Insights From Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah
FrontLines - February 2010
Like many USAID staff, I have struggled
to give words to the devastation we
have seen in Haiti and the difficulty we
have faced delivering aid under such
challenging conditions. Even before the
earthquake, Haiti lacked critical infrastructure
and service delivery capabilities. The little capacity the
country did have was either buried or severely damaged on the evening
of Jan. 12. What remained intact was a one-runway airport with
no control tower. In the face of these challenges, USAID has led a
massive, whole-of-government effort to open up distribution channels
and deliver critical personnel and supplies to the people and
places where they are needed.
Our personnel on the ground in Haiti are doing a heroic job. They
have worked around the clock, digging through dust and rubble, navigating
broken roads, and putting themselves in great danger. Whether
it is USAID staff, including our incredible Foreign Service National
colleagues, or our partners in the Departments of Defense, Health and
Human Services, State, or Homeland Security, everyone across the
federal family has worked in concert toward a common goal. We are
all deeply proud of them, and grateful for their work.
In addition to those on the ground, nearly every one of us has found a
way to pitch in and make a difference. I know many USAID staff here at
home have gone beyond their normal responsibilities. The selflessness
and dedication you have shown is further evidence that USAID employees
treat their jobs as more than just a career but as a life’s calling.
Haiti will continue to be a major focus for months and years to
come. I believe our effectiveness in coordinating this unified response
will help advance our larger reform agenda at USAID. We have an
historic opportunity to enhance USAID’s role as the world’s premier
development agency—and we need to seize it. We have the potential
to deploy more resources, build deeper partnerships, and utilize innovative
technologies to achieve new progress on our mission.
Realizing this opportunity will require a sustained commitment
across our entire government. And it will be informed by the important
reviews underway with the QDDR [Quadrennial Diplomacy and
Development Review] and PSD [Presidential Study Directive]. But the
real change we seek will ultimately begin with us. Our ability to
improve the way we do business is central to this revitalization effort.
There are three principles that I want all of us to keep in mind as we
plan, execute, and evaluate our work: focus, scale, and impact.
Improving our business practices begins with reexamining our
focus. While our goal must be to do the most good for the most people,
this can often lead us to attempt to do too much, spreading ourselves
too thin and compromising our effectiveness. Instead, we will
focus on strategic areas where we can have a major impact.
Second, within these areas of strategic focus, we need to enhance the
scale of our work. This means taking a comprehensive approach that
addresses all of the factors that influence our success, investing intensively
where we can speed up progress and benefit people the most.
And third, we must constantly consider the impact of our work.
Simply put, we must be relentlessly focused on results. Our success
won’t be measured by the dollars we spend or the programs we create,
but on the tangible results we achieve for the people we serve.
The smarter we work, the sooner we will create conditions where our
assistance is no longer needed. Ultimately, this must be the goal of
every project we undertake.
We kicked off February with the rollout of the Global Health Initiative
(GHI), which was designed with these principles in mind. I believe
GHI will take our health assistance to the next level and fully maximize
the sustainable health impact for every dollar invested. I look forward to
hearing the feedback we receive during this consultation period.
Whether it is in health, democracy and governance, agriculture
and economic growth, or any other sector, the change we seek will not come easily. But if we continue
to unite behind a common
purpose—as we have in assisting
the people of Haiti in their
greatest hour of need—I am
certain that we will seize the
opportunity to remake USAID
and make new progress on our
mission.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
To have FrontLines delivered
to you via postal mail, please subscribe.
Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
To view PDF files, download
the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Back to Top ^
|
