TheEconomic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer theMarshall Plan. It reported to both theState Department and theDepartment of Commerce. The agency's first head wasPaul G. Hoffman, a former leader of car manufacturerStudebaker; he was succeeded byWilliam Chapman Foster in 1950.[1] The rest of the organization was also headed by major business figures such asArthur A. Kimball (who was a key contributor to the ECA's founding) as well asDavid K.E. Bruce (who worked at theOffice of Strategic Services in Europe duringWorld War II).
The ECA had an office in the capital of each of the 16 countries participating in the Marshall Plan. In theory the ECA served as joint administrator of the Marshall Plan development projects in each European country. In practice, local officials knew far more about what was needed than ECA representatives, who developed a management strategy of listening to local officials and allowed them to set priorities for reconstruction assistance.[2]
It was succeeded by theMutual Security Agency in 1951, one of the predecessor to theUnited States Agency for International Development.
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