The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency of the United States (U.S.) federal government, has the primary responsibility of development assistance and administration of civilian foreign aid. The agency was formed in 1961 through the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and led to combining the previously existing similar organizations into one (Ramirez, 2016). The formation of USAID was premised on previous needs of rebuilding infrastructure, creating stability, and strengthening economies after World War II through the previously existent Marshall Plan. The USAID covers over 100 nations and with common goals of promoting the interests of the U.S., especially in expanding democracy, recovery from disasters, improvements of lives and livelihoods, and extending a helping hand. The USAID agency plays a crucial role in charting the foreign policy of the U.S. to the rest of the world (Restivo et al., 2018). Today, USAID supports its partners into becoming independent through self-reliance and for the nations to chart their development journeys. The agency achieves this by focusing on reducing conflict reach, prevention of pandemics, impeding violence triggers, countering instability, fighting transnational crime, and thwarting security threats. The agency promotes the American people's prosperity by investing in market expansions for U.S. exports, creating a level playing field for business in the country, and supporting the democracy, resilience, and stability of democratic societies. Furthermore, the agency engages in disaster prevention and mitigation activities to be a top organization when it comes to humanitarian assistance.
Mission
According to USAID (2018), USAID promotes and demonstrates democratic values abroad and advances a peaceful, free and prosperous world by acting on behalf of the American people. The agency supports America's foreign policy by leading the U.S. Government in international development and disaster assistance by fostering partnerships and investments which save lives, alleviate poverty, fortify democratic governance, and assist people who arise from humanitarian crises and advance beyond assistance.
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Goals and Objectives
The USAID engages in helping to lift people's lives, building communities, and advancing democracy. The agency's work revolves around the advancement of national security and economic prosperity, demonstration of American generosity, and promotion of self-resilience and reliance (Chetwynd Jr, 2018). The USAID has several goals and objectives that include:
To enhance global health inclusive of maternal, reproductive and child health and reduce disease and abortion, focusing on reducing malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.
To reduce poverty
To strengthen democratic governance
To strengthen partner country capacity in the enhancement of efficiency of aid.
To promote efficient use of resources.
To advance the national security and economic prosperity of U.S.
To demonstrate American generosity.
To promote the world's path to self-reliance and resilience.
To advance democracy, peace, and governance.
To increase global stability by addressing the root causes of violence.
To open new markets and generate trade opportunities.
To solve challenges of unsolvable development.
Functions of the USAID Agency
The USAID has several functions that include:
Promoting stability and peace through fostering economic growth.
Protection of human health.
Provision of international humanitarian assistance.
Enhancing the democracy of developing countries.
Current Events
Like any other agency, USAID has appeared in the news for both good and bad reasons. Recently the USAID has been cited as having struck deals with blacklisted firms (Zirack, 2021). Two countries from sub-Saharan Africa have particularly put the agency on the spot for contracting a blacklisted firm to distribute HIV and tuberculosis drugs. The blacklisted firm mentioned is Chemonics International which is said to have been blacklisted for financial fraud. In other news, USAID, on 1st April 2021, launched new regional water and environmental activity in Kazakhstan, expected to be a five-year project (McLaughlin, 2021). The project's goal is to foster regional cooperation among the five nations of Afghanistan and Central Asia in the management of shared water resources and mitigation of environmental risks in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins.
Rationale
The rationale for selecting USAID as the agency for in-depth analysis of its planning, design, decision-making, and implementation and for making recommendations lies in its core reasons of existence. First, the agency positively influences the United States and the whole world through its key objectives of creating communities that have sustainability and fostering compassion among its people. Secondly, the focus of the agency's activities, USAID, transcends all the basic circles of humanity, which reflects the importance of considering key human developments. USAID epitomizes the U.S.'s recognition for the role of prosperity and security is dependent on its mechanisms of addressing challenges of poverty, diseases, disasters, and famine around the world (Carpenter, 2020). The understanding that any adversity that affects other nations affects the United States as much as what happens within the country makes it an ideal agency to analyze. The agency, USAID, also plays a crucial role in promoting U.S. interests, both national and interaction, through technology, innovation, and science to resolve global challenges. Its focus on the issues of prosperity and security are fundamental goals of humanity, making it an exciting agency to analyze since the rest of human objectives depend on how secure and prosperous they are in their endeavors.
The USAID focuses on solving global challenges using cutting-edge science, technology, and innovative solutions, reflecting the current outlook of the world's progress. In the current digital edge, it is imperative to consider problems and decipher solutions relevant to solving today's challenges (Zirack, 2021). The agency is fascinating to analyze as it touches on private and public sectors, a reflection at the most significant scale of impact. The agency provides objective guides on priority areas that need improvement through the combination and leveraging of comprehensive partnerships, reflecting the role of comprehensive approaches in solving global issues. The impacts reach and focus of the USAID agency in promoting peace, protecting human health, fostering economic stability, and emergency humanitarian assistance makes it ideal for analysis (Minasyan, 2018).
Analysis of USAID
Week 4: Agency Analysis
| Student’s Name | Section | ||
| Agency | USAID | Department | Operations |
| Person(s) Interviewed |
Respondent 1 Respondent 2 |
Medium | |
| Interviewees’ Position |
Respondent 1:Counselor Respondent 2: Assistant Administrator |
Dates of Interview |
| Area | |
| History |
What were some of the primary goals of establishing USAID? Response 1: The formation of USAID as an agency was to promote human progress through implementing the foreign policy of United States across the world. The agency foresaw globalization in the pipeline and wanted to position the U.S in a strategic way to leverage the benefits of such globalization. Response 2: The USAID was formed to help in demonstrating to the world the generosity of the Americans, to forge excellent relations with global trade partners, to support stability and create goodwill abroad. What can you say are the major developmental milestones the agency has achieved over the years? Response 1: The USAID has succeeded in stamping its authority in over 100 countries globally since it started in 1961 from the initial one country. The agency has also succeeded in dealing with disasters such as HIV/AIDs pandemic, and helping victims of war crimes apart from helping people who have suffered natural disasters such as tsunami. Response 2: USAID is now a household name on a global scale and almost everyone known for its impact in causing stability, promoting peace and enhancing foreign relations. |
| Organizational Design |
Who are the key decision makers in USAID and how does the leadership structure look like? Response 1: The decision making of USAID is majorly by the agency leadership but significantly relies on the input of over 4000 partner organizations and leaders of over 100 nations that partner with agency. Response 2: The leadership structure is primarily designed per sector supported besides the standard leaders of any international agency. The funding organizations and individuals including nations provide their input on the changes they would like to see implemented and then the leadership of the agency together with the board makes the decisions. When it comes to major policy decisions, who are primarily involved? The major policy decisions are made by the USAID board. |
| Organizational Design’s Effects |
How does the agency’s organizational design affect its average employees, either negative or positive? How does the design affect the primary recipients of the USAID services? |
| Challenges and Successes |
Does the agency face any challenges in decision making, design of the organization and implementation? What can say are the successes of the agency and areas of decision-making, organizational design and implementation that need improvement? |
| Future Plans |
What are the agencies future plans in terms of its design, implementation and decision-making? How could these new plans affect the agency’s operations and the recipients of its services? |
| Recommendations | What changes do you recommend that can help USAID enhance their decision-making, implementation, planning or organization? |
Week 6: USAID Agency Evaluation
| Student’s Name | Section | ||
| Agency | USAID | Department | International Relations |
| Person(s) Interviewed |
Respondent 3 Respondent 4 |
Medium | |
| Interviewee’s Position |
Respondent 3: International relations officer Respondent 4: Representative sub-Saharan Africa |
Dates of Interview |
| Area | |
| Political Factors |
How do the changes in the political landscape such as changes in political competency, appointments and policy making process affect the agency? Could you kindly explain any general and specific impacts of the political factors? |
| Judicial/Legal Factors | How do the judicial factors such as the changes in the legislation oversight, strategies, the legislation connection, administration law and stakeholders impact the USAID agency? |
| Leadership | How do the USAID internal agency leaders and or the political leaders influence the agency? |
| Future Plans |
What plans does the USAID have in terms of its future plans for cooperation, its legal decisions and leadership? How will they affect the operation of USAID operations and the primary recipients of its services? |
| Recommendations | What are some of the changes you think could help to improve USAID’s in terms of its cooperation, legal decisions and leadership? |
Week 8: USAID HRM
| Student’s Name | Section | ||
| Agency | USAID | Department | |
| Person(s) Interviewed |
Respondent 5 Respondent 6 |
Medium | |
| Interviewee’s Position |
Respondent 5: Human Resource Manager Respondent 6: regional Manager People Operations |
Dates of Interview |
| Area | |
| Human resources Management | What Human resource system, methods and process are effective in managing the human capital in the public sector? |
| Employee Relations/Conditions | What could you say is trending in the areas of unions and collective bargaining, keeping an effective workforce, the federal laws on discrimination, political rights and sexual harassment? |
| Future Plans | What are the future plans of USAID when it comes to management of human resources? How could these plans affect the primary recipients of USAID services or the operations of the agency? |
| Recommendations | What recommendations do you have that could help in enhancing the areas of human resource management? |
Week 10: USAID Budgeting
| Student’s Name | Section | ||
| Agency | USAID | Department | General Management |
| Person(s) Interviewed |
Respondent 7 Respondent 8 |
Medium | |
| Interviewee’s Position |
Respondent 7: USAID country manager Respondent 8:Information Officer |
Dates of Interview |
| Area | |
| Budgeting Overview |
What are the components of effective budgeting that USAID uses? What are the purposes of budgeting, revenue sources, and challenges that are an outcome of the current economic downturn? |
| Political Influences | What are some of the primary political influences on and primary accountability areas are a prerequisite for program administrators? |
| Differences in Planned and Actual | Could explain to me any differences in the USAID’s planned budget for 2020 and its actual budget? |
| Future Plans | What are the future plans of the USAID agency in terms of its budgeting and how could these plans affect its operations or the primary recipients of the USAID programs? |
| Recommendations | Do you have any recommendations that could help USAID in its budgeting, revenue sources and efficacies? |
References
Carpenter, C. L. (2020). USAID’S Assured Assistance: USAID’s Humanitarian Aid in Latin America and the Caribbean 2001-2019. Revista Internacional de Cooperación y Desarrollo, 2(7) , 163-176.https://doi.org/10.21500/23825014.4689.
Chetwynd Jr, E. (2018). Pioneering an International Urban Development Program–A Frontline Snapshot of USAID History. American Diplomacy , 1-3.
McLaughlin, P. J. (2021). Summarizing What We Now Know, and Still Need to Know, about What Explains and Helps Define the Success, or Lack Thereof, That They Achieved. Expatriate Leaders of International Development Projects.Emerald Publishing Limited , 125-140.https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-630-320211006.
Minasyan, A. (2018). US aid, US educated leaders and economic ideology. European Journal of Political Economy, 55 , 244-257.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2018.01.001.
Ramirez, D. R. (2016). National and international development dynamics-a synthesis of development efforts across the USDA and the USAID. Western Illinois University.
Restivo, M., Shandra, J. M., & Sommer, J. M. (2018). The United States Agency for International Development and forest loss: A cross-national analysis of environmental aid. The Social Science Journal, 55(2) , 171-181.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2017.09.001.
USAID. (2018, February 16). Mission, Vision and Values . Retrieved April 9, 2021, from USAID: https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/mission-vision-values
Zirack, L. (2021). The impact of usaid-funded projects on women empowerment in Kandahar. Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research (AJMR), 10(2) , 1-10.http://dx.doi.org/10.5958/2278-4853.2021.00045.8.
