Development-community leaders are gearing up for the release
of the first peek at the State Department's overall policy review, amassing
their forces in case the news is not of their liking.
The interim report for State's first-ever Quadrennial
Diplomacy and Development Review has been delayed a few times, but now outside
observers are being told the release is imminent. They are also being told to
brace for some bad news (or at leas what they would consider bad news) about
the direction the review is headed in terms of development organization and
policy.
"We should prepare for the fact that we won't like some
aspects of the report," read an email sent out by an umbrella group that is
helping to coordinate the community in its dealings with State. "I don't know
what those parts will be, but this underscores the need for us to organize our
response in a timely manner."
The development community's main concerns include whether or
not the U.S. Agency for International Development will have its policy planning
staff and budget control restored, what the review will say about the future of
USAID contracting, and what the announced "integration" of the diplomacy and
development missions will mean in practice.
It's not clear that the interim report will tackle all of
these issues, but the policy-planning staff is already being reconstructed and
our sources say that control of the budget will probably stay with Deputy
Secretary Jack Lew.
What we are hearing about the interim report is that is that
it will explain the broader issues in question without
getting into actual recommendations. It will also explain the narrower focus of
the second phase, after which "actionable" recommendations will be announced.
The schedule is to release the full draft report in late summer
and the final report in September, according to the email.
Read More
(2)
HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE