|
Powering Progress: Why Policies Matter in Achieving Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Outcomes
DRG Learning Digest | August 2024
USAID DRG Policy
Have you heard? There is a new USAID Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Policy! You may be asking yourself, what is the purpose of policies, and what do they mean to me? USAID uses policies to communicate Agency priorities and ensure a cohesive approach to meeting its goals, with varying levels of detail. The USAID Policy Framework identifies DRG issues as one of five key challenges of our time, and the new DRG Policy addresses this by outlining a shared vision of USAID’s contributions to democratic development and countering democratic backsliding around the world. The DRG policy defines a set of pivots and principles for us to pursue this vision and provides a framework to ensure that activities are in line with and contribute to that mission. A policy is critical not only for USAID’s shared vision, but for communicating this vision to USAID’s government and non-governmental partners.
This Learning Digest discusses three key characteristics of effective policies, how they help us to meet our development objectives, and how they are embodied in the DRG Policy:
Please see the DRG Evidence and Learning Team resources and events!
|
|
|
What makes a policy effective? Researchers have found that the most successful policies are those that encourage rigorous performance evaluation, continuous learning, and adaptation. By understanding what works, why it works, for whom it works, and under what conditions, we can create policies, and support projects that drive meaningful change and promote successful outcomes. One of the most prominent successes in evidence-based policymaking in the past 20 years is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In addition to its leadership in vaccine and prevention product development, PEPFAR’s commitment to using data to focus investments on evidence-based interventions have contributed to better programs supporting delivery of medication and encouraging uptake of prevention and treatment. Moreover, research has driven PEPFAR’s important work in recognizing the link between reducing gender-based violence and improving HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as identifying and reaching key populations. Through PEPFAR, USAID has contributed to saving more than 25 million lives and preventing countless additional infections.
 |
Figure 1: Trends in the All-Cause Mortality Rate, 1990-2018, PEPFAR and Control Countries.
Evidence-based adaptive policymaking encourages experimentation, continual learning, and adaptation. This allows policymakers to consider new approaches, explore the linkages between sectors and programs, and improve their programs and services. Another example of this is in South Africa, where human rights policies helped to drive post-Apartheid reforms, including in the revenue service (profile from Mission Driven Bureaucrats). The purpose of the policy changes was to bring the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in alignment with post-apartheid reforms. One way they did this was by implementing policies to diversify recruitment and hiring, which in turn communicated to employees that SARS served all South Africans. This is an important example of how policies transcend a single sector. The end of apartheid was an incredible opportunity for reformers to show that democracy could produce meaningful improvement in people’s lives. Fully taking advantage of this opportunity required action across government sectors.
The DRG Policy is grounded in a rigorous evidence review and weaves evidence throughout its architecture. It prioritizes context-specific, locally generated evidence to inform program design and implementation. It emphasizes developing best-fit and tailored approaches alongside local changemakers, to address the unique challenges of DRG. This commitment to evidence-based practice is reflected in the DRG Policy’s focus on learning, testing, refining, and targeting our efforts strategically. This ongoing commitment to generating, distilling, and disseminating evidence seeks to fill knowledge gaps and advance USAID’s DRG work to remain adaptable, relevant, and create enduring change.
|
|
|
As mentioned above, changes in a policy’s environment can necessitate supporting frameworks to adapt a policy to new circumstances. The DRG Policy’s emphasis on flexibility and adaptation provides a solid foundation for navigating these changing circumstances.
The new USAID DRG Policy identifies four principles that USAID will apply the following to maximize the effectiveness of programming in the DRG space.
The DRG Policy’s principles provide guidance for improving the design and management of DRG assistance. The Policy commits to adaptation and learning. There are numerous tools for adapting policy and the DRG policy notes the particular strengths of USAID that enable successful adaptation, including close collaboration with local partners, rapid response modalities, and strong connections and networks across the Agency. The DRG Policy is designed to be flexible and responsive, and this is achieved through constant review of evidence, cross-sector collaboration, and leveraging USAID's strengths. To create lasting change, we need to understand why our work is effective, not just if it's effective. This means digging deeper to understand the nuances of different contexts and how our programs impact various groups. By focusing on long-term outcomes like shifts in culture and norms, we can build a more resilient democracy.
 |
From “Community Forestry is Much More Than Just Forests: Nepal's Conservationists Become Local Leaders,” a photo essay exploring how USAID-supported programming has improved that nation’s forests and engaged communities in the management and sustainable harvesting of their own lands. Photo: USAID Hariyo Ban II Program.
Contexts experiencing conflict or rapid changes, like climate events, humanitarian crisis or even budget cuts, can make it difficult to continue pursuing the same strategies to meet USAID objectives. Adaptive policies, rooted in experimentation and creativity, recognize these challenges. By regularly revisiting the evidence that underpins our policies, we can identify new strategies to address emerging issues and identify areas where sectors overlap with shared objectives. For instance, cross-sectoral collaboration has opened up exciting opportunities in Nepal whereby community members gained leadership skills through a forestry project, and were able to incorporate and achieve democratic objectives which resulted in elected offices. This unexpected outcome demonstrates the power of thinking beyond traditional boundaries. In Tanzania, a political economy analysis of natural climate solutions found specific areas in which programming aimed at climate mitigation programming could support democratic governance. Implementing community-based forest management may provide tangible experience of democratic governance in an authoritarian or semi-authoritarian context as well. Thinking cross-sectorally may open new opportunities for pursuing democratic objectives, while reducing the risks to programs from unpredictable circumstances. Furthermore, USAID's strengths in partnership building, rapid response, and extensive networks position us well to adapt to changing circumstances.
|
|
|
The DRG Policy serves as a blueprint to maximize the effectiveness of the United States’ support for democratic development. It outlines four strategic pivots and four core principles—informed by research, learning, and USAID’s extensive experience—to guide our efforts in addressing evolving challenges and opportunities. Pivot 1 emphasizes a whole-of-Agency approach in which not only are DRG principles integrated into programming across sectors, but also other sectors take a deliberate approach to supporting democratic outcomes. By combining our strengths, we can create powerful synergies and avoid missteps. This allows for USAID to take advantage of opportunities for positive reinforcement and prevents one domain from undermining another unintentionally.
The Policy encourages cross-sectoral integration, encouraging programming across sectors to take advantage of democratic openings. For example, Participatory Natural Resource Management (PNRM) is intended to ensure sustainable natural resource management that serves a population both economically and environmentally. The tools used in PNRM — collective action, coordination between communities and government bodies, and shared decision-making — also support democratic objectives. Citizen engagement in natural resource management may be a gateway to broader civic engagement.
The new USAID DRG Policy identifies four pivots for USAID, and reflects a design that puts cross-sector collaboration first.
Where democratic backsliding has made DRG programming ineffective or has shifted development priorities, other sectors can still support democratic objectives, such as through supporting civic engagement in economic growth or health programming. Programming in Global Health is supporting trust-building and inclusion in order to advance health outcomes and even relying on local voices to define their own barriers to vaccine uptake while also addressing equity. By promoting social inclusion and encouraging people to work together, such programming is not just saving lives, but also supporting democratic outcomes and strengthening communities. It’s a perfect example of how we can achieve multiple goals at once. Pivot 1 makes it clear that we should be looking for these opportunities across all sectors. Many interventions, including health activities, are threatened by democratic backsliding, so incorporating DRG priorities in their programming can be mutually beneficial. By embracing a mindset of agility and innovation to advance developmental outcomes across sectors, we can transform challenges into opportunities to create lasting impact.
|
|
Further Assistance
USAID’s DRG Bureau’s Policy team is available to provide technical assistance to USAID Missions which includes support for the implementation of the new DRG Policy. Feel free to reach out to Andrew Colburn in the DRG Bureau’s Policy, Learning, and Integration Office to learn more about their technical assistance, programming, and funding mechanisms at acolburn@usaid.gov.
|
|
Learning Events & Resources |
|
Cross-Mission Fireside Chat
 |
On July 30, the Office of Justice, Rights and Security’s (JRS) Countering-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Team and the Office of Policy, Learning, and Integration/Evidence & Learning Team hosted the cross-Mission Fireside Chat focused on C-TIP, co-facilitated with colleagues from the Haiti, Liberia, Guatemala, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Missions. There were over 45 attendees from 12 Missions around the world. Many of the key takeaways shared were also reflected in the recent Learning Digest: 1) Strengthening procurement and staff training; 2) Increased Integration: Incorporating C-TIP into existing programs and initiatives; 3) Collaboration: Partnering with local civil society organizations and the interagency to integrate C-TIP into other areas of work; and 4) Raising public awareness through targeted campaigns, in collaboration with grassroots organizations. The next Fireside Chat will continue the conversation on C-TIP in early September for our USAID colleagues throughout the Asia region – look out for an invite coming soon!
Use Our Resources!
Welcome to the DRG Learning Digest, your one-stop shop on the latest research and resources in DRG. Views expressed in the external (non-USAID) publications linked in this Digest do not necessarily represent the views of USAID or the United States Government.
-
News and Updates: Check out past issues of the digest and explore DRG-related events and resources on DRGLinks.
-
Learning Tools:
-
Monthly Themes: Each month, the DRG Bureau shares resources based on upcoming international days. Look out for Fireside Chats to discuss these resources and share experiences with other practitioners.
Want To Get Involved?
- Contribute your ideas for monthly themes or Fireside Chat topics
- Other suggestions? Please reach out to drg.el@usaid.gov
|
|
|
DRG Learning Digest, a newsletter from DRG Evidence and Learning team, is a series of latest learning, evaluation, and research in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. Views expressed in non-USAID publications linked in this Digest do not necessarily represent the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
DRG Evidence & Learning team welcome your feedback on this newsletter and on our efforts to promote the accessibility, dissemination, and utilization of DRG evidence and research. Please visit the DRG Bureau's website for additional information or contact us at drg.el@usaid.gov.
|
|
|
|
|
