President-elect Barack Obama faces significant challenges as he takes office, including restoring economic vitality and improving America's standing in the world. The effects of the U.S. financial crisis are felt throughout the world, most profoundly in poor countries where the most vulnerable will be hit hardest and recent progress against poverty is at risk. As the new president formulates his strategies, we urge renewed U.S. leadership on global development.

The IGD Leadership Council, co-chaired by former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, convened on December 5th to provide strategic guidance for our 2009 advocacy agenda and outreach to the new administration. The Council was unanimous in its view that a strong U.S. commitment to global development is vital to our national interest and that the business community has an integral role to play. We look forward to working with the Leadership Council in support of the Summit, building the national network, and advancing our policy priorities in the coming year.

2009 Action agenda
We will step up our engagement with Congress and the new administration and deepen our advocacy around IGD’s core issues: elevating global development as a national priority by improving foreign assistance and opening markets to developing countries. We will provide more ways for IGD partners to support our agenda, through meetings with members of Congress in their districts and on Capitol Hill, or joining IGD’s Dream Team – business leaders of Fortune 1000 companies who will reach out to the press, their peers and business organizations, and testify before Congress. We will organize our policy change efforts around the following areas:

• Congressional outreach: Establish IGD and its partner network as a resource for members of Congress – through partner meetings, Dream Team engagement and events
• Presidential leadership: Work to secure the demonstrated commitment of the Obama administration to poverty reduction and provide strong IGD support for the president’s global development agenda
• Foreign assistance reform: Make the case for global development as a key component of U.S. foreign policy and advocate for legislative and structural changes that will help define and implement a national strategy
• Opening markets: Make the case for U.S. trade policy as a critical component of overall U.S. development strategy and promote opening markets to poor countries as a smart approach
  

Foreign assistance: Prioritizing development, clarifying goals and improving outcomes

It is critical that the United States elevate global development as a strategic priority. Especially in this time of economic downturn, we need to ensure that our foreign assistance programs are as efficient and effective as possible. U.S. development assistance should target poverty reduction and emphasize the longer-term investments that build infrastructure, foster economic growth and create jobs. We must also require greater transparency and accountability in our development assistance programs, with an emphasis on measuring impact instead of simply calculating dollars spent. Improving the organization of our foreign affairs functions can make significant improvements in unifying our development policies and implementing a coherent global development strategy.

Background on U.S. foreign assistance
The Foreign Assistance Act, which governs U.S. assistance programs, has not been comprehensively updated since the end of the Cold War. The underlying assumptions and objectives of our overall aid programs need to be reassessed in light of current needs. In addition, U.S. aid policy lacks coherence, and its administration is highly fragmented. Learn more about U.S. foreign assistance.

Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN)
IGD is a member of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, a reform coalition working to help build a safer, more prosperous world by strengthening the United States’ ability to reduce global poverty, create opportunities for growth and secure human dignity in developing countries.

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
IGD has been a strong supporter of the Millennium Challenge Corporation because of its emphasis on long-term investments that support economic growth and poverty reduction, its recognition that partner governments need to design and implement their own development strategies, and its insistence on evaluating program impact and accountability.

Trade for development: Making markets work for poor people and poor countries

Trade policy is a critical component of the development agenda. U.S. trade policy should aim to increase developing country participation in global markets in order to promote economic growth and improve lives in those countries. The United States has several tools it can use in the service of this goal, including more effective trade preferences, bilateral and multilateral agreements, investment treaties, trade facilitation assistance and trade capacity building. These policies can help open markets, strengthen regional economies, and develop infrastructure and human capacity.

Expanding access to the U.S. market
Even though the U.S. market is one of the most open in the world, the barriers that remain focus on sectors where poor countries are most competitive – agriculture and labor-intensive manufactures. Developing countries are in desperate need of opportunities to help them grow and reduce poverty. IGD supports granting these countries duty-free, quota-free access to the U.S. market.

Improving trade preference programs
The United States does provide preferential market access to developing countries, but these preferences are offered through a mish-mash of regional programs, none of which is guaranteed to exist long-term. Merging the various programs into a single, permanent program with a streamlined set of rules would be a significant improvement in granting the kind of market access that stimulates investment and production in developing countries.

Building capacity in poor countries
For many developing countries, gaining market access is only half the battle. Many poor countries need “aid-for-trade” assistance to help them loosen supply-side constraints and take advantage of new market opportunities. Investments in capacity are critical in helping developing countries realize their economic potential.

Frontier 100

IGD is launching its Programs for Enterprise Growth to catalyze economic growth and private investment in developing countries. The first program to be rolled out will be Frontier 100.

Frontier 100 identifies promising CEOs in “frontier” markets and creates opportunities for these leaders and CEOs of global companies to exchange knowledge, develop business and collaborate in global leadership. The program offers an opportunity for accomplished business leaders in frontier markets to grow their success. The first class of 20 CEOs will be selected from African candidates.

Read more about the program.