While donors are increasingly interested in both promoting evidence-based policymaking and advancing locally led development, the two agendas have often remained separate. This is a missed opportunity. A recent CGD working group underscored the value of locally immersed researchers and organizations...

USAID administrator Samantha Power’s aim to advance localization—with at least a quarter of funds going directly to local partners—has been widely lauded. A recent USAID report on localization indicates progress towards this goal, but major operational and contractual directions about how to impleme...

In a speech at CGD, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced a new USAID initiative: promoting primary health care systems in developing countries. Will this welcomed initiative last beyond her tenure at the agency?

In this piece, I recap a few key messages on USAID’s call to action, honing in on the role of data and evidence in driving policy and decision-making. I argue that we need better data on the progress of maternal and child survival through improved health information systems as well as greater use of...

Last month, the Center for Global Development (CGD), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Office of Management and Budget co-hosted an Evidence Forum as part of the White House Year of Evidence for Action, featuring USAID Administer Samantha Power. The event celebrated pr...

Ahead of the holiday break, US lawmakers reached agreement on a final FY2023 spending deal. After months of stalled negotiations, an omnibus appropriations package was far from guaranteed. But concerns about the consequences of a long-term continuing resolution—and the prospect of adding a major tas...

A new bipartisan bill, introduced by Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Young Kim (R-CA), looks to advance innovation in US development policy, embracing a definition of innovation that captures both technological advancements and novel approaches to development programming.