a thousand programs or more.”
Dercon gives an inside look at how he and other civil servants tried to manage the budget cutting process under political pressure from multiple different directions.
“You get these kind of pressures from all sides. You get WhatsApp messages coming in from Parliament, from NGOs. It's political because you can't do this in a simple, transparent, open way,” he says.
Transparency — the lack thereof — has been one of the biggest targets of criticism in the government’s process for managing the cuts. Asked about the lack of consultation and dialogue with civil society and other members of the aid community, Dercon says:
“The best I can say is there's no civil servant, there's no adviser that actually advised to do it like this.”
Read: Former senior FCDO official offers insider view of the UK aid cuts (Pro)
+ Check out our page with all the latest news in U.K. aid, and read the first part of Will’s interview with Dercon, where he explains why beer and pizza are integral to development.
Not cleared for takeoff
The first flight scheduled to carry asylum seekers from the U.K. to Rwanda was canceled on Tuesday after a last minute legal action. Home Secretary Priti Patel said “preparation for the next flight begins now,” the BBC reported.
ICYMI: UK-Rwanda project called 'uglier vision of development diplomacy'
Desperate measures
The World Food Programme is cutting the number of people it planned to provide food aid to in South Sudan this year by nearly a third because of lack of funds.
Sara Jerving writes: “With the cuts, the organization is prioritizing food assistance for 4.5 million people in 52 counties in the country, which includes 87,000 people already living in ‘famine-like’ conditions. The organization had tried to avoid this, it said, having reduced rations by half last year. It also cut food assistance for 100,000 displaced individuals.”
Read: WFP suspends aid to a third of South Sudan recipients amid food crisis
+ For the inside track on how agriculture, nutrition, sustainability, and more intersect to remake the global food system, sign up for Devex Dish, our free, must-read Wednesday newsletter.
‘Caught in the crosshairs’
My colleague David Ainsworth caught up with Islamic Relief USA CEO Sharif Aly to discuss the discrimination his organization continues to face, the political maneuvering required — and the support that’s doubled the organization’s income over the last five years.
Sharif Aly: How Islamic Relief has dealt with disinformation
+ Aly will speak at Devex World next month. And from now to Friday, book your tickets to hear him at a discounted rate and get a complimentary yearlong Devex Pro membership, or book for free if you’re already a Pro subscriber.
Follow through
The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection — presented by 21 countries at the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas last week — for the first time brought together countries of origin, transit, and destination to share responsibility for the region’s migration crisis. Will it help end the “externalization of asylum” by the United States and its partners? My colleague Teresa Welsh looks into it.
NGOs: Regional migration declaration must be backed by action
Getting to know you
The CEOs of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and Peace Corps all testified; one of the first times since they took up their posts.
Adva Saldinger has the key takeaways.
Read: What you need to know from US DFC, MCC and Peace Corps hearing
Short-staffed
Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, has big plans to staff up the agency's career workforce. If history is any guide, that could be easier said than done.
In a report last month, USAID’s Inspector General found the agency failed to meet congressionally funded staffing levels. Some of that was due to former President Donald Trump’s hiring freeze, and some of it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but OIG also pointed to longstanding challenges at USAID with strategic workforce planning.
OIG report: USAID turns to workarounds to deal with staff shortage (Pro)
+ Devex Pro subscribers can catch up on all of our coverage of USAID, including funding insights and procurement process. Not gone Pro yet? Sign up and start your 15-day free trial.
CV tips
Are you applying — or thinking of applying — for a consulting gig? My colleague Justin Sablich has three pieces of advice:
• Time is of the essence: In the initial CV screening process, a recruiter might spend 60 seconds or less reviewing your credentials. Your resume is valuable real estate.
• Lead with a summary: “It's a time saver and it's a way to understand if the person is the right track,” says former World Bank recruiter Roberto Amorosino.
• Tell a story: As Amorosino puts it, “I'm not talking about me … I'm talking about me in the context of the position.”
Read: 3 things to know before applying to your next consulting job (Career)
+ A Devex Career Account gives you access to global development’s top jobs and expert career advice. Sign up and start your 15-day free trial now.
In other news
The World Health Organization is set to rename monkeypox after more than 30 scientists urged the global body to find a “non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising” name for the disease and the virus. [BBC]
Amid an economic crisis, Sri Lanka announced it will give public sector workers Fridays off for the next three months to help them save on fuel and have more time to grow their own food. [The Guardian]
The European Commission voted on Monday to unblock aid to Palestine. [EU Observer]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
