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Global Development Alliance Conference Call Minutes August 13, 2009, 2 PM - 3 PM
Speakers:
Mauricio Vera, Acting Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at USAID
Todd Kirkbride, Senior Alliance Advisor in the Global Development Alliance at USAID
Mauricio Vera
Thank you for joining us today. I'm the Acting Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) at the U.S. Agency for International Development. As you know, we do these conference calls to provide you all with information on the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives as well as on a variety of USAID programs.
We have a very interesting topic today - USAID's Global Development Alliance (GDA). There is a PPT that is available on the CFBCI website if you would like to follow along. It can be found here.
Our speaker today is Todd Kirkbride, who is a Senior Alliance Advisor in USAID's Global Development Alliance.
Todd Kirkbride
As mentioned, the PowerPoint presentation is 15 slides and is downloadable. The visuals will be helpful during the presentation.
Public-private partnerships are a relatively simple concept, but the point is that this is how USAID is doing business with the private sector and you as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Secretary Clinton has made public-private partnerships a priority for the U.S. State Department and USAID. As we transition to the new Administration and as we await our new administrator, we continue to move forward with integrating strategic partnerships into our daily operations.
The point of the third slide is to show the change in the total resource flows from the 1960s to now. In the 1960s, about 71 percent of the U.S. resource flows to the developing world came from the U.S. Government. The rest came from the private sector, including foundations, universities and NGOs.
In what I call the Pac Man effect, you see a drastic change when you look at the 2005 numbers. Private resource flows have increased to 83.2 percent and public resource flows have decreased to about 16.8 percent. This shows that the USG resources are a small drop in the bucket comparatively, and we must interact with all the other stakeholders in addressing development problems jointly.
The Venn diagram on the fourth slide explains the Agency's approach to partnership. A lot of businesses will give funding as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or philanthropic efforts. We are seeking to transition beyond those one-time smaller gifts to larger strategic interactions that look 5-10 years down the road for a deepened development impact. Our missions are similar in how they look at the goals for the mission and have business development strategies to reach them.
The GDA partnership model is built at the intersection of business interests and USAID development goals. The best partnerships are where our development challenge overlaps with a company's business challenge. We begin with USAID priorities, find alignment with direct business interests, and that is where we find the partnership opportunities that lead to sustained impact. For example, during the current economic crisis, the first thing to go for most companies is public giving. If a GDA partnership effectively addresses a business challenge, the result will be much more sustainable.
The language in the title of our office (Slide 5) might throw you for a loop. You should understand that GDA is an internal USAID acronym for PPP. It is a term that you might hear from other governments or businesses in how they approach partnerships. We aren't trying to make it more difficult but I like to describe this by the way of continuum with the most basic partnerships at one end and GDAs, which is what we call the gold standard of alliances, at the other end. A GDA is a powerful type of public-private partnership characterized by strong collaboration between USAID and resource partner(s) resulting in significant development impact.
Slide 6 lists out some criteria that we look at in evaluating whether a partnership is successful.
A jointly defined problem and solution that are agreed on by every side of the potential alliance.
Shared resources, risks and responsibilities. Is everyone willing to invest funds, time, etc.? GDA is there to try to maximize the value of the resources involved.
Goal of 1:1 leverage of cash, expertise, systems, networks, and other resources. This means that the alliance members would collectively be responsible for putting in the same amount of resources as USAID. This leverage ratio does not include just funding, but takes expertise and other resources into account as well.
Significant development impact. The partnerships must be innovative and bring together resources in new ways to address development challenges.
For the public good. GDAs are not to ensure that Coca-Cola increases their sales but that the partnership has a direct impact on meeting development goals.
GDA was created in 2001 (Slide 7). Over 900 alliances have been formed with more than 1,700 partners and an average GDA resource leverage of 2.71:1. It might sound like a challenge, but when you sit around a table with partners, you can see who all cares about these development issues and find solutions using the resources of all the partners.
GDAs have been formed in every sector where USAID works. Slide 8 gives a breakdown of the various sectors. They include: democracy and governance, economic growth, agriculture, disaster assistance, conflict mitigation, family planning, and natural resource management. Anywhere that people have common goals and that USAID is working provides an opportunity for partnership.
Why does the private sector want to partner with USAID? Slide 9 lists a number of these reasons.
Improve supply chains (sourcing and production)
Access new markets
Address business environment challenges
Improve public relations
Fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility objectives
Undertake philanthropy and disaster response
Risk mitigation (legal and compliance)
Workforce development
As GDAs are put together, you also want to consider the complementary assets that each partner brings to the table (Slide 10). USAID brings convening power, development expertise, local and global networks, policy influence, relationships, long-term country presence, credibility and funding. Our Resource Partners bring market driven approaches; skills, services and expertise; access to supply chains/markets; technology and intellectual support; relationships; long-term country commitment; communications and marketing; and funding. These assets come together in mutually useful ways. For example, USAID wants to build sustainability so it can eventually pull out of a country. The resource partner has an interest in supporting this work so that it can move its business more into the country for the long term.
Slide 11 provides a chart of who USAID partners with in developing these GDAs. Think tanks, foundations, universities, multinational corporations, other donors, NGOS, implementing partners, and local and national governments are just some of them.
What are potential future GDA opportunities and trends? (Slide 12) They include:
Global standards
Climate change/renewable energy
Base of the Pyramid Markets
Diaspora mobilization/Remittances
Food security crisis
Stabilization in fragile states
MCC, State, PEPFAR, and other linkages
Legacy mechanisms in Middle-Income countries
GDA provides support to the rest of the Agency in building alliances (Slide 13). GDA has a 16-person team with staff divided by region, sector and technical training. There are Regional Alliance builders in the field and GDA points of contact in every mission. GDAs are built in the field not in Washington. GDA Washington offers technical assistance and training to the missions on how to engage with the private sector and how to best find the intersection of interest between the two. GDA has over 2,000 company contacts that we share with the missions to assist them. In addition, GDA provides the field with policy guidance and lessons learned; coaching on opportunity identification; and communications support. In short, GDA serves as an internal support unit for the missions that are developing alliances.
In summary, GDAs are built by collaboration between USAID and a company. The GDA delivers a development benefit that is a public good. It leverages resources, but is not a matching grant. GDAs are not a passing development fad. GDAs are not a "thing we do" but a way we do the things.
So how do organizations engage and what does that look like?
Go to the USAID website and find the GDA website and you will see the Annual Program Statement (APS), which is the Agency's call for GDA proposals. It is a 22-page document, and we recommend reading it in its entirety. It provides guidelines and criteria for what a partnership will look like and what an application will look like.
In responding to an APS like this, we encourage you as NGOs to bring together resources from multiple partners. You may wish to form a consortium with organizations sharing a similar mission and goal. Consider partnering with larger organizations, for example, the Foods Resource Bank. You should investigate your local mission's strategic objectives to see if your proposal would fit within its priorities. Meet with mission staff and seek to collaborate with them. Again, these alliances happen in the field. The missions can be your best source of information for building an alliance and identifying other partners with whom you can engage.
The U.S. State Department has the Global Partnership Initiative (GPI) headed by Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, and which reports directly to Secretary Clinton. They have a charge that they will be making public over the next few months.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to your questions.
Q&A
What is the actual methodology for beginning the process of partnership?
The first step is going to the USAID website and the website for the GDA office under the Office of Development Partners (ODP). Download the APS. It explains the different areas we are working in and topics that we are working on. In order to engage with us, remember that we are not a matching grant office. We are looking for new resources usually coming from the private sector. If you have new resources and innovative ideas, then USAID is looking to talk to you. We encourage all of the communications to happen in the field. We are purely an internal support office at headquarters. Start the dialogue with the mission. Begin with the mission website and look at its mission objectives. You might find that your area is not covered by the mission because their resources are focused on another area for the next few years. If there is commonality of interest and if new resources are being brought to the table, talk with the mission.
Are there targeted countries that you are looking at first?
Our priority list is 90 countries. Certain countries which you are all aware of are receiving a lion-share of assistance: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Haiti, etc. However, the USAID website will show you the 90 markets and missions that we are working in. It is becoming a fundamental way of how we do business that we look at what people can bring to the table.
Our particular area of focus is nutrition. Will your process be an RFP process or will there be another proposal?
The missions can actually receive an unsolicited proposal from you. I strongly encourage everyone to not do that because it takes time and resources on your part. Do the research on the work you are doing and the resources you have and see if that aligns with what the mission is doing and working on. The mission is very willing to have a conversation if you have the resources. They will then ask for a five-page concept paper. If this paper is accepted, it will lead to a much more detailed conversation and then the full 35-page application.
This is very helpful. I just returned from Kyrgyzstan. Our team is working on a proposal involving some corporations. At what level do you encourage dialogue with the mission on proposals? May we actually dialogue with the local USAID office and local GDA representative at the Mission? Can we get on the same page to discover their policy, goals, or objectives? At what level does that become inappropriate or make for an unlevel playing field?
This sounds like the perfect ingredients that GDA looks for in an alliance. Depending on your resources and what you are providing, it sounds like the Mission would be ready to begin a conversation. Earlier conversations with the Mission are better to prevent any unnecessary work. If USAID likes the proposal, they will have a say in how it looks. Our regional alliance builder is presently based out of Kiev in Ukraine. For the "Stans" we are handling that differently; the Mission there should have a GDA contact. If they have questions, in regards to the level-playing field, the GDA office can provide guidelines for engagement. These concept papers are pre-competed documents, which affords a level of flexibility to ensure that there is a synergy there. The website should be able to tell you if there is an alignment in what you are doing and what they are doing.
I was looking at the APS and it says that the deadline is September 31, 2009. Will this be renewed?
Great question. It is an annual program statement. After it expires, there is a month of downtime where the missions cannot take any concept papers before a new APS is posted. We do anticipate putting out another one in November 2009.
We work in Benin combating child trafficking. This conversation is timely as we are hosting a roundtable on the Hill next month. I would like to invite you sit at the table with us and other stakeholders that should be apart of the conversation.
Emails and points of contact are updated on our website. The staff member that is on the West Africa desk will see if the interests are aligned and if and how they would like to participate. We appreciate the invitation and will look into the opportunity, but want to ensure that we don't interfere with the work of the missions. The resources are maintained at the mission level. You should also reach out to the Women in Development office here at USAID within USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (EGAT). Kathy Blakeslee is the head of that office. They might also be able to participate in this roundtable.
We work with agriculture and assistance to farmers. Is there a conflict of interest with the African Growth and Opportunity Act?
Those are great areas to work in. The private sector would be looking at how to expand the market of production and how to increase the buyers/distributors of that product. Ask yourself what your goals are and who else cares. Then look at other private sector partners who might have the same goals and start informal conversations. If USAID is at the table that is great, but we are mainly a convener allowing these partnerships to grow on their own.
Regarding the Global Partnership Initiative, is it under USAID?
GPI is part of the U.S. State Department. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley heads it up. They have a much broader spectrum of partnership which is seen more from a diplomatic lens rather than development lens. Many use GPI as a point of entry and then are passed to GDA. We are all under the umbrella of the U.S. Government. They don't have their own budget yet, but they help connect different organizations together. It serves as a convener and a clearinghouse.
Close - Mauricio Vera
If you have any additional questions, please email them to fbci@usaid.gov. Thank you, Mr. Todd Kirkbride for your great overview of the Global Development Alliance.
The next conference call will be held with the Executive Director of the White House Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Joshua DuBois. We will also be hosting a call in the coming months on the Private Voluntary Organization registration process. The dates for these calls have not been set yet, but they will be posted in the CFBCI eNewsletter and on the CFBCI website in the coming weeks.
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