A Note from Joyce Friedenberg, Locally Led Development Initiatives Team Lead

Having worked on the programs in the Locally Led Development Initiatives (LLDI) for over ten years now, I have seen locally led development efforts take many different forms at USAID. Continuously, the LLDI programs have remained committed to USAID’s understanding that when local leaders guide our programming, communities will gain more inclusive, sustainable outcomes. Over the past year, USAID’s redoubled commitment to localization and locally led development has enabled our team – both in Missions and from Washington – to more prominently support the Agency with our learning, stories of change, and leadership. LLDI’s programs, opportunities, and technical expertise support the entire Agency to enhance support of local ownership. During 2022, the LLDI team supported over 60 USAID Missions advance locally led development, stood up a USAID localization community of practice, advocated for deeper empowerment of our Foreign Service National (FSN) staff, invested in research that improves USAID’s understanding and practice of locally led development, and more.

The Local Works program, in its seventh year, continues to drive innovation and learning in direct partnerships with local organizations. This year, I had the opportunity to travel to North Macedonia, hear from Local Works Missions in the Balkans region, and talk with local Macedonian partners. I asked the partners what it means to be working directly with USAID. One partner responded that “when [communities] hear USAID is behind us as partners, they trust more that it will take place. This project will be sustained because of the trust.”

Locally led development is not just moving money to local organizations. It is a process enabled by relationship and trust-building, and engagement of local leadership, resources, and knowledge. It is not one single approach, but a range of ways that we at USAID can support partners and communities to shift decision-making power and development activities into the hands of local actors so outcomes that truly fit their needs and hopes can ultimately be sustained by them.

Photo by Megan Smith for USAID. Pictured are staff from USAID/North Macedonia and USAID Local Works Washington, with Joyce Friedenberg on the bottom right.

1. LISTEN BEFORE ACTING: To better understand local needs, build relationships between communities and USAID, and reflect on new ways to approach development challenges, USAID undertook its first listening tour with a local partner in Nepal. USAID staff and the partner traveled together to 10 different municipalities this year to hold 268 listening sessions. The sessions were conducted in local languages, and included focus group discussions and individual interviews. Traveling to incredibly remote municipalities sometimes nestled deep in the Himalayas—where USAID has never gone before—the team focused on hearing, respecting, and lifting the voices of marginalized communities. With the listening tour complete, USAID’s Local Works team in Nepal is poised to co-design and support meaningful activities with local partners in these remote areas. Photo by Grace Hwa for USAID/Nepal.

2. FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM: In the Philippines, USAID partners with Alay sa Kapatid Foundation (AKAP), a local faith-based organization with over 30 years of experience working in the Tublay municipality of Luzon, to facilitate reliable water access in underserved communities. Before the activity began, AKAP joined a USAID-supported consortium to understand community dynamics around water scarcity and conducted an initial social network analysis. Using the findings to inform their approach, AKAP now works to support and facilitate linkages among water source owners, ten local water associations, and local officials through dedicated outreach and workshops on partnership building, self confidence, and technical training. “[AKAP] did not just teach us, but they let us do it… It is our locality,” one community leader shared during an October 2022 town hall. The personal growth, expanded networks, and new knowledge gained through AKAP’s work will enable these water associations to continue their work long after USAID funding ends. Photo by Megan Smith for USAID.

3. EXPERIMENT, LEARN, AND SHARE: In May 2022, USAID Local Works Missions in the Balkans gathered in North Macedonia for the Local Works program’s first regionally-based learning summit. These Missions, at all stages of USAID’s Program Cycle, came together to share their experiences, approaches, and ideas. Five local Macedonian partners also joined to share their experiences and thoughts on partnering with USAID. One representative shared how the Local Works approach enabled a strong relationship between their organization and the USAID Mission’s Local Works team, led by Macedonian staff: “USAID came as a partnership. This relationship is far different, it’s way better. We meet because we want to fix something. We coordinate like partners.” Mission staff and partners learned from each other about innovative approaches different activities are taking to advance locally led development. This gathering provided an excellent model for future regional learning events. Photo by Megan Smith for USAID.

4. UNDERSTAND LOCAL SYSTEMS: In Azerbaijan, In Azerbaijan, USAID has been working with local partner Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) to strengthen the ability of the country’s associations to drive economic growth and expand inclusive economic opportunity. Recently, AMFA completed a baseline survey to inform their approach by deeply understanding the environment for local associations. AMFA knew that consultations with Azerbaijani entrepreneurs and associations would enable them to more intimately understand their innovations and challenges. Once the survey was completed, AMFA facilitated a Pause and Reflect session, convening USAID, government representatives, and other local stakeholders to share their findings. AMFA’s work is ensuring that all relevant stakeholders understand the local systems and build relationships that advance evidence-driven work. Through this program, AMFA is empowering associations to develop better practices for innovation, and in turn become innovation champions and incubators for both their members and society. Photo by USAID/Azerbaijan.

5. SUPPORT LOCAL LEADERSHIP: This year in Malawi, a three-year Local Works activity led by the Farmer’s Union of Malawi (FUM) along with their other local partners, came to a close. Their work increased agricultural productivity by sharing new technology, facilitating access to profitable markets, and enabling agriculture policy discussions aligned with local needs. Despite a smaller budget and challenges along the way, FUM and its partners’ approach of building upon existing local networks and governing structures led to efficiency and high potential for sustainability. This strong collaboration nearly tripled the number of activity participants initially envisioned. Additionally, facilitating direct interaction between farmers and district governing bodies has shifted the voices of local farmers to the national level. For example, local farmer and community representatives were ensured inclusion in the review process of key national agriculture policies and plans. The Local Works approach in Malawi has supported the leadership of both direct USAID local partners and all local stakeholders involved, further ensuring sustainability. Photo by FUM.

6. EMBRACE DEIA AND GENDER: With Local Works funding, USAID Missions are exploring new ways to prioritize the inclusion and leadership of marginalized groups, including youth, different gender identities, and people with disabilities. In El Salvador, USAID partners with Fundación Rafael Meza Ayau (FRMA) to inclusively improve quality of life for vulnerable families in Soyapango, home to the country’s second largest youth population but low levels of economic growth. Under the multi-sectoral program, nearly 2,000 individuals–ranging from teachers to students to job-seekers–have engaged in various skills training programs, while over 1,700 individuals have attended FRMA’s two job fairs. Franklin, one newly employed worker whose disability had complicated his previous job search, participated in one training to grow both personally and professionally. “The first day I arrived [at the new job], the deputy manager received me very kindly and made me feel good… I get along well with my colleagues. I like the work environment. The project training has helped me improve my income at home and has improved my lifestyle,” he shared. The program has shown how equitable approaches taken can help transform local systems, one individual at a time, for more sustainable, inclusive outcomes in the long term.. Photo by FRMA.

Now in its 40th year in 2023, SPA proved its resilience and impact in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2022. After the global evacuation of Peace Corps Volunteers in 2020, SPA enabled Peace Corps Posts to maintain relationships with grassroots community groups and further expand local leadership in 2022. This year in Vanuatu, for example, after attending a training facilitated by Peace Corps Post education specialists, mothers from three villages went on to lead their own fall classes with other mothers through SPA funding. These mothers are ensuring expanded support for children’s learning while deepening their own leadership within their communities. This year also marked the return of SPA-supported grants. One ongoing project supports a women’s association in Zambia, the only active women's group in their community, to explore new agricultural ventures to generate greater income and improve the nutritional health of the wider community. To date in 2022, SPA has funded one grant, 21 activities to support learning and other needs, and 79 trainings, each of which prove that small funds can create sustainable impact. Photo by Peace Corps/Vanuatu.

The Global Agreement, a newer partnership opportunity for USAID and Peace Corps, leverages both Agencies’ resources to catalyze local impact and currently supports five collaborations at the country and headquarters (HQ) levels. In Uganda, USAID and Peace Corps are partnering at the country level to mobilize grassroots leaders to address local food security, health, and education priorities. For example, after Peace Corps staff supported one agriculture training, a local partner organization went on to lead their own training with four youth groups to grow and sell vegetables using community land plots. At the Agency HQ level, USAID and the Peace Corps are collaborating to promote women’s economic empowerment by enhancing their digital literacy skills worldwide. In the past year, this partnership provided Peace Corps Posts with the opportunity to build greater technical expertise and specialization in this area through training of trainer workshops, materials development, and support to local communities. For example, Peace Corps Guatemala received support to work with local governance and technical experts to adapt Johns Hopkins’ Self Empowerment and Equity for Change Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook for the Guatemalan context while incorporating digital literacy. Photo by Peace Corps/Uganda.

In Guyana, USAID partners with the Guyana Economic Development Fund Inc. (GEDF) to offer local agricultural manufacturing businesses access to advisory services and mentoring, expert economic training, and capital to help scale their businesses up through the Economic Development Accelerator (EDA) program supported by US4LLD. As part of the accelerator, five final Guyanese agribusinesses were awarded grants of $30,000 each to scale the production and sales of their locally manufactured products to the international market. “The program experience was great fun from start to finish,” shared one awardee, owner of Taz Foods Tasmin Pellew, with GEDF’s Innovate Guyana initiative. “It really gives us that push that we were looking for… Seeing the other candidates and their products, getting to listen to their challenges on a weekly basis, knowing that it’s not just our company that has these hurdles to cross… We are all striving for that dream.” Photo by USAID/Guyana.

Meanwhile in South Africa, USAID is working with a local South African private company, SA SME Fund, to help drive innovation and growth by expanding the venture capital market. The SA SME Fund, established about six years ago, understood that venture capital was needed to kickstart new entrepreneurship, innovation, and impact in the South African economy. USAID’s support through US4LLD to SA SME takes a unique approach to attract new investors: create a venture capital “fund of funds” that reduces the risk of private sector investment in small and medium enterprises while catalyzing new, innovative ideas. By leveraging private capital in the nascent venture capital market in the country, SA SME has outraised capital in a difficult market, serving as a catalytic model for other entities to learn from.