InterAction has been around the foreign assistance block before. As an umbrella group that pulls relief and development organizations together around a common agenda, it has seen American foreign assistance agencies go through the reform process time and again. The July issue of Monday Developments (see page 4), a publication of InterAction, compares past reform objectives and outcomes to the current and -- with the departure of Ambassador Tobias -- waning "F" process trying to align U.S. government foreign aid programs with a coherent strategy.

What lies around the bend is the key. The Brookings-Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Task Force on Transforming Foreign Assistance in the 21st Century found that the timing of fundamental reform proposals is decisive. The findings of the task force (issued in Security by Other Means Brookings Press, 2007) show that for fundamental reform to meet with success, among other requirements, it must be rolled out at the beginning of a new administration in tune with executive and legislative schedules. The next president, in collaboration with Congress, may be able to capitalize on the growing consensus that recognizes the need for significantly deeper reforms than those put forward by the current Bush administration. By rattling Congress, the F process may even be priming the pump for reforms that ultimately lead to the realization of an alternate vision for U.S. foreign assistance.

If you or your organization has a strong interest in the direction that official foreign assistance goes, it's worth taking a moment to review the history and see how such efforts have played out in the past. Some of the current issues have been around for a long time, it turns out.