The National Academy of Public Administration

Haiti Report

Why Foreign Aid to Haiti Failed (and How to Do It Better Next Time)

by Terry F. Buss and Adam Gardner

Haiti — an island [shared with the Dominican Republic] country of 8 million people about the size of Maryland just 600 miles off the coast of Florida—is an extreme case: it has received billions in foreign assistance, yet persists as one of the poorest and worst governed countries. Haiti is strategically important to the United States because of its location; perpetual state of violence and instability affecting the region; support for drug trafficking; potential as a trading partner; strong ties to a large Haitian-American diaspora; counterbalance to Communist Cuba; and relationship with the Latin American and Caribbean community. Although it proudly lays claim as the second oldest republic in the Hemisphere, and the only nation whose slave population defeated a colonial power to become free, Haiti is, and has been, among the worst governed and most undemocratic states. Few places in the world, and no places in the Western Hemisphere, are poorer than Haiti.This paper explains why, after consuming billions in foreign aid over three decades, and hundreds of millions specifically for governance and democratization programs, not to mention billions for other programs, Haiti remains politically dysfunctional and impoverished. Read the full report

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Academy Fall Meeting November 15-17, 2006 The Mayflower
Washington, DC

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Academy Experts Recommend Strategies for Managing Effectively in Post-9/11 World

“The events of September 11, 2001 revealed serious deficiencies in government organization, systems and management. National Academy of Public Administration Fellows recommend strategies to manage effectively in a post-9/11 world in Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government, published this month.

The book, edited by Fellow Thomas H. Stanton, tackles a wide range of issues, including designing an organization that provides a strong government capacity to deliver services citizens need and deserve; making the Undersecretary for Management a key linchpin in bringing DHS functions together; restoring the President’s capacity to manage effectively; using the imperative of national security to improve federal, state and local relations especially with critical services like police, fire and health; capitalizing on tested and proven management strategies to surmount new and upcoming challenges for our nation; sorting through constitutional alternatives for holding government contractors accountable for the work they perform; and transforming military personnel system policies to avoid staffing crises during the War on Terror.

“This book provides invaluable insights and recommendations on how to improve government organization and performance as our nation faces new and imposing threats here and abroad,” Academy President Howard Messner said.

Buy “Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government ”

The views expressed in this book are those of the Fellow. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academy as an institution.