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Our Organization
Organizational Structure in Washington, D.C.
At its Washington, D.C., headquarters, USAID's mission is carried out through four regional bureaus: Africa, Asia and the Near East (ANE), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Europe and Eurasia (E&E). The regional bureaus are supported by three technical (or pillar) bureaus that provide expertise in democracy promotion, governance accountability, humanitarian assistance in times of crisis, economic growth incentives, trade opportunities, agricultural productivity and technology, and global health challenges such as maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS. The Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination provides overall policy guidance and program oversight. The Bureau for Management administers a centralized support services program for the Agency's worldwide operations. The Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs develops and implements outreach programs to promote understanding of USAID's missions and programs. The secretariat for the Global Development Alliance (GDA) operates across the four regional bureaus to support the development of public-private alliances. USAID also includes five offices that support the Agency's security, business, compliance, and diversity initiatives. It also maintains a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
Organizational Structure at Missions and other Locations
USAID organizational units located overseas are known as "field missions." Full missions usually consist of nine to 15 U.S. direct-hire (USDH) employees. They conduct USAID's major programs worldwide, managing a program of four or more strategic goals. Medium missions (five to eight USDH) manage a program of two to three goals, and small missions (three to four USDH) manage one or two strategic goals. These missions provide assistance based on an integrated strategy that includes clearly defined program objectives and performance targets.
Regional support missions (typically 12 to 16 USDH), also known as regional hubs, provide a variety of services. The hubs retain a team of legal advisors, contracting and project design officers, and financial services managers to support small and medium-sized missions. In countries without integrated strategies, but where aid is necessary, regional missions work with non-governmental organizations (NGO) to implement programs to facilitate the emergence of a civic society, help alleviate repression, meet basic human needs, or enhance food security. Regional missions can also have their own bilateral program of strategic goals to manage.
USAID missions operate under decentralized program authorities, allowing them to design and implement programs and negotiate and execute agreements. Mission directors and principal officers are delegated authority to:
- conduct strategic planning and develop country strategic plans
- coordinate with other U.S. government agencies
- waive source, origin, and nationality requirements for procurement of goods and services
- negotiate, execute, and implement food aid agreement
- implement loan and credit programs.
The director of USAID's Office of Acquisitions and Assistance issues warrants to contracting officers authorizing them to negotiate, execute, amend, and modify contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. Executive officers are delegated authority to sign leases for real property.
The field mission workforce is typically composed of three major categories of personnel: USDH employees, U.S. personal services contractors (USPSC), and foreign service nationals (FSN). USDH are career foreign service employees assigned to missions for two- to four-year tours. USPSCs are contractors hired for up to five years to carry out a scope of work specified by USAID. FSNs, professionals recruited in their host countries by USAID, make up the core of the USAID workforce. Many FSNs, recognized leaders and experts in their fields, devote their careers to USAID. FSNs are the bridge to effective contacts with key host country officials and decisionmakers, and they provide the institutional memory for and continuity of USAID's country programs. The U.S. ambassador serves as the chief of mission for all U.S. government agencies at post, and the USAID director reports to the ambassador. Development, defense, and diplomacy are the three major components of the U.S. national security strategy. USAID, as the lead agency responsible for development planning and programming, thus plays a critical and lead role in the foreign policy arena. The USAID mission director is a key member of the country team, and is often called upon to stand in for the ambassador or the deputy chief of mission during their absences.
NEW MILLITARY OFFICE TO IMPROVE COOPERATION IN AID DELIVERY
USAID has created an office to coordinate with the U.S. armed forces on development issues, following close Agency-military cooperation in a series of operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and countries affected by the Asian tsunami. The Office of Military Affairs, created March 25, 2005, lies within the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), and addresses the need for greater understanding and operational interaction between the two sectors. The office will develop training, education, and operational programs designed to improve communications between USAID and the U.S. military. It will develop guidance, policy, and military doctrine to improve coordination and cooperation. It will also build planning, operations, and evaluation links that aim to inform and enhance field operations, addressing areas of common interest.
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Distribution of USAID aid by military forces in Indonesia after the tsunami. Photo: AP/World Wide Photos |
USAID's People
USAID's workforce consists of more than 8,200 employees in the foreign service, civil service, those serving as foreign service nationals, and those in other employee categories, including employees detailed from other U.S. government agencies, personal service contractors, and fellows. As the table indicates, foreign service nationals make up 60 percent of USAID's workforce, and 77 percent of the total workforce serves overseas.
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