Congressional Research Service. February 13, 2013.
In most cases, the success or failure of U.S. foreign aid programs is not entirely clear, in part because historically, most aid programs have not been evaluated for the purpose of determining their actual impact. The purpose and methodologies of foreign aid evaluation have varied over the decades, responding to political and fiscal circumstances. Aid evaluation practices and policies have variously focused on meeting program management needs, building institutional learning, accounting for resources, informing policymakers, and building local oversight and project design capacity.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/205205.pdf [PDF format, 27 pages].
Congressional Research Service. April 12, 2012.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) provides economic assistance through a competitive selection process to developing nations that demonstrate positive performance in three areas: ruling justly, investing in people, and fostering economic freedom. Established in 2004, the MCC differs in several respects from past and current U.S. aid practices. Since its creation, the MCC’s Board of Directors has approved 26 grant agreements, known as compacts: with Madagascar (2005), Honduras (2005), Cape Verde (2005), Nicaragua (2005), Georgia (2005), Benin (2006), Vanuatu (2006), Armenia (2006), Ghana (2006), Mali (2006), El Salvador (2006), Mozambique (2007), Lesotho (2007), Morocco (2007), Mongolia (2007), Tanzania (2007), Burkina Faso (2008), Namibia (2008), Senegal (2009), Moldova (2009), Philippines (2010), Jordan (2010), Malawi (2011), Indonesia (2011), Cape Verde II (2011), and Zambia (2012).
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32427.pdf [PDF format, 47 pages].
Daniel Baer, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. February 2, 2012.
Congressional Research Service. January 6, 2012.
Some in the 112th Congress view the foreign affairs budget as a place to cut funds in order to reduce the budget deficit. Others, including Members of Congress of both political parties, view a robust foreign affairs budget as essential for America’s national security and foreign policy interests. This report analyzes the FY2012 request and congressional action related to FY2012 State- Foreign Operations legislation. The Summary, “Introduction” and “Recent Developments” sections, and appendix tables in this version of the report have been updated to reflect enactment of P.L. 112-74, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2012.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/180683.pdf [PDF format, 35 pages].
