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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
In this section:
Nine Principles of Development and Reconstruction
Assistance
Notes from Natsios
Nine Principles of Development and Reconstruction Assistance
These nine principles are the key tenets of USAID’s
work. The principles are not a checklist. They are a summary
of the characteristics of successful assistance programs.
They cannot be applied the same way in each situation, but
should serve as a reference for development practitioners
as they design and implement programs.
- Ownership
Build on the leadership, participation, and commitment
of a country and its people.
- Capacity Building
Strengthen local institutions, transfer technical skills,
and promote appropriate policies.
- Sustainability
Design programs to ensure their impact endures
- Accountability
Design accountability and transparency into systems, and
build effective checks and balances to guard against corruption.
- Assessment
Conduct careful research, adapt best practices, and design
for local conditions.
- Results
Allocate resources based on need, local commitment, and
foreign policy interests.
- Partnership
Collaborate closely with governments, communities, donors,
NGOs, the private sector, international organizations, and
universities.
- Flexibility
Adjust to changing conditions, take advantage of opportunities,
and maximize efficiency.
- Selectivity
Allocate resources to countries and programs based on need,
policy performance, and foreign policy interests.
Notes from Natsios
I unveiled earlier this year the “Nine Principles of
Development and Reconstruction,” which were inspired
by military doctrine and patterned on the Nine Principles
of War, found in every soldier’s manual.
During the cataclysmic events and conflicts of the nineteenth
century, war theory came to be studied scientifically as part
of broader inquiry, drawing in some of the greatest minds
of the time. Carl von Clausewitz was among the first to study
war with philosophic rigor. He drew lessons from the military
genius of Napoleon Bonaparte as well as from ancient Chinese
texts and the thought of Sun Tsu.
Like the Nine Principles of War, the “Nine Principles
of Development and Reconstruction” has evolved out of
the study of history. The principles attempt to distill fundamental
lessons learned and bring greater clarity to the operative
principles that inform the mission of USAID.
This can be useful in at least two important ways.
First, it can help those of us that design programs to think
more strategically and coherently. Like the Nine Principles
of War, they can illuminate the way we approach, understand,
and assess our endeavors.
Second, given the central prominence that development now
plays in the foreign policy of this country, it is incumbent
on us to make our mission and the way we operate better known
to the outside world.
This is particularly true with regard to the media and the
policymaking establishment that funds our initiatives and
determines our mandate.
Development is not a matter of applying a blueprint or formula.
It is a very long process that can move at different speeds
and can suffer reverses, even among longer-term positive trends.
When these principles are consistently applied, development
succeeds and nations are built.
The nine principles will help us strengthen and formalize
USAID’s institutional culture at a time of significant
retirements and new recruitment. They will also help us articulate
to those outside the development community how we approach
development, which is especially important given the new prominence
of development in national security policy.
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