My first three months with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) have been a whirlwind. I am struck by the scope of the challenges ahead and how profoundly the global landscape has changed since the agency’s founding in 2004. In the immediate term, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to erase hard-won development gains, with the first increase in global poverty levels in nearly 20 years. Other global challenges also loom large on the horizon – climate change, the rise of autocracies and dangerous geopolitical tensions – further threatening prospects for sustainable, inclusive economic growth and challenging democratic values. And there are pressing needs here at home, so it has never been more crucial to use our limited development dollars effectively and strategically.