Local Engagement in USAID Policies: Local Listening Session

NOTE: This session was not hosted or organized by USAID. This was a side-event hosted by The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN), a bipartisan reform coalition that promotes more effective and accountable U.S. foreign assistance, and a MFAN member, Save the Children, an organization working in the U.S. and around the world to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.) 

This interactive session discussed how to improve USAID’s process for consulting and engaging local and national actors in the formulation of USAID development and humanitarian policies. Last spring, USAID revised its operational policy stating that the process “must engage with and integrate the perspectives of diverse groups of internal, external, and local stakeholders.” This session heard from local and national actors on the topic, “What does successful USAID engagement with local stakeholders in policy development look like?”

The Principle of Mutuality: Effective Partnership Approaches to Foster Sustainable Locally Led Development

NOTE: This session was not hosted or organized by USAID. This was a side-event hosted by The Capacity Development Network (CDNetwork), an informal platform for non-governmental organizations (INGOS and NNGOS) to convene, share information, and exchange ideas and best practices pertaining to capacity strengthening for input into programs, policy, and strategic directions. (You can find and join the CDNetwork via Google Groups.) 

This session featured a panel of national and regional actors who discussed the LCS principle of mutuality – and more specifically: the enablers and barriers to effective co-creation, participatory approaches to program implementation and monitoring, capacity strengthening that accelerates locally led development, and mutually beneficial partnerships between national and international stakeholders.

The panelists represented projects and partnerships that feature a variety of LCS models, for example: the traditional arrangement whereby INGO strengthens capacity of a local institution or organization; a partnership whereby a regional or national NGO strengthens capacity of other local entities; and formal networks of regional and national organizations learning from one another.

Moderator: Ms. Dyness Kasungami, Director, Global Child Health Task Force & Reimagining Technical Assistance (RTA), JSI 

Panelists:

• Professor Alioune Camara, National Coordinator, National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) of Guinea / Full Professor, Epidemiology / Chair of Public Health, University of Conakry, based in Guinea
• Ms. Rosemary Mburu, Executive Director, WACI Health / Co-host (with Management Sciences for Health) of the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 (CSEM), based in Kenya
• Ms. Supabhorn Pengnonyang, Program Manager in Policy and Advocacy at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), based in Thailand
• Mr. Eugene Rusangwana, Chief of Party of USAID IGIRE WIYUBAKE project, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), based in Rwanda

Closing remarks: Ms. Katheryn Hoeflich, Acting Team Lead - New Partners Initiative at USAID/Washington.

Making Locally-Led Development a reality: lessons from engagement with USAID Missions

NOTE: This session was not hosted or organized by USAID. This was a side-event hosted by The Movement for Community Led Development (MCLD), a Majority World-led network of networks with 2000+ local civil society organizations and 30+ INGO members. MCLD and its members are dedicated to ensuring that every person has a fundamental right to voice in the decisions that affect their lives. 

USAID has made a commitment to develop its capacities to become more locally led by 2030. But how does this commitment translate at the Mission level, where policy meets practice? How can it be implemented across so many varied contexts and offices? And what does it take to strengthen the capacity of the Missions? In this session, participants heard from local actors about their engagement with USAID Missions. In a conversation between local actors and USAID Missions the session explored what is working, where the challenges are, and what the Missions can do to operationalise the locally led agenda. The session offered valuable insights not only for USAID, but across agencies and actors.

Representatives from USAID’s Global Health Programs discussed the role of capacity strengthening across two different types of mechanisms. Panelists shared their respective approaches to strengthening organizational capacity through either parallel to, or as integrated into, technical capacity strengthening. An open dialogue followed to reflect on the approaches that were shared, including successes and challenges. 

Closing Plenary Poem “In Our Hands” and Graphic Recording

Graphic Recording of Closing Remarks from Counselor White

The closing plenary of the second annual Local Capacity Strengthening Learning and Feedback Forum featured USAID senior leaders, a wrap-up of feedback and lessons from all Forum sessions, and an invigorating panel discussion with Mission and civil society leadership. This session celebrated progress made and inspired all actors to commit to the next phase of local capacity strengthening at USAID.

Speakers during the closing session included:

• Clinton White, USAID Agency Counselor
• Veena Reddy, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator
• Anu Rajaraman, Mission Director USAID/Colombia
• JC Rodriguez, Deputy Senior Development Advisor (Acting) and Humanitarian Office Director, USAID/Syria
• Moses Isooba, Executive Director, Uganda NGO Forum
• Sunita Mainali, Executive Director of Women's Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) in Nepal and a Feminist Activist 
• Sarah Rose, USAID Senior Localization Advisor

Valuing and Sharing Local Knowledge and Capacities: Lessons from the OECD peer learning exercise

NOTE: This session was not hosted or organized by USAID. This was a side-event hosted by OECD-DAC, The ShareTrust, and Warande Advisory Centre. The OECD Development Assistance Committee agreed to carry out a peer learning exercise on locally led development co-operation. The exercise was conducted in collaboration with The ShareTrust,  and Warande Advisory Centre, two organizations focusing on enabling locally led development. Together, they initiated the Local Coalition Accelerator (LCA) model, which brings together local and national organizations to form Coalitions of local and national actors for peer-to-peer capacity sharing and co-creating solutions for locally led development.

The session briefly presented findings from the OECD DAC peer learning exercise on locally led development highlighting how development providers can enable locally led development through their policies, financing, delivery mechanisms and equitable partnerships. In particular, the session discussed the challenges and enablers for valuing and sharing local capacities and knowledge looking at existing practices identified during the thematic deep dive on the matter. It featured a panel discussion with representatives from local and national organizations involved in coalitions in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda through the local coalition accelerator model.

Forthcoming Recording: OECD-DAC, ShareTrust, and Warande Advisory Centre Side Event