PIA 2096/2490

PIA 2096/2490

Foreign Aid Capstone and Topics Course

Foreign Aid

Dealing with Donors and Coping with Complexity

The Problem

Program Managers have to work with the international Donor system

The Rodney Dangerfield syndrome

Donors and program management

A weak and unstable LDC bureaucracy time and time again would come up against the donor community’s massive pool of well qualified people and complicated bureaucratic process

Donor Priorities

Particularly during the cold war, corrupt countries often seem to receive the lion’s share of foreign aid.

Donor Client relationships part of Dependency patterms

Program Managers

Recipients often cannot say no to aid even when the recurrent maintenance revenue requirements cannot be met.

Foreign aid failure rates are disturbing.

Recipients need to say no.

The Foreign Aid Apparatus

Foreign aid created two new kinds of professionals, a donor official and a recipient program manager

Dealing with Donors

1. Understand the Donor Language

2. Understand the Donor’s Documents

3. Understand the Donor’s Rules4. Understand soft as well as

hard donors5. Understand the Sustainability

Problem

Coping with Expatriates

Understand the internal Organizational Imperative

Be Aggressive and a “Hard” Recipient

Understand hidden agendas, Italian Computers, Danish Bacon

Qualifications in Mali

The project was designed to assist poor villages excluded most of the villages in Mali. When he asked how many micro-credit loans were available in one Mali village, the response was “None, the village does not qualify.”

In order to qualify for the credit, villages had to have village associations. Only the better off villages, he added, had village associations.

The lesson to be learned from this is that foreign aid often does not assist the poorest of the poor and sometimes makes matters worse for them.

Reference

John Madeley, When Aid is No Help: How Projects Fail and How They Could Succed (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1991).

Foreign Aid

The People: 3,700

1. Foreign Service Officer

2. Civil Service Officer

3. Personal Services Contract

The People: Tens of Thousands

1. Project Coordinator2. Team Leader3. Contractor4. Grantee/Sub-Grantee5. Home Office Backup6. TDY- in the Field

The Complicated World of the Federal Government

Goal: Hide or avoid restrictions on Personnel Ceilings

Examine Interagency transfer as an example

The Spirit and Intent of RSSAs and PASAs

Within a USDA/USAID Partnership

Transfers can exist throughout the Federal Government

Historical Perspective

USDA and President Truman’s “Point Four” Program administered the agricultural

training and technical assistance programs

1950, Technical Cooperation Administration (TCA) created Predecessor to USAID


1955, International Cooperation Administration (ICA)

All foreign economic development efforts were consolidated

USDA expertise and institutional resources were still critically needed

As a result, ICA and USDA drew up a major agreement to facilitate cooperation in technical assistance, training, and information dissemination


Passage of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the creation of USAID

A new General Agreement in 1966 laid the framework for cooperative relationships


USAID recognized "…the unique personnel resources, capabilities and experience of the Department”

sought to use this expertise through cooperation

USDA recognized "...its responsibility, within its authority, to contribute toward U.S. foreign policy by participation in foreign assistance programs"


General Agreement between USDA and USAID Based on the premise of a

partnership between USDA and USAID

emphasis on joint planning, coordination and consultation

The Agreement

The agreement is not like a contract

establishes operational guidelines and a spirit of cooperation to link the institutional resources of two government agencies in accomplishing U.S. foreign assistance goals


General Agreement between USDA and USAID

Agreement affirmed new partnership mechanisms to access USDA expertise:

Participating Agency Service Agreements (PASAs)

Resources Support Services Agreements (RSSAs)

Authorizations for PASAs and RSSAs

Sections 621(a) and 632(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act, 1961

Enables USAID officers to secure "technical assistance...in the field of education, health, housing, or agriculture..." by utilizing "…to the fullest extent practicable, the facilities and resources of the Federal agency or agencies with primary responsibilities for domestic programs in such fields..."


Amendment to Section 621of the Foreign Assistance Act Participating Agency resources

must be particularly or uniquely suitable for technical assistance;

Are not competitive with private enterprise; and

Can be made available without interfering with domestic programs


Economy Act Requires both the Secretary of

Agriculture to certify that assisting USAID is in the best interest of the Government and USAID's Administrator to ascertain that "…the ordered goods or services cannot be provided as conveniently or as cheaply by a commercial enterprise."


Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-76

USAID can enter into PASAs or RSSAs with USDA only if the following conditions are met:

RSSAs and PASAs

USDA resources and expertise are used for technical assistance;

USDA can provide technical assistance better than USAID, the private sector or another Federal agency

USDA has a formal program for managing excess personnel capacity that allows staff to provide assistance under RSSAs and PASAs; and

USDA services are not competitive with private enterprise.


Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-76

Before a RSSA or PASA can be approved and issued, a detailed justification must be provided on USDA's unique suitability, and all other A-76 requirements must be met

“Spirit and Intent” & Responsibilities in Implementing PASAs and RSSAs

USAID’s Handbook 12

Defines PASAs as agreements with other Federal agencies for specific services or support tied to a specific project goal and performed within a definite time frame


PASAs

Normally issued by Missions for support outside the U.S., but can be used to carry out a specific goal or goals of an AID/W project

Effectively the two terms have become interchangeable


RSSAs

Agreements funded in AID/W for continuing general support assistance, usually provided in an AID/W office, and have no specific, readily measurable goals to be accomplished within a set time period

In the 1990's, most USDA/USAID agreements have been RSSAs


Intent and Spirit of PASAs and RSSAs

Strengthen the partnership between USAID and USDA by fully utilizing Departmental competence, resources and experience and exchanging critical information and knowledge to benefit both agencies


Staff Responsibilities RSSA and PASA staff should have a

clear understanding of USDA's unique capabilities as the world's largest source of technical expertise n agriculture, natural resources management, and related areas

RSSA staff should cooperate and interact with USDA agency employees having mutual interests whenever possible


Staff Responsibilities

Sharing RSSA knowledge with Departmental officials can positively impact U.S. agriculture and USDA goals

can ultimately advance development efforts

RSSA Human Resources

USDA hiring for RSSA positions: Recruits from Departmental

agencies and land-grant university network first, drawing on its unique pool of expert resources nationwide

When USDA makes decision, USAID is asked to concur

RSSA Human Resources

USDA hiring for RSSA positions:

Once appointed, RSSA employees receive technical advice and guidance from their USAID Project Officer, but their official supervisor is at USDA

Human Resources

RSSA performance appraisals are determined by the USDA supervisor

With input from USAID Project Officer

RSSA employees' annual work plans should also be developed consistent with USDA policies and objectives

In Summary

Through collaboration and cooperation, benefits will continue for U.S. foreign assistance as information and knowledge flows from USDA to USAID Equally important - benefits will

flow from USAID to the Department

In Summary

RSSA employees play a crucial role in facilitating this exchange and are key to sustaining the long-standing partnership between the two agencies

PIA 2096/2490

Documents

Transcript of PIA 2096/2490