Aid Effectiveness

Much of the discussion on development is about foreign aid. Quality of aid, however, is every bit as important as quantity. CGD senior fellow Steve Radelet leads the Center’s analysis of current foreign development assistance programs and proposals for innovation in aid delivery.

Specific work includes:

• Research and outreach on U.S. foreign assistance reform through the Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance initiative
• Monitoring the activities of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) through CGD's MCA Monitor initiative
• Comparative analysis of the three largest donor responses to the AIDS, TB and malaria epidemics: the Global Fund, the World Bank, and the U.S. President’s Emergency Program For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the HIV/AIDS Monitor initiative
• Designing a pilot for “cash on delivery” aid to support developing countries’ own activities and policies to expand access to quality education or other services
• Research on improving the effectiveness of health aid through CGD’s Global Health Policy Research Network, including an initiative to close the “evaluation gap” and a major study of what has worked in health aid, Millions Saved
• Research on how to make aid work in fragile states through the Engaging Fragile States project
• Work to assess the contributions of rich countries. This includes a new tool to assess and compare bilateral and multilateral donors on the quality of aid. In addition, the aid component of CGD’s Commitment to Development Index includes indicators for both the quantity and quality of aid.