United States Agency of International Development (USAID)

USAID is the U.S. government agency that provides assistance to foreign countries in agriculture, human services, health, and economic development. U.S. foreign aid has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets and improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. USAID was created in 1961 during the Kennedy administration to administer economic assistance programs. The substantial investment of aid in foreign countries has meant that USAID has contributed to the development of evaluation practice in developing nations and for development projects.