Alignment is not subordination: Making foreign assistance consolidation work

In this Policy Commentary article for the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, Pact President & CEO Dennis Vega explores critical questions about the consolidation of USAID and U.S. foreign assistance into the State Department.

Vega writes that as U.S. foreign assistance is consolidated into the State Department, we must ensure that this new structure strengthens global development. He argues that a critical productive tension that existed between the State Department and USAID under the prior system is now at risk. 

The costliest foreign assistance failures of the last two decades, from the forever wars to the migration crisis, cut across both parties and stemmed from political urgency overriding development discipline. Even absent political crises, diplomatic culture tends by default toward bilateral relationship preservation. USAID’s institutional independence created a counterweight that must be preserved.

Vega writes that we still have an opportunity to ensure that consolidation works, and he outlines four key priorities:

• Keep development at the decision-making table.
• Recognize that development works differently, with different timelines, expertise, and measures of success that require distinct structures and incentives.
• Prioritize long-term accountability, with success measured by durable impact, not short-term political wins.
• Preserve hard-won institutional knowledge, as USAID’s trusted relationships and local insight cannot be easily rebuilt once lost.