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Does anyone here have any direct experience with USAID? As in, has worked for them or knows someone well who has worked for them? I've heard bad things about them as an agency, but not from people who have actually worked for or with them. I'm curious what the jobs are like, how effective their projects are, etc.

Anyone?

Jessie

"Whenever I have to choose between two evils, I always like to choose the one I haven't tried before." --Mae West, I believe

bump - anyone?

I guess it depends on what you want to know. I can answer some questions. I work closely with some members of USAID as they're part of the embassy.

They currently have the same budget problems as most of the U.S. government agencies, but I believe they continue to hire. Since they are involved in development, you shouldn't expect to work in the poshest of countries, but they are present in quite a few places around the world.

I am currently working as a subcontractor for a USAID funded project.

What do you want to know?

Worst work-related experience of my life, totally ineffective projects, red-tape up the a**, blatant waste, sanctioned theft, etc... I could go on forever. I tried to complain in DC, with actual examples of how the money was being wasted, and they completely blew me off, weren't even interested in hearing. It really pissed me off at the time and soured me on anything with the US. US$60M down the drain.

Wow, I'm getting heated again just writing this and it's been 7 years. What a waste of tax money, no wonder I left the US.

A very good friend of mine worked on a USAID funded project...and echoed what others are saying: wildly inefficient, grandiose schemes, and crazy politics. As an American fond of the general concept of USAID, it is really, really disheartening to hear how bad the implementation is.

Maybe scubamama has something nice to say? [spelling oops. edited after scubamama's quote blow]

I don't have personal experience working with USAID but...

A guy working for the UN told me this joke:

What is the difference between the UN and the mafia? The mafia is organized.

He was also working on writing a medical sort of evaluation which was intended for use in the country he was working in. Except there were no local professionals trained in that field at all. He'd made a commitment to do it, that was his job, and he made about seven times what he made at home.

There are still multiple offices of one children's NGO in Bosnia that are just from different countries ... Children's NGO UK, Children's NGO Norway, Children's NGO Canada etc...

I've heard that the Peace Corps spends $80,000 per volunteer (training, support, etc.). I'm not saying it's a bad thing to do, but you hear plenty of stories of it not really living up to expectations on different levels.

I think the field of large scale international development work is filled with stuff like this. I believe what the others have said and I certainly don't mean to defend USAID.

I don't necessarily think this means a person shouldn't work with them though. In the field in general I really believe experience with certain organizations and making the right contacts is important in getting further - better - work. I was very interested in this field and I guess I still am, but pretty actively decided to go into another field, so obviously I am not the most informed person. I realize you are asking about USAID so I apologize if this sounds off topic.

I don't know the ins and outs of USAID, but my impression is that here in Ukraine most of their projects tend to be pretty successful and appreciated. USAID doesn't run projects itself, it just doles out grants to various NGOs so the success of the projects is obviously going to vary. Of course, I am sure it is also the job of USAID to monitor those projects, but I'm sure some are better managed than others. Everyone I work with here at USAID seems quite professional and knowledgeable.

If you wait long enough, USAID will just be part of the State Department anyway more than likely. Their director is already nominally under the control of the Secretary of State.

quote:

Originally posted by Stoo:

Maybe scubamama has something nice to day?

I have nice things to say and some not so nice.

As Skobb said USAID doesn't run the projects themselves. Everything is done via contracts with NGOs or for profit companies. Therefore, there is a lot of variation regarding the implementation.

USAID provides the overall guidance on what they are trying to accomplish and then the contractors can make proposals about how they would achieve those goals. They will also oversee the implementation of the project after the contract has been awarded. The quality of the USAID personnel and their experience level can impact how this is done.....

I have seen some project that are very well run and I have seen some where the contractor might as well have stolen the money.....because in effect they did.

That being said, working with any government agency will involve regulation, politics, and waste. It is built into the system. You have to have a high tolerence for bureaucracy.

As far as USAID vs. other government agencies I have heard they aren't considered the cream of the crop...

I could go on and on if you want to know something more specific.

quote:

As Skobb said USAID doesn't run the projects themselves. Everything is done via contracts with NGOs or for profit companies. Therefore, there is a lot of variation regarding the implementation.

I understand this as an explanation for why there may be differences between different countries or even different projects in different countries (ie the comments of one person may not apply in another case).

But for my own clarification - USAID very much has the upper hand in who it decides to work with, no? I know for example many private foundations - Ford, MacArthur, Charles Stewart Mott - get maybe 10x more applications than grants they make. As far as I understand they also often put many reporting requirements on the ngo's they work with (so, say, small local ngo's are not in a position to comply with them and can't get a project, even if the work they do is good)...so it is not like it is out of their hands who they work with and what happens, right?

Yes, USAID completely decides who gets the contracts. And yes, often times there are many parties bidding on jobs. However, in some of the less "desirable" locations it is difficult/impossible to get bidders. It is my understanding that about half of the money that AID is spending is currently in these less desireable locations. So while it is not out of their hands as to who they work with they often times feel like they don't have much choice.

Yes, they have reporting requirements so they can monitor what is going on to some extent but in some areas they are not allowed to leave the embassy so even if something is written in a report, it may be impossible/difficult to get any kind of independent verification of what is going on in the field and contractors know that and some take advantage of that.

The other problem as I see it particularly in these difficult areas is how they determine who to award the contract to. As you said in your post, there may be a local ngo that may be best suited for the work that they want done but they couldn't possibly comply with all the reporting requirements and regulations. Sometimes these contacts go to whoever has the best political contact. Sometimes it is the group that does the best reports and has a good presentation even if they can't get anything done on the ground.

Another issue is that USAID is understaffed and may send inexperienced people out to the field so some of the decision makers really don't have the level of experience to be able to properly evaluate and monitor contractors. Also, if they are confined to the embassy they don't have a good grasp of what it takes to operate in the field. This leads to a lot of misunderstandings and frustrations.

There are also the ever shifting political winds to deal with, and the struggles with consistent commitment and funding.

Thanks - this is interesting.

I am basing a lot on my fairly limited experience with a few local ngo's in Bosnia and some amount of other reading, so I realize that situation won't be the same everywhere...but it is really shocking how much the requirements of a donor shape what gets done, even when those requirements aren't based on knowledge of the country or anything.

I know of another case where a government contract (not US or USAID) to sterilize stray dogs went to a pesticide company instead of a humane society, because they required bidders to have experience in the last x years with a similarly sized project. It was a mess in practice, but could they really be surprised...

It just seems like this to me with some of these donor requirements ... obviously I can't say it for sure, but they themselves set those requirements that make it hard to succeed ... are there really no local people who could provide some kind of independent analysis...can they only trust Americans? In a country that just had a war/natural disaster, local ngo's won't have the structure and organization that ngo's in the US will ... and by requiring that they do - they have reduced their pool of applicants a lot.

I probably sound like a wacko, but I feel like the situation can be really bad, and it's not just the way it is, it's very related to the policies of the organizations with the money. I don't mean to direct it at you or anything scubamama - sorry if it comes across that way.

You all have provided me with more information I could find ANYWHERE on the web. Thank you VERY VERY Much!

What about USAID Education Officers? Do Education Officers deal with contracts as you all are mentioning? If not, could someone provide me with some information on what they really do? I am finding that job postings for some Federal Jobs are a lot different from what the person ACTUALLY does once hired.

Thanks!

quote:

Another issue is that USAID is understaffed and may send inexperienced people out to the field so some of the decision makers really don't have the level of experience to be able to properly evaluate and monitor contractors.

I think this is a key point as well. USAID has had their budget drastically cut over the last decade. Now, of course, people are starting to call for more money for USAID as the kind of work they do is desperately needed in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other garden spots. This is typical of the short-sightedness of the federal budget process.

gsutinger2 -- I don't know specifically what their Education Officers do, but I imagine they tend to work with the programs, help develop the needs of the programs, monitor them, that sort of thing. There are officers who specialize in contracting that do the nuts and bolts side of it.