[Time-Sensitive] 🗳️ Vote by April 8: Shape the Future of U.S. International Assistance
Your Voice Matters: Cast Your Vote Today until April 8 to Reimagine How America Engages the World
Dear Unlock Aid community,
Today we're launching reimagineaid.org to coincide with our participation at the Skoll World Forum. We need your help identifying what to prioritize with lawmakers and policymakers about the future of U.S. international assistance. We need you to vote on which ideas matter most.
Vote today: www.reimagineaid.org
A Pivotal Moment for U.S. International Assistance
Recent reporting from Vox, the New York Times, and Devex all highlight the same reality: we're at a watershed moment for how America engages with the world. Traditional models of U.S. international assistance are undergoing profound changes, creating both challenges and opportunities for reimagining a new approach.
As Farah Stockman noted in the Times, “Those who care about the world and America’s role in it need to create a new vision for what foreign aid could be.”
The conversation in Washington, DC is evolving rapidly, and this is your chance to influence its direction.
Your Voice, Your Vote
We've gathered more than 30 innovative ideas that could transform U.S. international engagement. These proposals emerged from our 6-month listening tour, where we asked hundreds of people: If we could redesign the U.S. approach to global development, what would we do differently? We've also incorporated new ideas submitted since we announced this initiative last week.
These proposals go beyond the false choice between simply maintaining the status quo or eliminating foreign assistance entirely.
Some of the groundbreaking ideas include:
Creating a Pay-for-Results Health Fund that protects Americans by stopping disease threats at their source
Enabling everyday Americans and especially diaspora communities to co-invest alongside the U.S. government in vetted international ventures
Establishing an "Outcomes Marketplace" that only pays for breakthrough innovations that work
Building two-way innovation pipelines that bring global solutions developed abroad to American communities
Offering partner nations a "menu" of high-impact opportunities they help shape from day one
Implementing strategic debt buydowns tied directly to economic reforms
We need your input. Which of these ideas deserve priority attention from policymakers? Vote for your top three choices, or share more in-depth feedback on a range of proposals, to help shape our advocacy agenda.
Why This Matters Now
The future of U.S. international assistance is being decided now, and the stakes couldn't be higher. This is a moment that requires adaptation and innovation, not just preservation of existing and outdated systems.
The proposals you help prioritize will inform our conversations with decision-makers who are actively shaping the future of American engagement abroad. These decisions will determine whether vital programs continue to save lives, whether we harness the power of innovation to solve urgent global challenges, and whether we can build partnerships that create mutual prosperity for both partner nations and America.
We've heard directly from policymakers that they want to know what people outside of Washington, DC think. This is a unique opportunity to provide that perspective and ensure voices beyond the DC Beltway shape the future of America’s international engagement.
Make Your Mark by April 8
Voting is open now through Tuesday, April 8 at 11:59 PM ET.
We've invited both the general public and a panel of experts to weigh in, ensuring a comprehensive view of which approaches have the most potential.
This is a rare chance to directly influence how America engages with the world. Don't miss it.
The future of American global engagement is being decided now. Make sure your ideas are part of the conversation.
To Progress,
Unlock Aid