The past seven years in the administration of President George W. Bush have seen momentous changes for U.S. aid. At no time in the last half-century have there been greater changes in the volume, purposes and policies, organisation and delivery of U.S. aid. Prof Carol Lancaster of the Mortara Center for International Studies at Georgetown University asserts that these changes constitute a 'revolution' in U.S. aid-giving.

Although the changes have included some valuable new programmes, purposes and approaches however, they have also raised some difficult policy issues that need to be resolved. The changes were not planned as part of a broader U.S. government effort to shape its aid to fit the challenges and opportunities of the new century, so in many cases have created greater policy and organisational incoherence and disarray - precisely the opposite impact many of them were intended to have.

At this ODI event, Prof Lancaster presented her ongoing research into the changes and challenges facing U.S. aid under President Bush.