{ "id": "R45779", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45779", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, CRSReports.Congress.gov", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 600761, "date": "2019-06-20", "retrieved": "2019-07-02T22:12:59.042584", "title": "Transformation at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)", "summary": "The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has initiated a series of major internal reforms, branded as Transformation at USAID. The reforms are largely in response to Trump Administration directives aimed at making federal agencies more efficient, effective, and accountable. Most of the reforms proposed under this initiative do not involve statutory reorganization, but USAID Administrator Mark Green has sought congressional input as the reform process is developed and launched, especially in the area of changes to USAID organizational structure. Congress has the power to shape USAID reforms through oversight activities, and through funding requirements and restrictions.\nSome of these proposed reforms are consistent with efforts by past USAID Administrators and do not represent major changes of course for USAID. At the same time, USAID policy documents signal a consistent emphasis on \u201cending the need for foreign assistance\u201d by supporting partner countries\u2019 \u201cjourney to self-reliance.\u201d This report highlights reforms that represent new or enhanced approaches to achieving longstanding objectives, including the following:\nProcess and policy reforms focused on promoting and measuring partner country progress toward economic self-reliance, engaging the private sector in international development, and reforming procurement practices to better support these broader goals.\nOrganizational structure reforms intended to enhance the agency\u2019s leadership structure, improve the efficiency of humanitarian assistance programming, and consolidate technically specialized offices within the agency. \nWorkforce management reforms, including the creation of a new noncareer hiring mechanism.\nThe figure below depicts the timing of key events of Transformation implementation to date.\nFigure 1.Key Elements of Transformation at USAID \n/\nSource: Created by CRS using various Administration documents.\nNote: OMB = Office of Management and Budget.\nCongress may view USAID\u2019s reform initiatives through longstanding areas of interest and policy questions, including\nthe relationship between the \u201cjourney to self-reliance\u201d and broader U.S. foreign policy concerns, including great power competition;\nthe consistency of the \u201cself-reliance\u201d goal with foreign assistance priorities identified by Congress in annual appropriations legislation;\npotential impacts of significant USAID funding cuts repeatedly proposed by the Trump Administration;\npotential impacts of proposed new Senate-confirmed management positions on agency operations;\nimplications of replacing existing strategies, indicators, and mechanisms with new strategies, indicators, and mechanisms proposed in the Transformation initiative; \nthe means for prioritizing goals identified in the new USAID Policy Framework and initiatives such as Prosper Africa, which do not seem appear to fall under the Transformation umbrella; \nalignment of USAID policies and foreign assistance indicators with those of other U.S. agencies funding and implementing assistance, including the State Department and the Millennium Challenge Corporation; and\nthe effect on food assistance funded by Congress through multiple channels, including the Food for Peace account, of the proposed bureau restructuring and consolidation of the Offices of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance and Food for Peace.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45779", "sha1": "0db7e190b3f3362d82154fcac3b30741189cc1c7", "filename": "files/20190620_R45779_0db7e190b3f3362d82154fcac3b30741189cc1c7.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45779_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190620_R45779_images_40faacfe2157e573b1d3e08e01d740824d7d99fd.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45779_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190620_R45779_images_2713adaf9da0e2ed19891e1dc6eafbf46b3c6980.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45779_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190620_R45779_images_247bab532b2b4eb2450b45404362e84bfaa3c3e5.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45779_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190620_R45779_images_d7b1ac9ace96cacae6bfb944384db69a151ad2f0.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45779", "sha1": "0fb9a55d0d2749890138116e206334b91cc6f3a0", "filename": "files/20190620_R45779_0fb9a55d0d2749890138116e206334b91cc6f3a0.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4757, "name": "Foreign Assistance" } ] }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Transformation at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)", "retrieved": "2020-09-05T09:14:33.967304", "id": "R45779_1_2019-06-19", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2019-06-19_R45779_55bb496216ca7eba6cba2fa23d8450f10a889ffe.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45779/1", "sha1": "55bb496216ca7eba6cba2fa23d8450f10a889ffe" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2019-06-19_R45779_55bb496216ca7eba6cba2fa23d8450f10a889ffe.html" } ], "date": "2019-06-19", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45779", "type": "CRS Report" } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Foreign Affairs" ] }