Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review
Encyclopedia
The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) is a study by the United States Department of State
, first started in 2009 and intended to be done every four years, that analyzes the short-, medium-, and long-term blueprint for the United States' diplomatic and development efforts abroad. It seeks to plan on a longer-term basis than the usual year-to-year, appropriations-based practice, and to integrate diplomacy and development missions under one planning process. It similarly seeks to correlate the department’s missions with its capacities and identify shortfalls in resourcing. Finally, it is also a precursor to core institutional reforms and corrective changes. The first such review was completed as year 2010 drew to a close.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
announced the initiative at a State Department town hall meeting. The most ambitious of Clinton's departmental reforms, it is modeled after the U.S. Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review
, which Clinton was familiar with from her days as a United States Senator on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Previously the American Academy of Diplomacy
had determined that the Secretary of State “lacks the tools – people, competencies, authorities, programs and funding – to execute the President’s foreign policies.” More fundamentally, the department did not even have a methodology in place to know how under-resourced it was.
She appointed Deputy Secretary of State
Jacob Lew
, Director of Policy Planning
Anne-Marie Slaughter
, and the United States Agency for International Development
Administrator to undertake the review. At the time of the announcement, that was the Acting USAID Administrator, Alonzo Fulgham. (On November 10, 2009, Rajiv Shah
was nominated to be USAID Administrator.)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also conducts an assessment process, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which is similar to the Defense's review. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence also has something of a similar mechanism. However, the State Department has fewer employees available to conduct such an intensive review as the Pentagon; less than a dozen are expected to be assigned to the QDDR staff, while the Defense Department employs about 100 people for theirs. The State Department also has less institutional experience with long-range planning, being more focused towards the management of immediate diplomatic crises, although the State Department created the Policy Planning Staff
in 1947 to integrate long-range planning into the policy-making process. The disparity of resources between State and Defense and the allocation thereof raised questions about State's capacity to implement the planned review.
Former U.S. Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann
said that the QDDR was “an intelligent measure” and that Secretary Clinton’s “focus on resources is important and has been too often neglected by secretariess of state who focused only on policy. She understood she’s not going to manage effectively with a busted institution.” The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
commended the creation of the QDDR, calling it "an important step toward elevating and strengthening the civilian-led tools of diplomacy and
development." The Project on National Security Reform
said it was important for the QDDR to meld a top-down approach to managing resources to a bottom-up approach of examining the needs of each embassy abroad. The Heritage Foundation
was skeptical, predicting that "the final QDDR product will repeat past mistakes by maintaining a focus on the traditional official government instruments of foreign aid and will fail to achieve the true integration of all the tools of U.S. foreign and security policy." The Cato Institute
was also skeptical, saying that the model, the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, had produced "a series of vacuous documents that commingle vague, unsubstantiated claims about great historical shifts underway ... with threat inflation. There is no evidence that these documents have produced much beyond wasted time and effort."
, hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
. There, Deputy Secretary Lew took care to say that the review process was not cover for an attempt by the State Department to absorb USAID. Some 400 people attended, with many confused by the process and uncertain how they could influence it.
The first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review was completed in December 2010 and was entitled Leading Through Civilian Power; it was presented by Secretary Clinton and USAID Administrator Shah, to employees of both organizations gathered at a town hall meeting. The 150-page document outlined three key factors that would affect the State Department in coming years: limited financial resources due to U.S. budgetary constraints and political realities; a rapidly shifting global landscape that features power being spread across many countries and the prevalence of non-national actors; and the ability to respond to problems caused by weak states and incipient or actual conflict with a flexible corps of civilian expertise.
The review thusly set forth a possible bureaucratic overhaul of the State Department, with a number of goals:
Policy-planning director Anne-Marie Slaughter
, the lead architect of the review, said that “What we’re trying to say to Congress is, we get it. We realize we’ve got to prove to you and to the American people that we are good stewards of your money.” The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition viewed the release favorably, saying “The QDDR represents a bold step toward implementing a smart-power foreign policy by elevating our civilian power and ensuring effective, results-driven programs.”
The review would then go to Congress for its review, upon which prospect State Department officials expressed hopefulness; they also wanted Congress to approve makintg the QDDR a required, regular part of the State Department process. Clinton said, “I am determined that this report will not merely gather dust, like so many others.”
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, first started in 2009 and intended to be done every four years, that analyzes the short-, medium-, and long-term blueprint for the United States' diplomatic and development efforts abroad. It seeks to plan on a longer-term basis than the usual year-to-year, appropriations-based practice, and to integrate diplomacy and development missions under one planning process. It similarly seeks to correlate the department’s missions with its capacities and identify shortfalls in resourcing. Finally, it is also a precursor to core institutional reforms and corrective changes. The first such review was completed as year 2010 drew to a close.
Objectives
The final report of a QDDR will lay out, in the department's own words:- The baseline: An assessment of (1) the range of global threats, challenges and opportunities both today and over the next two decades that should inform our diplomatic and development strategies; and (2) the current status of our approaches to diplomacy and development, with emphasis on the relationship between diplomacy and development in our existing policies and structures.
- The ends: A clear statement of our overarching foreign policy and development objectives, our specific policy priorities, and our expected results, with an emphasis on the achievable and not merely the desirable.
- The ways: A set of recommendations on the strategies needed to achieve these results, including the timing and sequencing of decisions and implementation.
- The means: A set of recommendations on (1) the tools and resources needed to implement the strategy; and (2) management and organizational reforms that will improve outcomes and efficiency.
- The metrics: A set of recommendations on performance measures to assess outcomes, and—where feasible—impacts.
- The links: An assessment of how the results and recommendations of this review fit into broader interagency, whole-of-government approaches, and into the Administration’s larger foreign policy framework.
Announcement and initial reception
On July 10, 2009, Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
announced the initiative at a State Department town hall meeting. The most ambitious of Clinton's departmental reforms, it is modeled after the U.S. Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review
Quadrennial Defense Review
The Quadrennial Defense Review is a study by the United States Department of Defense that analyzes strategic objectives and potential military threats. The Quadrennial Defense Review Report is the main public document describing the United States's military doctrine.As stipulated in the 1997...
, which Clinton was familiar with from her days as a United States Senator on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Previously the American Academy of Diplomacy
American Academy of Diplomacy
The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy...
had determined that the Secretary of State “lacks the tools – people, competencies, authorities, programs and funding – to execute the President’s foreign policies.” More fundamentally, the department did not even have a methodology in place to know how under-resourced it was.
She appointed Deputy Secretary of State
United States Deputy Secretary of State
The Deputy Secretary of State of the United States is the chief assistant to the Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State resigns or dies, the Deputy Secretary of State becomes Acting Secretary of State until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement. The position was...
Jacob Lew
Jacob Lew
Jacob "Jack" J. Lew is the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget a position he previously held from 1998 to 2001.-Early life and education:...
, Director of Policy Planning
Director of Policy Planning
The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the Department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. The position of Director of Policy Planning has traditionally been held by many members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment...
Anne-Marie Slaughter
Anne-Marie Slaughter
Anne-Marie Slaughter was the Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department from January 2009 until February 2011. She is the Bert G...
, and the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
Administrator to undertake the review. At the time of the announcement, that was the Acting USAID Administrator, Alonzo Fulgham. (On November 10, 2009, Rajiv Shah
Rajiv Shah
Rajiv “Raj” Shah is the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development . He was confirmed by the Senate on December 24, 2009, replacing acting chief Alonzo Fulgham, making him the highest-ranking Indian American in any presidential administration...
was nominated to be USAID Administrator.)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also conducts an assessment process, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which is similar to the Defense's review. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence also has something of a similar mechanism. However, the State Department has fewer employees available to conduct such an intensive review as the Pentagon; less than a dozen are expected to be assigned to the QDDR staff, while the Defense Department employs about 100 people for theirs. The State Department also has less institutional experience with long-range planning, being more focused towards the management of immediate diplomatic crises, although the State Department created the Policy Planning Staff
Policy Planning Staff
The Policy Planning Staff is the chief strategic arm of the United States Department of State. It was created in 1947 by renowned Foreign Service Officer George F...
in 1947 to integrate long-range planning into the policy-making process. The disparity of resources between State and Defense and the allocation thereof raised questions about State's capacity to implement the planned review.
Former U.S. Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann
Ronald E. Neumann
Ronald E. Neumann was formerly the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan and previously served as ambassador to Bahrain and Algeria . He is the son of former ambassador Robert G. Neumann and traveled extensively after college in Afghanistan while his father was ambassador there...
said that the QDDR was “an intelligent measure” and that Secretary Clinton’s “focus on resources is important and has been too often neglected by secretariess of state who focused only on policy. She understood she’s not going to manage effectively with a busted institution.” The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, also known as the USGLC, is a influential, broad-based organization formed by a coalition of 400 American businesses and NGOs, senior national security and foreign policy experts, and diverse range of community leaders from across the country who promote...
commended the creation of the QDDR, calling it "an important step toward elevating and strengthening the civilian-led tools of diplomacy and
development." The Project on National Security Reform
Project on National Security Reform
The Project on National Security Reform is a nonpartisan non-profit organization mandated by the United States Congress to recommend improvements to the U.S. national security system. Advocates of reform of the U.S...
said it was important for the QDDR to meld a top-down approach to managing resources to a bottom-up approach of examining the needs of each embassy abroad. The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
was skeptical, predicting that "the final QDDR product will repeat past mistakes by maintaining a focus on the traditional official government instruments of foreign aid and will fail to achieve the true integration of all the tools of U.S. foreign and security policy." The Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
was also skeptical, saying that the model, the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, had produced "a series of vacuous documents that commingle vague, unsubstantiated claims about great historical shifts underway ... with threat inflation. There is no evidence that these documents have produced much beyond wasted time and effort."
The first review
The QDDR held its first meetings in October 2009 at the Willard InterContinental WashingtonWillard InterContinental Washington
The Willard InterContinental Washington is an historic luxury Beaux-Arts hotel located at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. Among its facilities are numerous luxurious guest rooms, several restaurants, the famed Round Robin Bar, the Peacock Alley series of luxury shops, and voluminous...
, hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, also known as the USGLC, is a influential, broad-based organization formed by a coalition of 400 American businesses and NGOs, senior national security and foreign policy experts, and diverse range of community leaders from across the country who promote...
. There, Deputy Secretary Lew took care to say that the review process was not cover for an attempt by the State Department to absorb USAID. Some 400 people attended, with many confused by the process and uncertain how they could influence it.
The first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review was completed in December 2010 and was entitled Leading Through Civilian Power; it was presented by Secretary Clinton and USAID Administrator Shah, to employees of both organizations gathered at a town hall meeting. The 150-page document outlined three key factors that would affect the State Department in coming years: limited financial resources due to U.S. budgetary constraints and political realities; a rapidly shifting global landscape that features power being spread across many countries and the prevalence of non-national actors; and the ability to respond to problems caused by weak states and incipient or actual conflict with a flexible corps of civilian expertise.
The review thusly set forth a possible bureaucratic overhaul of the State Department, with a number of goals:
- elevation of "civilian power"
- focus on conflict prevention
- elevation of U.S. ambassadors in coordinating work of all abroad-tasked U.S. agencies
- focus on the issues and needs of particular key 'regional hubs' in the world
- defuse crises before violence; team with Defense Department if that fails
- give USAID the Obama administration's global health and agriculture initiatives
- create an undersecretary for civilian security\
- create bureaus for energy resources and counterterrorism
- create new coordinator position for cyber issues
Policy-planning director Anne-Marie Slaughter
Anne-Marie Slaughter
Anne-Marie Slaughter was the Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department from January 2009 until February 2011. She is the Bert G...
, the lead architect of the review, said that “What we’re trying to say to Congress is, we get it. We realize we’ve got to prove to you and to the American people that we are good stewards of your money.” The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition viewed the release favorably, saying “The QDDR represents a bold step toward implementing a smart-power foreign policy by elevating our civilian power and ensuring effective, results-driven programs.”
The review would then go to Congress for its review, upon which prospect State Department officials expressed hopefulness; they also wanted Congress to approve makintg the QDDR a required, regular part of the State Department process. Clinton said, “I am determined that this report will not merely gather dust, like so many others.”