Your Weekend Reading: New Report on Aid Reform in the FY2012 Budget

Those of us in the District have a very soggy weekend ahead so what better way to fill it than with new analysis from the Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance program?  This week, Connie Veillette released The Future of U.S. Aid Reform: Rhetoric, Reality, and Recommendations.  This new report examines how well principles in the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development and the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review are reflected in the president’s FY2012 budget request.  The analysis gauges the administration’s progress on seven elements of reform (via handy graphics).Note: Progress is measured by a green light if the administration is on the path to full implementation, a yellow light if progress is modest, or a red light if there has been little or no progress. These assessments of progress are subjective in nature, but the indicators logically follow from the reform element, and are generally accepted measures.Veillette situates PPD and QDDR implementation within the context of the current budget debate and makes recommendations to improve each element.  The bottom line: shrinking budgets need not mean the end of reform, but may present an opportunity to re-examine the whys and wherefores of U.S. aid and to reorient policies and programs for greater effectiveness.And if it's still raining, you might want to check out new CGD analysis on how CERP could be improved in Afghanistan or an updated report on the MDG Progress Index.