In 2017, AISD was among 170 organizations and individual to endorse the guiding principles for effective foreign aid reform that were, proposed by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network:
- Foreign assistance structures should uphold diplomacy and development as distinct but equal.
- Foreign assistance should help create the conditions under which it is no longer necessary.
- Foreign assistance should be focused on countries where the need is greatest or where it can have the most impact.
- Foreign assistance should be transparent and accountable to American taxpayers and local stakeholders.
- Foreign assistance should tap the best practices in development across the U.S. Government and international partners.
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) is a reform coalition composed of international development and foreign policy practitioners, policy advocates and experts, concerned citizens and private sector organizations. MFAN was created to build upon the bipartisan consensus that has emerged over the last decade that the U.S. should play a leadership role in achieving economic growth and reducing poverty and suffering around the world, and that we can play this role more effectively, efficiently, and transparently.