Aid Reform research and reports http://www.oxfamamerica.org daily 1 2012-08-06T13:42:04Z Harvesting data http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/harvesting-data-oda-in-agriculture What can 10 years of official development assistance data tell us about US international agricultural development?

This Research Backgrounder paints a picture of overall US government spending on agriculture during the 10-year period 1998-2007 using a macro, evidence-based approach and treating “official development assistance to agriculture” as it was defined prior to the global food price crisis. The author hopes to thus provide researchers and others with a baseline against which to track shifts in spending patterns that result from the whole-of-government approach that emerged from L’Aquila.

]]> No publisher jedwards 2012-11-20T16:34:50Z Research Report Reforms put foreign aid to work fighting corruption and waste http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/reforms-put-foreign-aid-to-work-fighting-corruption-and-waste USAID is changing the way it implements US foreign aid programs to put local actors in the driver's seat. Called "Implementation and Procurement Reform," or IPR, this effort will invest more money directly by partnering with country governments, local businesses, and local organizations. The effort is designed to help countries deliver for their own people, and help people hold their governments accountable.

]]> No publisher aperera USAID aid reform 2012-05-16T14:00:59Z Research Report The politics of partnership: How donors manage risk while letting recipients lead their own development http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-politics-of-partnership-how-donors-manage-risk-while-letting-recipients-lead-their-own-development This paper provides recommendations for the US government as it continues grappling with ways of improving foreign aid, taking lessons from successful donor partnerships with recipient countries.  

]]> No publisher jlee aid reform 2011-12-13T15:12:04Z Research Report Capacity: Helping countries lead http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/capacity-helping-countries-lead-1 In trying to improve US foreign aid, Oxfam America believes that we must listen to the people who know aid best: those who receive and deliver aid. The Ownership in Practice policy briefs reflect perspectives from the field on the kinds of reforms that would improve the usefulness of US foreign aid on the ground, as well as insights from policymakers in Washington as to possible policy options that would put this vision into practice.

]]> No publisher sgrundahl 2011-07-13T16:55:35Z Research Report Information: Let countries know what donors are doing http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/information-let-countries-know-what-donors-are-doing In trying to improve US foreign aid, Oxfam America believes that we must listen to the people who know aid best: those who receive and deliver aid. No publisher jlee aid reform 2011-09-20T19:11:18Z Research Report Ownership in practice: The key to smart development http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/ownership-in-practice-the-key-to-smart-development Countries should provide foreign aid in ways that strengthen the voice of poor people and the responsiveness of the state. Aid cannot generate enough market access or sufficient growth to tackle a country’s poverty on its own. Nor can it forge a compact between a citizen and her state. But the way that countries deliver foreign aid can strengthen or weaken that compact. At its best, aid strengthens public accountability, complements government revenues in providing public goods, and supports citizen efforts to hold governments accountable.

]]> No publisher chufstader aid reform 2011-07-13T16:54:43Z Research Report Field report from Cambodia http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-cambodia Smart Development in Practice series Oxfam America went to Cambodia to meet those working with US development dollars to understand the impact of those dollars on the ground. In this report, we present reflections from 40 interviews in October 2008 with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) country mission, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), multilateral and bilateral donors, international and Cambodian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), contractors, research institutions, and various community members.

]]> No publisher mborum Cambodia East Asia aid reform 2009-06-24T19:35:11Z Research Report Field Report from Southern Sudan http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-southern-sudan Smart Development in Practice Series To hear field perspectives on US foreign aid, Oxfam America went to southern Sudan. We present here representative perspectives—common themes we heard across interviews. This brief report cannot begin to do justice to the complexities of southern Sudan; it is meant simply to convey views of people working to ensure that US foreign aid does the best possible job of supporting the southern Sudanese.

]]> No publisher mborum Horn of Africa Sudan aid reform 2011-06-29T13:44:59Z Research Report The White Oak Recommendations on Effective Global Development in the US National Interest http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/the-white-oak-recommendations-on-effective-global-development-in-the-us-national-interest On March 20-22nd, 2009, more than 40 senior professionals from the US development, defense, and diplomatic communities gathered at the Howard Gilman foundation's White Oak Conference Center in Florida to discuss how to make US global development efforts more effective, both as an independent goal of US foreign policy and as a means of achieving other defense and diplomatic goals. Following are the broad points of consensus.

]]> No publisher mborum aid reform 2009-06-30T22:22:01Z Research Report Failing the Cardozo test http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/failing-the-cardozo-test Why US foreign assistance legislation needs a fresh start If the US wants to modernize its efforts to foster a more stable, prosperous, and democratic world, it needs new foreign assistance legislation designed to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

This brief looks at how current laws undermine US foreign aid as a strategic tool for fighting poverty today. Drawing from original legal analysis, it argues that foreign aid legislation:

  1. Is too large to be used effectively;
  2. Is broken into too many laws;
  3. Has no clear priorities to guide decision-making;
  4. Is often out of date;
  5. Authorizes different actors to fulfill the same purposes;
  6. Puts the budget process in charge of setting strategic priorities, rather than setting strategic priorities to drive resource decisions.

Oxfam America is calling for ambitious reforms to US foreign assistance—from aid's legislation, strategy, organizational structure, and implementation, to a substantive rethink of development in the field. Our foreign aid should lead global development efforts, it should put developing states and their citizens in the driver’s seat, and it should strive to get as much value as possible for poor people out of every aid dollar.

]]> No publisher mborum aid reform foreign policy politics and government 2010-01-21T16:24:25Z Research Report Field report from Afghanistan http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-afghanistan Smart Development in Practice series This report aims to convey the views of people who have extensive experience with US development aid to Afghanistan. For that purpose, 40 people were interviewed in Kabul in November and December 2008. They included employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), other foreign donors, contractors, consulting companies, and Afghan and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), many of whom have several years of experience working in Afghanistan, as well as Afghan government officials. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who gave up their time for this research.

]]> No publisher mborum Afghanistan Central and South Asia aid reform politics and government 2010-02-22T16:30:57Z Research Report Field Report from Mozambique http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-mozambique Smart Development in Practice Series In this booklet, we share the perspectives on questions regarding aid effectiveness from aid practitioners and intended beneficiaries in Mozambique. This material draws from conversations with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) country mission and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US contractors, government of Mozambique staff, civil society organizations, beneficiaries, and other donors.

]]> No publisher mborum Mozambique Southern Africa aid reform 2009-05-26T18:41:21Z Research Report From Poverty to Power http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/from-poverty-to-power For the US to become a global leader in smart development, it should focus on strengthening responsible and effective states and helping active citizens to foster equitable economic growth through their own efforts. From Poverty to Power, published by Oxfam International in 2008, contributes to an urgent and fast-changing debate about development. Its analysis draws on the experience of Oxfam and the organizations it supports in more than 100 countries around the world, and on extensive discussions with numerous development professionals.

From Poverty to Power sets out a vision of women and men in communities everywhere who are equipped with education, enjoy good health, have rights, dignity, and voice—and are in charge of their own destinies.

What is required to achieve that vision is nothing less than a global new deal: a redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets. Oxfam's experience shows that the necessary redistribution can best be accomplished through a combination of active citizens and effective nation states.

This need is particularly relevant to Oxfam's aid reform initiative. Well-designed aid programs complement and support national and community development efforts, strengthening both active citizens and effective states. In contrast, poorly designed aid competes with states and citizens or even undermines them. For the US to become a global leader in smart development, it should focus on strengthening responsible and effective states and helping active citizens to foster equitable economic growth through their own efforts.

To learn more about this publication, as well as how to obtain your copy, visit FP2P.org.

]]> No publisher mborum 2009-06-30T21:42:38Z Research Report Field Report from El Salvador http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/field-report-from-el-salvador Smart Development in Practice Series In this booklet, we share the perspectives on questions regarding aid effectiveness from aid practitioners and intended beneficiaries in El Salvador. This material draws from conversations with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) country mission and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US contractors, government of El Salvador staff, civil society organizations, beneficiaries, and other donors.

]]> No publisher mborum Central America El Salvador aid reform 2009-05-26T18:46:29Z Research Report Perceptions of Poverty from the "Poor," Conceptions of Poverty from the "Poor" http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/perceptions-of-poverty-from-the-poor-conceptions-of-poverty-from-the-poor This executive summary presents the broader lessons from APPPA's findings and documents a sample of the vast selection of personal understandings of poverty from people living in Afghanistan. By providing these first-hand perspectives, the APPPA aims to contribute to increasingly relevant, effective poverty reduction projects. With support from Oxfam and a number of other organizations, the Afghanistan Pilot Project Poverty Assessment (APPPA) aimed to collect and document the perspectives of the "poor"—in relation to poverty—for the formulation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. The APPPA also aimed to disseminate and advocate the "voices of the poor" more broadly throughout the development community in Afghanistan.

This executive summary presents the broader lessons from APPPA's findings and documents a sample of the vast selection of personal understandings of poverty from people living in Afghanistan. By providing these first-hand perspectives, the APPPA aims to contribute to increasingly relevant, effective poverty reduction projects.

]]> No publisher mborum 2009-06-30T21:43:58Z Research Report