U.S. Department of State

The USAID Policy Framework 2011-2015, released in September 2011, provides staff and partners worldwide with a clear sense of USAID's core development priorities, translates the President's Policy Directive on Global Development and the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) into more detailed operational principles, explains how we will apply these principles across our entire portfolio, and lays out our agenda for institutional reform, USAID Forward. The USAID Policy Framework will be updated as necessary and revisited in 2015.

As described in the Policy Framework, the Agency will focus on pursuing seven core development objectives in the four years ahead. The Framework lays out expectations for development impacts across the following key objectives:

"Because development assistance is so crucial to U.S. national interests, we need to deliver it more effectively than ever before, achieving greater impact in a more sustainable manner, and at a lower cost.... In addition, we must rely not only on traditional assistance approaches, but also strive to be an innovative and influential policy voice shaping the international development dialogue and maximizing effective partnerships with a wide range of actors with common development goals."

- USAID Policy Framework 2011-2015, p. i

• Increase food security: Rekindling the power of transformational agriculture
• Promote global health and strong health systems: From treating diseases to treating people
• Reduce climate change impacts and promote low emissions growth: Building resilience on multiple fronts
• Promote sustainable, broad-based economic growth: Enabling the private sector to drive growth
• Expand and sustain the ranks of stable, prosperous, and democratic states: Supporting the next generation of democratic transitions
• Provide humanitarian assistance and support disaster mitigation: Building resilience and preparedness
• Prevent and respond to crises, conflict, and instability: Applying development approaches in fragile and conflict-affected states

In addition, the USAID Policy Framework lays out operational principles to help us focus relentlessly on achieving and measuring results to maximize the impact of every dollar we spend. While these principles are not new, under the Policy Framework they are applied more systematically and with greater discipline and analytical rigor across our entire portfolio, including in our budget guidance and requests, Country Development Cooperation Strategies, project design, and foundational training for our staff. These operational principles include:

• Promote gender equality and female empowerment
• Apply science, technology, and innovation strategically
• Apply selectivity and focus
• Measure and evaluate impact
• Build in sustainability from the start
• Apply integrated approaches to development
• Leverage "solution-holders" and partner strategically

As we pursue our seven core development objectives and apply these operational principles, we are also transforming our Agency into an organization that lives up to President Obama's commitment to build USAID into the world's premier development agency. This agenda for institutional renewal, known as USAID Forward, was an early outcome of the QDDR and is already into the implementation process. See USAID Forward or the QDDR sidebar for additional information.

Go to USAID Policy Framework to see full report.