This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Administrator J. Brian Atwood
InterAction Annual Meeting
Washington, D.C., May 7, 1997
U.S. Agency for International Development
Thank Julia - Interaction.
This growing partnership has manifested itself in some very
significant ways. We have streamlined the PVO and NGO
registration process. We have not only increased consultations,
we have made them more productive ones. We have also pushed
through key procurement reforms such as simplification of
international travel and personnel policies. These are just a few
examples. But all of these efforts are designed to make it easier
to work with the agency and to allow our partners to focus more
on development and less on pushing USAID-generated paper.
At the same time, the study has found that we still have
ample work to do in the future. One of the key findings was that
the reforms affecting the USAID/PVO partnership are not yet
being implemented consistently, and many members of the PVO
community -- and some of our own USAID staff -- are not fully
aware of these policy and procedural changes. As we look to the
future we need to focus more attention on improved
communication and implementation of our USAID reforms.
As I look to the future I see the role of the PVO community
in international development increasing. As the recent budget deal
again makes clear, we will continue to have lean times in foreign
policy funding. While we are not targeted for major cuts, it is
clear that we will continue to be stretched thin. In an era of
shrinking government, and at a time of reduced budgetary and
people resources at USAID, we need to work increasingly closely
with our external partners. PVOs clearly have vital resources to
bring the development -- PVOs registered with USAID have
annual private resources exceeding $4.8 billion, according to our
latest figures.
USAID is devoting an increasing percentage of its resources
to PVOs and NGOs. According to our best figures, last year
some 34 percent of USAID's total development assistance
resources were channelled to PVOs and NGOs. As we phase out
of additional countries in the coming years we hope, in many
cases, to establish strategic partnerships with PVOs and other
nongovernmental organizations to sustain some of the most vital
components of our development work after USAID closes its
Missions.
I would like to take a few minutes in closing to discuss some
of the key challenges we will need to face together. This highly
constrained resource environment places a premium on
"managing for results" and documenting program impact. We
have done a good job convincing other donors that they should
manage for results as well. Now the challenge falls on us to
continually improve our ability to demonstrate and measure the
results of our programs. By focusing on results, we will be able
to do a better job of documenting and replicating best practices.
Then, in turn, we can share our best methods with other donors
and developing nations attempting to implement similar programs.
In a sense, we must take a more business-like approach to
our work, without sacrificing our understanding of the importance
of people in development. By carefully assessing the cost and
benefits of our work, we can put in place resource mobilization
strategies that make the most of our limited dollars and ensure the
financial sustainability of our programs.
What we are seeing in some ways is a tremendous
confluence of thought. Business leaders are understanding that
human resources like education, good health and family planning
are an integral part of promoting economic development. By the
same token, development experts who have always understood the
power of people are beginning to recognize that we need to be
able to point the bottom line of our programs and why they are in
the national interest.
One of the most exciting trends we have seen in recent
years, and one that poses some continuing challenges, is the shift
that we are all making to work more closely with indigenous
NGOs. We are seeing a transition from delivering services
directly to working as intermediaries to strengthen local partners.
I think this is a wonderful development and it will take all of our
efforts to continue to help nurture these local partners.
In closing, I just want to again stress how important our
partnership is to me. I think in the last several years, the
development community has found itself in sink-or-swim
situations time after time. In each instance we have found the
strength to swim on. In each instance we have realized that our
mission is more important than any single individual or
organization.
We have endured -- development has endured -- because it is
absolutely vital work. We live in a time when hundreds of
millions of people are living lives where economic opportunity
and political freedom are now suddenly more possible than ever
before. We live in a time when the potential of the developing
world has never been fuller or more promising. We live in a
time when we can change the world. In that sense, we have been
given a tremendous gift.
This is the gift of delivering hope and promise to the poorest
among us. This is the opportunity we all share of making the era
of Free Trade a time for participation by the poorest in the global
economy. This is the gift of our development and humanitarian
mission.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 18, 2001
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