Global Development Council Report: Beyond Business as Usual

The report asserts that accelerating U.S. efforts to establish an effective, integrated, and up-to-date architecture for development assistance can significantly advance the global aspiration to end extreme poverty within a generation. The report highlights the importance of catalytic U.S. leadership in helping millions of poor women, men, children, and traditionally marginalized communities achieve brighter futures. The global development landscape has undergone significant changes over the last two decades, with private capital flows and transfers from other developing countries now dwarfing Official Development Assistance. More than 40 percent of the world's poorest people reside in fragile and conflict-affected states, and more countries have achieved middle-income status and become donors while still harboring pockets of poverty and deprivation. The report emphasizes that effective development ultimately hinges on the actions and accountability of developing countries themselves. The report identifies four key areas that cut across all development sectors, which are critical in helping achieve signature objectives like eliminating extreme poverty and the new Power Africa initiative. These areas include harnessing the private sector, innovation, transparency, and evidence-based policy, climate-smart food security, and U.S. global leadership. The report suggests that embracing these suggestions will be crucial in helping achieve inclusive growth and highlights where new approaches can have the greatest impact. Harnessing the private sector is a key area of focus, with the report emphasizing the need to modernize the array of instruments and operating authorities related to development finance. The report proposes the creation of a U.S. Development Finance Bank, which would combine many existing authorities from across disparate agencies and allow for a far more logical, coherent, and consistent discussion of how best to incorporate private sources of capital, infrastructure, and technology as a means to leverage government investments. The report also highlights the importance of taking advantage of emerging finance tools, such as social impact funds and blended capital models, which can help support vital solutions in a range of areas. Innovation, transparency, and evidence-based policy are also critical areas of focus, with the report emphasizing the need for a shift in mindset to maximize the benefits of technology and policy innovations. The report suggests that realigning incentives to foster experimentation and innovation can produce groundbreaking results and achieve lasting development impact. The report also highlights the importance of focusing on impact, encouraging continued innovation, and spending on what works. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for the U.S. Government to adapt to changing contexts and work more flexibly and transparently with a wider array of partners to reach traditionally underserved populations. The report suggests that by harnessing the private sector, innovation, transparency, and evidence-based policy, climate-smart food security, and U.S. global leadership, the United States can make greater contributions to global development that will benefit the American people and shape a more just and equitable world.