Spotlight
Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review Released
December 16, 2010
Stimson's Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program, led by Gordon Adams, released a scorecard analyzing the QDDR. You can view the scorecard here, or read more of their analysis on The Will and the Wallet.
Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review: Our Assessment
Define
State and USAID missions and set organizational priorities 
Assess global challenges and
opportunities and outline major areas of emphasis
Prioritize roles and missions and
provide metrics for success
Identify economic policy and conflict
prevention/response as core missions
Distinguish civilian and military
roles and missions clearly
Create
a meaningful, integrated strategic planning and budgeting process 
Underline the need for strategic
planning, linked to budget planning, and institutionalize a strategic planning
process
Describe a clear budget process
for foreign assistance, including multi-year budgeting
Describe a budget planning
process that would link decisions about funding programs to decisions about
personnel and management of operations
Provide structure for integrated
planning with other executive branch agencies
Justify more flexible
authorities and contingency funding for State/USAID
Address
fundamental, lingering organizational problems
Coordinate programs, activities,
and prerogatives of State and USAID
Assert leadership over the
"diaspora" of foreign policy/assistance agencies
Deconflict the Office of the Director
of Foreign Assistance and USAID
Strengthen the Coordinator for
stabilization and reconstruction operations (S/CRS) and the Bureau of Economic,
Energy, and Business Affairs
Justify
the needed personnel capacity for 21st century challenges
Define and prioritize necessary skills
for the 21st century
Adapt staffing plans to the current
budget climate
Justify staffing growth to support
additional training and interagency assignments
Download the report card here.
View the complete QDDR.
For more analysis on this and other Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense topics, visit
