40 years of DAI

Tactical deployment of grants was the most essential
ingredient in the SWIFT model, because
when money is targeted wisely and spent
locally, it can build confidence that conditions
will improve, even in the aftermath of violence.
But in Indonesia at the time, as in other unstable
environments, corruption was endemic. DAI and
OTI took pains, therefore, to administer “inkind”
grants—working with local organizations
to determine needs and then paying for actual
supplies and services to see that the money
actually went where it should. If SWIFT placed a
premium on DAI’s ability to move quickly, it also
drew heavily on DAI’s considerable administrative
skills.
SWIFT was by far DAI’s biggest “frontier initiative”
of the late 1990s and early 2000s. From
Peru to Liberia, and Timor-Leste to Iraq, the firm
learned how to delve deeper into the problems
of transitional societies and respond more
effectively to crises and opportunities. There
was no formula or standard bag of tricks for
achieving stabilization in troubled environments:
appropriate responses might involve opening a
clinic, rebuilding a town hall, or just cleaning up
garbage. But the approach, as Spake put it, was
consistent: work collaboratively with the citizenry;
give credit to local governments; rather
than taking “no” for an answer, find out where
“yes” is; and understand USAID well enough to
navigate through red tape while remaining accountable
for the money under management.
Photo by Mike Godfrey, DAI
Growing Pains Resurface
As task orders under SWIFT got under way and
other new work came on line, DAI struggled
with a new set of internal challenges. Barclay’s
first year as CEO got bumpier as the months
passed. Up until now, an improvisational approach
to management structure and systems
had sufficed, and most DAI staff either attributed
the company’s growth to Mickelwait’s appetite
for continuous experimentation or believed
that DAI had prospered despite it. Although a
divisional structure was first introduced in the
mid-1980s, the more informal label “group”
soon took hold, and the group names, sectoral
distinctions, and leadership changed often—
especially when group leaders took up Chief
In Liberia, DAI
projects put excombatants
and
war-affected
people to work
building community
infrastructure.
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