U.S. Foreign Aid Reform -- Still More Bones Than Meat

Last week, U.S. Foreign Aid Czar Randall Tobias kicked off the Society for International Development's 50-year anniversary celebrations with an update on U.S. foreign assistance reform efforts. Eight months in the works, and not much more to report than what was included in our last posting. Interestingly, attendees didn't seem too bothered by this fact. Why? In large part, Iit's because Ambassador Tobias is so darn likeable . A combination of rational thinking, demonstrated commitment to the need for foreign aid reform, and a seasoned stage presence -- plus very little time for questions from non-SID Board members -- resulted in an enjoyable but rather uninteresting update on the Administration's efforts.Of note:1. Operational plans, being built up from the country level, aim to systematically address four questions: Who is our partner? How much money is our partner getting? What is the partner doing with that money? What are the mutually agreed outcomes? While these questions appear incredibly simple to development practitioners, perhaps it is a sad reflection on how broken our foreign aid apparatus has become.2. The reform effort is embracing the "Three One"s principles, applied in UNAIDS programs and then PEPFAR (from where Tobias hailed). In a nutshell, there should be a common strategy on the ground owned by the country; a single coordinating mechanism to facilitate the use of resources, and; a common monitoring and evaluation system. Bravo!3. Ambassador Tobias created a new COO position in his office, to be filled by Alonzo Fulgham, former USAID Mission Director in Aghanistan.4. They are running out of time. The FY08 budget is where all the reform efforts will come together in one Foreign Assistance Budget, not separated into USAID and State Department.