by Diana Ohlbaum If nothing else, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seems determined to retool the mechanics of the State Department, a process he calls “redesign. There’s a full head of steam behind reform efforts, with more than 60 reports… Continue Reading
by Diana Ohlbaum For those who recall the relentless attacks on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the recent outpouring of support for the institution and its mission is simply stunning. A discussion… Continue Reading
by Diana Ohlbaum Buffeted by a double whammy of restructuring proposals—one from the White House recommending a transfer of the State Department’s Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau (PRM) to the Department of Homeland Security, another from development experts recommending a… Continue Reading
by Diana Ohlbaum There are lots of difficult problems with no good solutions. Foreign aid isn’t one of them. For starters, the system works, even if it’s not particularly efficient, or popular with the public. It can be enhanced with… Continue Reading
by Diana Ohlbaum It’s hard to reconcile the optimism of the development community with the signals coming from the Trump administration. Sensing an opening for reform, think tanks and aid advocates have issued three new reports on how to strengthen… Continue Reading