The Journey to Self-Reliance

As Administrator Mark Green has stated, each of USAID’s programs should look forward to the day when foreign assistance is no longer necessary, and we must measure our work by how far every investment moves us closer to that day. USAID is reorienting the way it does business to focus on supporting our partner countries on the Journey to Self-Reliance -- or, to put it another way, their ability to solve their own development challenges. This approach to development -- which prioritizes fostering stable, resilient, prosperous, inclusive, and self-reliant countries -- is good for our partners around the world, our nation’s security, and the American taxpayer.

To facilitate this shift, USAID needs to first understand how self-reliant each of its partner countries is and reorient its partnerships accordingly. USAID’s primary analytical tool for assessing self-reliance in a country is called a Country Roadmap, which uses 17 publicly-available, third-party metrics. The metrics examine areas such as open and accountable governance, inclusive development, economic policy, and the relative capacities of the government, civil society, citizens, and the economy -- all key elements of self-reliance.

We encourage you to visit the Journey to Self-Reliance Country Roadmaps Portal to learn more about this exciting effort and to access the newly-released Fiscal Year 2019 Country Roadmaps.