Installing a deputy secretary to lead foreign assistance. Separating development work from humanitarian aid. Retaining the knowledge of USAID staff. And combining regional bureaus at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Those are just a few of the many proposals being put forward for USAID’s future — floated by everyone from advocacy groups to former USAID political appointees to those within the Trump administration itself.
“Starting the dialogue with a fresh set of actors, and [having USAID] located in a different place could provide an opportunity that I think is long overdue,” said Larry Nowels, the co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, or MFAN, a coalition focused on improving the effectiveness of U.S. aid.