President’s Global Development Council Progress to Date and the Way Forward

The council's report highlights the need to adapt the framework of U.S. development assistance to a rapidly evolving global reality, characterized by complex challenges such as rapid urbanization, climate change, and the spread of infectious disease. The report emphasizes the importance of leveraging data, focusing on outcomes, and promoting local ownership of programs and mobilization of domestic resources. It also commends President Barack Obama for his commitment to end extreme poverty within a generation, recognizing this as an investment in the country's own future prosperity. The council has seen significant evolution in the way the United States thinks about its development assistance work, with approaches that are more data-driven, innovative, and open to partnership. The financial context of global development is also evolving, with private financial flows and transfers from other developing countries now dwarfing Official Development Assistance from traditional OECD donors. Developing countries are drawing more resources from their own wealth and taxpayers, and development ultimately hinges on the actions and accountability of these countries themselves. The report highlights the importance of transparency and accountability for both donors and recipients. The United States remains a crucial player in development efforts, and for its efforts to be fully effective, it will need to move beyond traditional definitions of aid to incorporate interlocking elements such as diplomacy, tax and investment policy, information, innovation, risk mitigation, behavioral science, and sound approaches to security. The report also notes that U.S. trade policies, agricultural subsidies, tax laws, and patterns of energy use can have a significant impact on global development. The council has made several recommendations for development policy, including galvanizing the private sector for development, strengthening OPIC, embracing social impact investing, establishing a one-stop shop for private sector engagement, and taking advantage of emerging finance tools. While progress has been made in some areas, such as the administration's support for OPIC's reauthorization and expansion of its administrative budget, other recommendations remain unimplemented. The council's report provides a comprehensive overview of the current context for development and the progress made toward previous recommendations. It highlights the need for the U.S. government to continue evolving and adapting to the changing landscape of global development, leveraging new tools and approaches to achieve greater impact and effectiveness.