Yesterday the State Department released its first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).  The QDDR represents nearly two years of effort by the Administration to examine how the State Department and USAID can become "more efficient, accountable, and effective" in the world of the 21st century.  It seeks to elevate "civilian power" to advance national interests by pressing for better coordination of U.S. Government resources related to development and foreign aid.  Spearheaded by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah, this report is the first comprehensive review of diplomacy and development ever conducted by the U.S. government.

The review recognized democracy and governance (D&G) work as a sector in which the U.S. has "the leading expertise to transform lives and societies." D&G efforts were identified by Secretary Clinton as one of six key focus areas for the State Department and USAID.

The U.S. government will focus on Democracy and Governance work along with global health, food security, sustainable economic growth, climate change, and humanitarian assistance.  The QDDR recognizes that "accountable, democratic governance is a universal value and a founding principle of our nation."

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is particularly pleased that the QDDR not only recognizes the key role democracy and governance, but proposes concrete structural changes to realize this sharper focus.  Such steps include:

• Establishing an Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights tasked with creating "the political space necessary for democracy to flourish."
• Creating a position of Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies.
• Launching at USAID – which was the world's first development agency to establish democracy, human rights, and governance as a core development objective – a Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance.

IFES, the world's premier election assistance and democracy promotion organization, applauds the work of the State Department and USAID to bring the QDDR to completion. 

"This document makes clear to all what we at IFES already believe:  democracy and governance work is key to successful development," says IFES' President and CEO Bill Sweeney.  "Whether you work on economic growth, food security, global health, or disaster assistance, working in a country with better governance and accountability to the people will help such efforts be more effective and efficient."