Project Resource Optimization (PRO)

Analysis of High-Impact, Cost-Effective Programs Affected by USAID Cuts

About the Project

Given the scale of recent cuts to USAID, it can be difficult for private donors to know how to fill the most urgent gaps. Hosted by CGD, PRO is an independent initiative using rigorous analysis, deep expertise, and robust networks to identify highly cost-effective funding opportunities across USAID's cancelled or paused grants.

With the termination of USAID-funded work, thousands of life-saving aid programs have lost tens of billions of dollars in funding. PRO is a time-limited, independent initiative hosted by CGD to identify and share a living database of high-impact, cost-effective, and mid-implementation aid projects. Drawing on publicly available information, the database and approach are public goods which donors can use to inform their funding decisions.

Led by economists and cost-effectiveness experts with experience at leading humanitarian and development organizations, PRO identifies lists of critical funding opportunities. By asking targeted questions of top experts in the fields of health and humanitarian foreign aid, PRO’s transparent assessment is intended to help donors quickly and confidently make decisions.

PRO’s project list and customized menus are regularly updated living databases. For more information on the PRO approach, see the methods note.

Methodology image for the PRO project's selection process

Visit the PRO Impact site

Image credit for social media/web: David Uttley / World Relief

Blogs

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The High Cost of Pausing Life-Saving Aid

Rob Rogers et al.

When the US froze foreign assistance in early 2025, it halted scores of USAID-supported programs that were saving lives. Project R...
Racing to Preserve Life-saving USAID Programs with the PRO Team

Erin Collinson

After a large share of USAID's work was terminated, a small cadre of development experts created Project Resource Optimization, or...
Building the Future of Aid—Starting Now: Strategic Lessons from a Crisis

Rob Rosenbaum et al.

Despite what administration officials have claimed about preserving life-saving work, many of the programs delivering intervention...

Recent work

With $48M in philanthropic backing, a division of USAID relaunches as a nonprofit

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in an Associated Press exclusive article about the initiative's origins and successes. ...
A new model for foreign aid?

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in a Lancet Infectious Diseases article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 millio...
Private donors raise more than $125M to fund aid programs after U.S. cuts

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in a PBS News article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 million in eight months....
Donors Gave $125 Million for Foreign Aid After U.S. Cuts

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in Chronicle of Philanthropy in an article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 mil...
Private donors gave more than $125M to keep foreign aid programs going after US cuts

Check out The PRO initiative, as featured in the Washington Post in an article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 million i...
Private donors gave more than $125M to keep foreign aid programs going after US cuts

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in an ABC News article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 million in eight months...
With $125 million, private funders fill critical USAID program gaps

Check out the PRO initiative, as featured in a Philanthropy News Digest article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 million ...
Check out The PRO initiative, as featured in an Associated Press article about the initiative mobilizing over $125 million in eigh...
Devex Newswire: Trump’s team bars health NGO from UNGA side event

Check out the PRO (Project Resource Optimization) initiative, as featured in Devex in a piece about former USAID staffers raising ...
‘We called ourselves the lifeboat crew’: how fired USAID workers launched a rescue project ‘to save as many babies as we can’

Check out The PRO (Project Resource Optimization) initiative's success in securing funding for almost 80 programs slashed by USAID...
PRO Initiative Reaches Funding Milestone for about 80 Projects and $110M raised, Calls on Donors to Expand Life-Saving Impact

The most critical projects identified by the Project Resource Optimization (PRO) Initiative have reached their initial funding goa...
How Donors Can Maximize Impact Following USAID Cuts: The PRO Initiative

Robert Rosenbaum of the PRO team wrote an op-ed for Inside Philanthropy on how donors are reacting to the new aid landscape.
All Things Considered: The PRO Initiative

NPR's All Things Considered profiled the PRO initiative's work to find funders for life-saving projects.
Project Resource Optimization: Search & Assessment Methodology

This note documents the process and explains how the PRO “First Cut” and “Urgent and Vetted List” were developed.
NPR: A Matchmaking Service With a Twist: Connecting Big Givers to Programs Cut by USAID

NPR's Goats and Soda explored the work of the PRO initiative.

Contact

Caitlin Tulloch, [email protected]

Contact

Caitlin Tulloch, [email protected]

Acknowledgments

Caitlin Tulloch

Caitlin is a recognized expert in cost-effectiveness analysis and evidence-based policy, with a proven track record in leading research and shaping program strategies in humanitarian and development sectors. She most recently served as Deputy Office Director and Team Lead for Evidence Use at USAID. More...

Rob Rosenbaum

Rob has spent his career at the intersection of social innovation and rigorous evidence generation, primarily in the fields of global health and international development. Most recently, he was part of USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) team. More...

Cindy Huang

Cindy is a part-time senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. She has over 20 years of experience leading humanitarian and global development efforts across government and non-profit sectors. More...

Caitlin Tulloch

Caitlin is a recognized expert in cost-effectiveness analysis and evidence-based policy, with a proven track record in leading research and shaping program strategies in humanitarian and development sectors. She most recently served as Deputy Office Director and Team Lead for Evidence Use at USAID. More...
Rob Rosenbaum

Rob has spent his career at the intersection of social innovation and rigorous evidence generation, primarily in the fields of global health and international development. Most recently, he was part of USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) team. More...
Cindy Huang

Cindy is a part-time senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. She has over 20 years of experience leading humanitarian and global development efforts across government and non-profit sectors. More...

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