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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Testimony of Patrick M. Cronin
USAID Assistant Administrator-designate
Before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, D.C.
July 31, 2001
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to appear here today as President Bush's nominee for Assistant Administrator of the Policy and Program Coordination Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
If confirmed, I would join a distinguished team led by Andrew Natsios, who in turn is operating under the leadership of one of America's most eminent statesmen, Secretary of State Colin Powell. It would be a high honor and rare privilege to work with these exemplary public servants, the members of this Committee, and many others in forging a bipartisan consensus on foreign aid.
I am here today because Andrew Natsios is convinced that my skills as a strategic policy planner, social scientist, educator, and senior governmental manager are needed at the U.S. Agency for International Development. These skills are particularly needed in the Policy and Program Coordination Bureau, whose job it is to work the seams of interagency, intergovernmental and interdisciplinary programs. These attributes are needed, in the first instance, to help formulate an effective and coherent approach to foreign assistance in general and USAID priorities in particular. They are needed, secondly, to help restore the intellectual foundations of USAID as a knowledge-based organization. Finally, they are needed to help attract the next generation of Americans to the noble cause of assisting people struggling to develop a capacity to help themselves in the poorest and often most conflict-riven zones of the globe.
Although I am here today because of my professional dedication to bridging the chasm between policy and analysis, I would not be here if it were not for the constant encouragement of my family, especially my parents, my wife, Audrey, and my two children, Christopher and Natalie. In particular, my daughter, who as a leukemia survivor has taught me one vital lesson: not to be easily discouraged.
Surveying our diverse and tumultuous world, as I have routinely done in my capacity as Director of Research and Studies at the U.S. Institute of Peace, it would be easy to become discouraged about the daunting challenge of advancing human development in poor and transition countries. The litany of grim statistics is as long as it is familiar:
- Almost half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day;
- Four out of every 10 people lack access to basic sanitation;
- Eleven million children under age five die each year from preventable causes, such as malnutrition;
- Some 850 million adults are illiterate and 325 million children who should be learning to read and write are not in school;
- About 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and every day that passes another 15,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa are newly infected by the virus;
- Every year numerous natural and man-made disasters, from earthquakes to civil wars, are adding millions to the expanding ranks of casualties, refugees and internally displaced persons; indeed, two-thirds of the 75 countries where USAID has missions have experienced conflict in the past five years.
These and myriad other challenges are compounded by the absence of good governance and civil society in much of the developing world, the pervasiveness of corruption, and a failure to marry up available resources with salient needs.
Although the list of challenges is long, there is a significant body of evidence supporting the important contribution that foreign assistance has been making in the developing world. I have heard hopeful stories and reports from the field regarding Indonesia, the Philippines, the Balkans and West Africa, to name just a few cases. But the list of failing states is not trivial, and so many people are in need. As one of the world's largest donor agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development must find ways to build on this success and provide effective assistance in ways consonant with our national interests, foreign policy objectives and values.
I am enthused about the prospect of joining a team of development assistance professionals. As a member of this team, my comparative advantage would be to draw heavily on my work at the Institute of Peace, which is also an independent federal agency. In my years as a senior executive for the U.S. Government, I have led the conduct of cross-cutting strategic planning, examined lessons learned from field experience in order to distill the "best practices" of peaceful statecraft for practitioners, and endeavored to build coalitions with the widest array of actors. This experience is relevant to the Policy and Program Coordination Bureau's task of establishing planning coherence, shoring up interagency and international coordination, sharpening analytical tools for program evaluation, and bolstering the USAID's reputation as not just an implementing agency but also a center of ideas.
If confirmed, I would begin by concentrating on five major objectives in order to shape our foreign aid program to be a major contributor to U.S. foreign policy in the 21st century.
First, building on the new strategic direction articulated by Administrator Andrew Natsios, I would initiate an internal and external debate about foreign aid priorities, with an eye toward establishing a consensus on USAID programs in Economic Growth, Trade and Agriculture; Global Health; and Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. The Administrator has defined the general strategic framework. Elaborating on this new vision will be vital, and I look forward to bringing planning and programming into line with the new strategic orientation. The role of the Policy and Program Coordination Bureau would be to facilitate across regional and functional programs, in a sense serving as an honest broker, thereby enhancing synergy and transparency.
A second objective would be support the intellectual underpinnings of the Global Development Alliance, which reflects the growing recognition that institutions such as private foundations, nongovernmental organizations, universities and private enterprises are as important to the development endeavor as governments. In moving ahead to leverage U.S. tax dollars through new partnerships and alliances, it will be imperative to hew to well-thought-out guidelines that factor in the track record of USAID partners and allies.
A third goal would be to restore U.S. intellectual leadership in international development. To do this we could start by attracting a chief economist internationally renowned in the field of development economics. We could also prepare the Bureau to play a far more active role in developing and producing cutting-edge conceptual reports, for instance, starting with filtering developmental assistance through the lens of conflict prevention. We might also review professional development and training and education opportunities for all staff, as well as incentives to attract new highly skilled analysts. We will also closely engage international development centers in higher education, think tanks, and international bodies such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program.
A fourth objective would center on shoring up our internal analysis regarding the effectiveness of different programs and instruments of assistance. The focus here would be on combining state-of-the-art technical analysis with dynamic qualitative assessments to derive lessons learned and transform them into best practices that can be fed back into early planning.
Tapping into "lessons learned" studies and all of the foregoing objectives, a fifth and final objective would be to raise the level of public discourse on foreign aid programs, including between the Executive and Legislative branches of government.
In conclusion, let me express my unqualified enthusiasm about the prospect of joining the U.S. Agency for International Development, where I would be able to apply my expertise in strategic planning and government management to the vital tasks facing the Policy and Program Coordination Bureau. If confirmed, I would be eager to work with the Congress to ensure that public funds support U.S. foreign policy priorities and critical development tasks overseas.
Mr. Chairman, thank you and the Committee for considering my nomination for this important position. I would be pleased to answer the Committee's questions.
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Last Updated on: January 02, 2009 |
