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BUREAU FOR DEVELOPMENT, DEMOCRACY, AND INNOVATION
LOCAL, FAITH, AND TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIPS HUB
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Locally Led Development Initiatives |
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PAINTING A PICTURE OF LOCALLY LED DEVELOPMENT
This month, we're featuring powerful videos and multimedia stories that paint a holistic picture of how advancing locally led development impacts USAID's partners and the communities where they live and work in tangible, meaningful ways.
DYK: You can find past Locally Led Development Initiatives Newsletters in our archive!
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40 YEARS OF USAID-PEACE CORPS PARTNERSHIP |
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 PHOTO CREDIT: NURUDEEN SANNI. JOHN ANDERSON, A COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSISTANT IN LIBERIA LEADS A HEALTH TALK IN HIS COMMUNITY ON MALARIA PREVENTION.
In January 1983, USAID and the Peace Corps launched the Small Project Assistance (SPA) program to catalyze community-led development by harnessing the unique capabilities of both Agencies–from deep connections in new, less accessible communities to technical expertise. Entering its 40th year, SPA is the longest-standing partnership between both Agencies. Over the course of four decades, SPA projects have reached 30 million community members in more than 115 countries utilizing over $87 million in USAID funding.
Sheila Chan, a Peace Corps Philippines SPA Coordinator, shared her reflections on the program: “It’s community centered, it’s demand driven. It is not based on what the funder wants, but what the community needs.”
Though each project’s dollar value is relatively small, averaging $2,500 each, SPA projects make sustainable progress through deep commitment to community leadership.
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PHOTO CREDIT: SOULEYMAN MESSALTI. GUADALUPE USES WATER FROM SPA-SUPPORTED CISTERNS TO CLEAN AROUND HER HOME IN CUATRO PALOS, MEXICO.
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PHOTO CREDIT: EXPOSURE MEDIA PRODUCTIONS. MARK ANTHONY, FISHERY COORDINATOR IN THE PHILIPPINES, LEADS A PARTICIPATORY COASTAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT USING STRENGTHENED SKILLS AND NEW TOOLS ENABLED BY SPA.
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SERBIA: LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO POLLUTION |
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 PHOTO CREDIT: RADE RANKOVIC FOR USAID. VLADAN SHOWS WHERE THE SOKOBANJA ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY WORKS ON A MAP.
Nestled between two lush mountains with flowing rivers and mineral springs lies Sokobanja, a picturesque town in southeastern Serbia. Despite being marketed as an ecotourism destination, only two of Sokobanja’s 24 villages collect garbage in an organized fashion.
Vladan Dimitrijević is president of the Sokobanja Ecological Society, a group formed in 2019 by community activists. The group estimates about 300 tons of garbage from neighboring villages on the outskirts of Sokobanja are dumped in illegal landfills each month.
“We started dealing with waste management, because we simply realized that it is the main problem of our community,” Vladan said.
How has the Sokobanja Ecological Society been fighting illegal waste with support from USAID’s Local Works program in Serbia? Read the blog to find out more.
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LEBANON: COOPERATIVES GIVING BACK |
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PHOTO CREDIT: LEBANON OF TOMORROW. COOPERATIVE MEMBERS POSE AROUND THE FOOD THEY'VE PREPARED.
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PHOTO CREDIT: LEBANON OF TOMORROW. COOPERATIVE MEMBERS DELIVER FOOD IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
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To give back during the holiday season, Lebanon of Tomorrow prepared boxes containing products made by agricultural and food processing cooperatives across Lebanon supported by USAID's Cooperative Development Program.
Cooperative members also cooked meals to be distributed to orphanages, retirement homes, and families in need. Busy in the kitchen with fellow cooperative leaders, Nawal Jawad, Head of Haris Cooperative shared, "We are thankful for all the women who came from across Lebanon, including me. We are very happy that we met each other, and we are doing an important deed, which is to help people."
Watch the video to learn more about the Cooperative Development Activity - CD4 implemented by Land O'Lakes Venture 37.
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GUATEMALA: DEEP ROOTS OF RESILIENCE |
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 PHOTO CREDIT: MESOAMERICAN ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE AND FORESTS
In Mesoamerica, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities manage more than 50 million hectares of forests. Women play a fundamental role in these communities: they preserve the ancestral culture, promote productive systems based on traditional knowledge, and are the pillar of the climate resilience of their territories.
Amidst increasingly extreme climate change effects and deforestation pressures, Indigenous and local women are the first line of defense for the world's richest ecosystems.
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LEARN ABOUT LOCALIZATION AT USAID |
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 USAID is redoubling its commitment to ensure the Agency’s work puts local actors in the lead, strengthens local systems, and is responsive to local communities. Informed by over a decade of experience, the Agency is advancing localization—a set of internal reforms, actions, and behavior changes—to shift more leadership for priority setting, project design, implementation, and measuring results to the people and institutions with the capabilities and credibility to drive change in their own countries and communities. To inform the public about USAID’s localization goals and the Agency’s efforts to advance locally led development, USAID has established a new webpage.
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PARTNERSHIPS
- USAID and diverse partners co-created six new research and development awards advancing locally led development, committing $8.8 million to generate knowledge that meets local priorities, strengthens local capacity, and engages local actors as producers and end users. Read more.
- Local Macedonian partner Konekt recently convened over 100 participants at the first Annual Philanthropy Forum in December to discuss how philanthropy serves as an engine for sustainable development and support in times of crisis. USAID's partners shared opportunities for participants – ranging from civil society organizations (CSOs), private companies, and government stakeholders across the philanthropy sector – to get involved in their efforts and encouraged connection by grouping CSOs and companies by shared interest. Technical experts, including a major British arts dealer and a Ukrainian CSO representative, joined to share their experiences. Interested in learning more about good philanthropic and corporate social responsibility practices? Read the new white book prepared by USAID's local partner, the Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia.
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
- Seeking support to strengthen people-powered social justice movements? Check out the Powered by the People (PxP) opportunity from USAID’s Center for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. The activity will provide direct, accessible support that addresses needs, opportunities, and challenges identified by democratic activists and other civic actors engaged in nonviolent collective action. USAID will work with these communities to co-create PxP, ultimately elevating locally led approaches while strengthening existing platforms and networks. Submit your application by 3 PM ET on March 1, 2023.
- Interested in catalyzing effective climate action by tapping into innovative, diverse partnerships? Submit an application for USAID’s Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI) by 5 PM ET on March 1, 2023. Explore the opportunity focusing on systems, locally led development, and local capacity strengthening on grants.gov for more.
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REPORTS AND ARTICLES
- Locally led development takes time. Sometimes, it’s difficult to see what the process really looks like – so we held a photo contest with our locally led programs to see stories of what localization looks like in different contexts. Check out the winning photos and their stories in our new blog, 5 Stories of Localization in Action.
- In Ghana, Institute of Teacher Education and Development (INTED) seeks to address attitudes and barriers against girls in higher secondary school to improve their learning environment. How? INTED organized a town hall to hear from relevant local stakeholders. Check out some recent news articles in Ghanaian outlets sharing the call to center gender concerns in education and review existing curriculum. INTED partners with USAID’s Mission in West Africa through the Local Works program.
- USAID’s partnership with Kenyan organization Northern Rangelands Trust Trading (NRTT) through the Local Works program aims to support communities to drive their own sustainable economic growth. Over the last year, local media has featured progress prominently. For example, a group of 240 women community conservation leaders – at the forefront of mangrove restoration and marine conservation – received a nearly $70K USD loan to launch and expand new businesses. The loan is then distributed to individual members who graduate from vocational coursework and business mentorship through micro-credit loans. See our May 2022 LLDI newsletter for more on past graduates from vocational and entrepreneurial training.
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TOOLS AND RESOURCES
- How can development practitioners know which tools to use in local capacity strengthening work? Check out this guide. You will find tips to assist USAID and its partners select tool categories most useful for performance measurement, capacity action planning, and risk mitigation, as well as identify and implement best practices.
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EVENTS
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What are ways that women’s economic empowerment across sectors can effectively support greater gender equity? Join USAID and Euromonitor on Wednesday February 22, 8 - 10 AM ET for a virtual discussion on a collaborative research project studying pathways to women’s economic empowerment across 13 countries in Sub–Saharan Africa. For the first time, reports summarizing findings for each country, as well as a synthesis report, will be released. Register here. This research is in part supported by CDP.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIES
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Locally Led Development Initiatives are part of the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub.
The LFT Hub focuses on strengthening USAID’s ability to partner with non-traditional and diverse actors including local, faith-based, and community organizations; schools and hospitals; foundations; diaspora communities; cooperatives; and volunteer organizations. Learn more about how LFT is harnessing the power of partnerships through the following:
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