From his first day at the office last August, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green has peppered nearly all his public remarks with a common refrain: the purpose of U.S. foreign assistance should be ending its need to exist.

Now Green and his team are trying to figure out how to turn that motto into action — and what it might mean for the agency, its partners, and programs.

Last week the Advisory Council on Voluntary Foreign Assistance held its first meeting of 2018, and the bulk of the gathering of U.S. development leaders focused on what USAID now calls “journeys to self-reliance.” This is a new initiative to examine how USAID’s programs can help countries “transition” from traditional bilateral assistance to a different kind of relationship with the U.S. government as they take on more responsibility for planning, funding, and managing development activities. The work on self-reliance is also referred to as “outcome one” of USAID’s broader redesign effort.

Read the full article about USAID's efforts to make countries self-reliant by Michael Igoe at Devex International Development.