On June 19, 2025, a roundtable of two dozen experts about how international aid is designed and given will be held, co-organized by the World Hunger Education Service (WHES), the USAID Alumni Association, the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and George Washington University.
In order to advise and inform the future of U.S. foreign aid as well as for other international donors, the roundtable will compare the range of tools used to give aid, from grants and contracts to loans and investments, from incentives and prizes to insurance and direct technical assistance. Also discussed will be the use of competition to make awards to NGOs or commercial organizations, the design of awards to achieve scale and sustainability, and the roles of evolving tools such as blended finance and payment-for-performance.
Participants will include former U.S. government experts plus aid managers from European governments, the World Bank, U.S. foundations and NGOs.
A summary of findings will be made public afterwards.
This is part of a series of roundtables that WHES has been involved in organizing this year, and educational seminars for senior US policy makers in the 1980s and 1990s. Prior roundtables included expert discussions about food/nutrition, basic education, the role of faith-based organizations, health and what average Americans care about in aid.
Questions can be directed to: WorldHungerEd@gmail.com
