<h4>USAID Lowering Barriers to Entry</h4>USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) is making it easier for partners to bring good ideas to the Agency by lowering barriers to entry. It also is targeting co-creation as a way to build stronger mutual partnerships from the outset and speed up the award process. Now an Agency priority goal, co-creation brings together a variety of stakeholders—such as local governments, donors, civil society, private-sector companies, and faith-based organizations—to build solutions to development challenges. It has proven successful in regions and projects around the globe.<h4>The Good</h4>Using co-creation helps USAID to take advantage of the full marketplace of ideas, diversify the partner base, improve the quality of partnerships, and strengthen stakeholder relationships<blockquote>“You can use co-creation through the entire life cycle of our work, from ideas through funding and implementation. Though NPI has concentrated mainly on using it in the procurement cycle, we need to co-create in everything we do.”</blockquote>Joining a co-creation gives potential prime partners and sub-awardees an extra opportunity to understand what USAID is trying to achieve. And they can take advantage of the in-person interaction in these sessions to get a better sense of the Agency’s goals and approach. “We have found that co-creation avoids problems, sets shared expectations, and preempts miscommunication,” Tasker said. “When you work together to figure out our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning [MEL] plan, for instance, it prevents future issues.” When done well, co-creation increases capacity. After all, it is a knowledge exchange, and when stakeholders work together, the whole becomes stronger. There is an in-person, face-to-face expertise transfer that is normally hard to obtain. This is true even if the interaction among participants is virtual—a necessity in a COVID-19 world. “Though you're no longer going to an in-person meeting, now you can have more people in the room,” Tasker said. “That’s very helpful for smaller and more local players.” In fact, Missions have exceeded their co-creation targets significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We're making slow and steady progress with co-creation,” Tasker added. “It has had an impact, and today we’re seeing better workflow results, which should lead to better development results.”<h4>The Bad</h4>Today, about 80 percent of USAID funding is directed to fewer than 70 organizations—an allocation that is not good, not smart, and not sustainable. “We need to be more cognizant of our potential partners,” Tasker said. “When you submit a concept, join a co-creation, and don’t yet have an award, there can be a tendency to agree to whatever USAID says because you want the funding. Please don’t do that. Assert yourself, and don’t let your ideas get railroaded. You were invited because you did something right, and we need your expert perspective and good ideas.&nbsp; “One key point for our partners is that we want to do co-creations and we need that mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge, but we’re bad at it. Co-creation needs trained facilitators, and we haven’t got that many. So, whether a multi-stakeholder co-creation or one-on-one, if you have the skills, please bring your ‘A game’ and lead it­—to the extent we let you. You’re probably good at it, and we need your leadership.”<h4>The Future</h4>He also noted that “co-creating MEL plans is a great idea, and we want to do much more of this. That's one of my recommendations going forward.” The ability to work together is also important. Often, collaboration is at the heart of a co-creation—figuring out if organizations can team up to solve a complex challenge.&nbsp; “Partners may resent a Broad Agency Announcement [BAA] co-creation because they may feel like they're giving away services, but few ideas in development are really new. It’s about putting the right pieces together,” Tasker said. It can be a burden to partner directly with USAID, so NPI looks to sub-awards today and the new ideas of smaller NGOs. Through a co-creation, organizations can discover a potential sub-partner that has certain resources or specific technical expertise to bring to the team. At its heart, co-creation nurtures openness and a shared opportunity for participants, resulting in better program design and execution. Bringing together disparate partners and diverse expertise to solve a common challenge often generates innovative solutions that no single organization could have developed on its own.&nbsp; <a href="https://workwithusaid.org">USAID Co-Creation Field Guide</a> (PDF) <a href="https://workwithusaid.org">USAID Acquisition and Assistance Strategy&nbsp;</a><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/feature_photo_2_3bdf555398.png" alt=""></figure>

African children at a community water spout

NPI and Co-Creation: The Good, the Bad, and the Future at USAID

Susan Reichle

Indira Kaur Ahluwalia

<h4>U.S. Citizens Deserve Recognition for Funding American Aid</h4>When you think of USAID’s brand, you might just think of its logo. But USAID’s brand is more than just its official seal, its name, and its tagline “From the American People.” USAID’s brand represents what the Agency stands for: the goodwill of the American people and their commitment to partnership.&nbsp;USAID’s branding builds credibility and trust and connects the Agency to its stakeholders. Marking is a part of branding. It refers to the physical application of the USAID logo on USAID-funded program materials and assets, such as signs, tents, and vehicles.Prospective partners will notice that branding and marking requirements are part of every funding opportunity. USAID has branding and marking requirements in place to make it clear to beneficiaries of U.S. aid that the assistance they receive is provided by the American people. Partners who receive awards have an important role to play in making sure branding policies and marking requirements are properly upheld. For most funding opportunities, you will need to submit a branding and marking plan. During the award kickoff meeting, USAID will brief you on the requirements for your project.Here are three key points to remember about USAID branding and marking:<h4>1. U.S. law requires it.</h4>The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as amended) requires USAID-funded programs and assets to be identified internationally as “American aid,” which in practice means using the logo consisting of the seal, the brand name USAID, and the tagline, "From the American People." This is essential for transparency and accountability, and it gives credit where credit is due—to U.S. taxpayers.&nbsp;Partners need to develop a plan for branding and marking their project, and they must submit it to their agreement officer's representative (AOR) or contracting officer's representative (COR) for approval.&nbsp;<h4>2. There are different rules for different types of funding.&nbsp;</h4>You might have heard the saying “branding follows funding.” This means that the type of funding you receive from USAID determines the specific branding and marking rules you must follow. If you are an acquisition partner, only the USAID logo can be used on program materials and products. If you are an assistance partner, that generally means the program can be co-branded with your logo and the USAID logo, but the two logos must be of equal size and prominence.<h4>3. USAID resources provide instructions on how to meet the branding and marking requirements for your USAID award.</h4>Whether you are an acquisition partner or an assistance partner, you can find all of USAID’s branding and marking guidelines in <a href="http://usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/320">ADS Chapter 320</a> and the <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1869/USAID_GSM-02_04_2020.pdf">USAID Graphic Standards Manual and Partner Co-Branding Guide</a> (PDF). A variety of <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/branding/resources">branding resources</a> are available online, including logos, templates, and color combination recommendations.&nbsp;Still have questions? Ask your COR or AOR!&nbsp;<h4>Other Useful Links:&nbsp;</h4><a href="http://usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/320">ADS Chapter 320: Branding and Marking</a><a href="https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/get-grant-or-contract/trainings-how-work-usaid/how-work-usaid-branding-and-marking">Branding and Marking Training Module</a><a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BrandingMarking-QRG-09-13-21.pdf">Branding and Marking Quick Reference Guide</a> (PDF)<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1869/BrandingFAQs_Feb2020.pdf">USAID’s Brand: FAQs</a> (PDF)<a href="https://www.workwithusaid.org/resource-library/usaid-branding-bakery">USAID “Branding Bakery”</a> (video)

Three Things to Know about USAID Branding and Marking

Identifying, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding the right candidate is always challenging—especially when an organization is up against a tight deadline. When a key USAID implementing partner in the Dominican Republic faced the need to rapidly hire a permanent Chief of Party (COP), USAID’s Mission in the Dominican Republic tapped the resources of the Partnerships Incubator to deliver the training, technology, coaching, and mentoring required for the partner to successfully recruit and hire their next COP within a tight three-week timeframe.Situated in Santiago De Los Caballeros, Universidad Instituto Superior de Agricultura (ISA) supports USAID’s Higher Education Partnerships–Dominican Republic (HEP-DR) activity to provide youth from high-risk backgrounds with access to university programs, successful completion of tertiary education, and connections to the labor market. Universidad ISA was selected as the implementing partner for HEP-DR in 2019 but has a longstanding connection with USAID, which contributed to the university’s founding 60 years ago.&nbsp;While the university’s human resources (HR) team had a robust, paper-based candidate selection process in place, this circumstance required workflow mapping, a platform that could serve as a centralized location for the hiring team, and access to additional recruitment resources for a time-bound, executive-level recruitment process. Donna Vincent Roa (Project Director, Partnerships Incubator) partnered with Universidad ISA to support their implementation of Workable as a digital recruitment platform to automate the hiring process. She also worked alongside the university HR and project team to map this process and establish team member roles.&nbsp;“[The Incubator] brought enabling technologies to enhance the recruitment process,” remarked Cheyla Rodríguez, Technical and Administrative Analyst for the HEP-DR project at Universidad ISA. “The HR department has good recruiting protocols; it was a matter of mapping those to the solution to help accelerate the existing process and land on a great candidate in a short period of time.”The Partnerships Incubator also leveraged social networks to elevate public communications about the vacancy to an executive level and advised the Universidad ISA team on expanding candidate sourcing to include platforms like Devex and LinkedIn. Throughout the three-week period, Roa supported the team with taking actions to increase the awareness of the position openings, reviewing candidate applications, conducting panel interviews, and selecting the most qualified candidate.&nbsp;Though its sprawling beaches and historical landmarks wow visitors, the Dominican Republic struggles to overcome key development challenges. The island nation ranks second lowest in the region in terms of educational performance, and the country struggles to provide adequate education and workforce skills development to its under-30 youth, which comprise over 50 percent of the population.&nbsp;Universidad ISA wants to change that. Six decades ago, Universidad ISA was established to respond to the educational needs of the Dominican Republic’s agricultural economy and rural communities. Since then, the university has diversified its curriculum and now offers various undergraduate, graduate, and technical programs. The university is credited with improving the security, financial outlook, and general well-being of the Dominican Republic’s next generation of professionals, training them in critical thinking and leadership skills to advance technological innovation and sustainable development—objectives that will be critical to the country’s development trajectory.“The Incubator looks forward to seeing the continued success and growth of Universidad ISA with this technology in place,” says Roa. “Over the next six months we will continue to check in with the new COP and with the Mission to evaluate the effectiveness of the support provided to the university.”As a result of this support, not only has Universidad ISA hired a strong COP at the helm of the HEP-DR project, but the university’s longer-term recruitment capability also now has a technology solution in place to complement its robust candidate selection processes. Ultimately, the provided support has enhanced the confidence in the selected candidate for both Universidad ISA and USAID, allowing them to focus on the programmatic elements of this important education project.“Supporting valued USAID partners like Universidad ISA is a key component of the Incubator’s work,” remarks Roa. “I’m proud to have played a part in getting this partner set up for successful implementation of a project that promises to have a central role in advancing educational opportunities for young adults in the Dominican Republic.”This article appears as part of our recognition of International Day of Education (January 24).&nbsp;

Donna Vincent Roa speaks to Dominican students in a yellow conference room as part of her consultancy work for USAID’s Partnerships Incubator project.

Incubator Support Streamlines Recruitment Efforts for University Partner in the Dominican Republic

With its dramatic, peaked mountains and palm-lined shores, Saint Lucia—a small island in the Caribbean—attracts more than 1 million tourists every year to vacation on its picture-perfect beaches. Despite the strength of its tourism sector, overall unemployment in Saint Lucia is high&nbsp;at around 17 percent in 2020, and youth unemployment stands at 36 percent, according to the World Bank. To address this challenge and better prepare youth for the modern-day workforce, the government of Saint Lucia teamed up with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); World Education, Inc.; and subawardees Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and Tuskegee University, a historically Black university based in Alabama, to ask youth how they should solve it.&nbsp;“Youth engagement, youth participation, and particularly youth present in decision-making, run throughout the length and breadth of the project,” noted Education Manager Sacha Harris of World Education. “That is center stage.” And youth involvement started before the project was even awarded, at the co-creation stage.<h4>Shaping Project Priorities through Co-Creation</h4>Co-creation on the two-year ConnectEd project began with a series of pre-award workshops convened by USAID in January and February 2021. With USAID and the island’s Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations, and Sustainable Development providing a framework, representatives from World Education, the National Youth Council, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, and the private sector were brought together to brainstorm education interventions. The organizations also engaged with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, which is headquartered in Saint Lucia.<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/strapi-media-dev/20211023_161508_0590c95bc9/20211023_161508_0590c95bc9.jpg"><figcaption>Local Saint Lucian student wearing the project mask and logo (Photo credit: USAID)</figcaption></figure>In the workshops, discussions among the stakeholders focused on key priorities, including capacity building for teachers in digital instruction, holistic preparation of youth for the workforce, and opportunities for youth leadership, including both civically and economically. The goal was to develop central areas of focus for the project that could enable Saint Lucia’s youth to receive a 21st century education and prepare them for a variety of jobs. Some of the areas identified for improvement were critical thinking, digital instruction, and leadership skills.An important outcome of the co-creation process was the creation of Y-LAB, a standing youth-led advisory board that seeks to ensure that the project continues to prioritize young people in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the education project and that will help pave the way for sustainability when the ConnectEd project ends in 2023. Youth involvement further shaped the project through their suggestion to include opportunities to connect in-school youth with young professionals and entrepreneurs.&nbsp;&nbsp;Overall, the co-creation workshops helped to define the most relevant approaches that the project could take to shift the paradigm for secondary education in Saint Lucia.&nbsp;“There was a recognition that the digital field and emerging technologies are creating a playing field whereby young persons can really create opportunities for themselves if they have the requisite skills,” said Chris Roberts, World Education’s Chief of Party for the ConnectEd project.<h4>Tapping the Research Capacity of a Historically Black University</h4>The need to bring advanced research capabilities in the education field to the project made the partnership with Tuskegee University a natural fit. Tuskegee University, a private, historically Black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, was brought on board to collaborate with Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, the only institute of higher learning in Saint Lucia, and to support them with internationally recognized academic experts and low-cost tools that will enable project sustainability.&nbsp;Tuskegee itself has a history as an institute for practical skills and was founded by Booker T. Washington, who once wrote, “We must incorporate into our public school system a larger recognition of the practical and industrial elements in educational training.” The digital skills being developed through the ConnectEd project provide youth with the “ability to make the connection of how to apply practical 21st century skills to their work and life,” noted Roberts.<h4>Advice for Partners New to Co-Creation</h4><figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/strapi-media-dev/IMG_4510_1_6c9bec97d3/IMG_4510_1_6c9bec97d3.jpg"><figcaption>Saint Lucia ConnectEd local project staff pose with Minister of Education Honorable Shawn Edward (second from the right) at the project launch ceremony (Photo credit: USAID). &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>When asked for advice for new partners who might be interested in participating in co-creation within their own national and sectoral context, Roberts recommended: “Do your due diligence in terms of researching the organizations to see what would be the areas for strategic fit. Make sure that you carve out the time to facilitate that discussion, because there's a wealth of information that is shared, but to be more narrow or strategic in terms of focus would be beneficial.”Co-creation activities like the one that informed this project are an important way for new partners to come to the table to share their perspectives and expertise with USAID and with other partners who could be potential primes or sub-recipients.&nbsp;For more information about forming partnerships, visit USAID’s training module on “<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/get-grant-or-contract/trainings-how-work-usaid/how-work-usaid-building-strong-sub">Building Strong Sub-Partnerships</a>.”This article appears as part of our recognition of International Day of Education (January 24).&nbsp;

USAID Brings Together Youth, Other Stakeholders to Co-Create Education Project in Saint Lucia

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is continuing a public campaign to share an important change that will occur in April 2022 and will affect federal awardees of all kinds. At a session on January 12, a repeat of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLCuPo2cQ4U&amp;t=3s">previous session in November 2021</a>, GSA representatives described the background of the shift and provided information for stakeholders.&nbsp;As of April 4, 2022, the nine-digit so-called “<a href="https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/pages/dunsnumber.jsp">DUNS number</a>,” or Data Universal Numbering System number, will no longer be used in federal systems, and a new 12-digit alphanumeric code will take its place: the <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update">Unique Entity Identifier (SAM)</a>, or UEI (SAM).&nbsp;“It is important for all partners—potential and current—to understand the changes that will be happening and what actions they may need to take in response,” says Giorgi Baghishvili, Director of Finance &amp; Operations for USAID’s Partnerships Incubator.Most partners who have worked on USAID projects as subs or primes are familiar with the DUNS number, a code that has been assigned, owned, and managed by the firm <a href="https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/">Dun &amp; Bradstreet</a>. For those who are new to USAID and other federal systems, the DUNS number is the authoritative code that is unique to each organization and has been a required field in most of the registration and administrative processes associated with federal awards.&nbsp;The UEI (SAM) will replace the DUNS number. That transition has already begun and registered partners already have a UEI (SAM) assigned to them in <a href="https://sam.gov/">SAM.gov</a>, although the DUNS number remains the official identifier until April 4, 2022.&nbsp;<h4>Why Is This Change Occurring?</h4>The GSA is replacing the DUNS number (nine-digit code) with the new UEI (SAM) (12-character alphanumeric) in order to help streamline the process for organizations wishing to do business with the federal government. The new UEI (SAM) will be part of the <a href="http://www.sam.gov">SAM.gov</a> registration and validation process, and beginning April 4, 2022, registrants will no longer have to go to the third-party Dun &amp; Bradstreet website to obtain their identifier, but would be prompted to start registration at <a href="http://www.sam.gov">SAM.gov</a>.“It’s a positive step that these systems are being consolidated,” says Baghishvili. “Once the transition is complete, I believe this process will be easier for everyone. It will streamline and expedite the process of registration.”<h4>What Does This Change Mean for USAID Partners?</h4>This change will mean different things to different partners, and various paths were described at the session, depending on whether the organization is a sub or prime, and whether it is currently registered in <a href="https://sam.gov/">SAM.gov</a> or not. All organizations currently registered in SAM.gov have already been assigned their UEI (SAM) within the system. Please review the <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update">GSA’s website on the transition</a> for more information.For those not registered yet, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hqs_L0B5kI">this GSA video</a> explains which organizations should undertake the full SAM.gov registration process and which may just need to obtain their UEI (SAM). The GSA notes that questions can be emailed to <a href="mailto:entityvalidation@gsa.gov">entityvalidation@gsa.gov</a>.The transition from DUNS to UEI (SAM) will not be complete until April 4, 2022. Before then, the most important thing current and potential partners can do is to educate themselves about the change and understand the steps their organization will need to take before April 4 to be ready. The good news is that extensive information is available on the <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update">GSA website</a> and on <a href="https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei">SAM.gov</a>, including an <a href="https://www.fsd.gov/sys_attachment.do?sys_id=af05f8fb1b44851006b09796bc4bcb6d">interactive decision tree</a>.&nbsp;By putting in time now to learn about this important change, you will minimize disruptions to transactions related to your federal awards.

Changes Coming Soon to DUNS

USAID's Grand Challenges for Development are an exciting way for new and nontraditional partners to engage with the Agency and contribute to solving pressing and complex development problems. The USAID-supported Water and Energy for Food Grand Challenge is reaching out to innovators in the private sector and forming beneficial partnerships through its regional innovation hubs.&nbsp;Read more in an excerpt from the article below, <a href="https://agrilinks.org/post/enabling-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-access-private-sector-financing">originally posted on Agrilinks.</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/grandchallenges">View USAID's active Grand Challenges here.</a><hr><h3>Enabling Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises' Access to Private Sector Financing</h3>By Kathryn Bailey<a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_723282.pdf">Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the global economy</a>&nbsp;and could significantly contribute to <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/25851MSMEs_and_SDGs_Final3120.pdf">increasing sustainability and productivity in the agricultural sector</a>. However, as the USAID-supported Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) initiative has learned through its investment landscape mapping activities, SMEs lack access to financing due to a variety of factors. <a href="https://we4f.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/WE4F-MENA-Summary-Report_Public.pdf">In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)&nbsp; most firms find debt unappealing and banks are not seen as growth partners.</a>&nbsp;In Southern and Central Africa (S/CA), <a href="https://we4f.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/WE4F-SCA-Public.pdf">risk-averse banks’ prohibitive interest rates and collateral requirements are barriers of access for innovators.</a> Similar to these regions, enterprises in South and Southeast Asia (S/SEA) face those challenges, with the additional burden <a href="https://we4f.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/WE4F-SSE-Asia-Investment-Landscape-Mapping.pdf">of having difficulty identifying investors who share their vision</a>.To combat these challenges and enable more SMEs to access financing, the WE4F Grand Challenge leverages multiple solutions: technical assistance, pipeline and partnership development, investment facilitation and a guarantee mechanism.&nbsp;<h4>[…]</h4><h4>Building Pipelines and Partnerships for Investor Matchmaking and SME Financing&nbsp;</h4>While all the regional innovation hubs (RIHs) have a similar design, they do use different methods to build pipelines and partnerships for SME financing. The MENA, S/CA and S/SEA RIHs use <a href="https://we4f.org/program-news/eoi-investors">expressions of interest (EOIs)</a> from investors to build investment pipelines, while the East Africa and West Africa RIHs pursue a partnership model.Through the EOIs, investors can directly join WE4F and connect with relevant innovators. These EOIs remove risks from the investors, as WE4F conducts due diligence and continuously monitors environmental, social and governance compliance. Innovators benefit from this approach because they no longer have to go out and search for investors and they now understand how to present themselves when discussing investment opportunities.&nbsp;The partnerships being developed by the East Africa and West Africa RIHs also focus on directly connecting innovators with investors. In 2021, East Africa RIH signed <a href="https://we4f.org/innovator-news/we4f-partners-with-alphamundi-foundation-for-climate-finance-in-east-africa">a new partnership</a> with the AlphaMundi Foundation that will provide technical assistance and results-based climate financing to East African innovators. In West Africa, through <a href="https://we4f.org/innovator-news/west-africa-hub-organizes-b2b-event-with-ecree-for-better-access-to-finance">the RIH’s partnership</a> with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, the hub organized a virtual business-to-business networking event that fostered dialogue between enterprises and banking and financial institutions.&nbsp;<h4>[…]</h4><a href="https://agrilinks.org/post/enabling-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-access-private-sector-financing">View full article on Agrilinks.</a>

A tree stands alone in freshly tilled soil

Fostering Partnerships between Innovators and Investors

Lovesun Parent is the director of external partnerships at USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative Incubator.Two fundamental goals of USAID’s partnerships efforts are working with more diverse partners and connecting with those partners in new ways that help guide them toward successful, sustainable efforts to improve their communities.&nbsp;In the past, partnering with USAID could appear complicated for organizations that had never worked with the Agency—and even for some with previous Agency experience. To help solve that challenge, USAID is changing the way it approaches awards by giving partners a larger role in the process and a greater influence over outcomes. In short, the approach is about elevating local leadership and empowering local development actors.At the Partnerships Incubator, we support this effort by focusing not just on identifying new partners, but also on creating tools and resources that enable them to gauge their readiness to work with USAID and learn some of the Agency’s basic requirements. We are also helping these partners build their own skill sets and knowledge to address complex development challenges.&nbsp;I have noticed some important trends that organizations interested in working with USAID can capitalize on to introduce themselves to the Agency and potentially partner with USAID.&nbsp;First and foremost, partners are now often working side by side with Agency staff to co-create projects. This approach makes better use of everyone’s knowledge and ideas. Co-creation is turning out to be a great way to harness partners’ local knowledge and networks. This is important because local innovation and creativity can increase sustainability and help ensure project success.Some of the trends address logistic improvements. For example, incorporating co-created design processes into the procurement process can not only save time, but can improve results. The Agency is also requiring less complex proposals upfront, using more oral applications and presentations, and conducting phased competitions. These new approaches simplify processes, lower barriers to entry, and potentially lower costs and speed awards.A positive overall trend is the Agency’s renewed emphasis on results, and not on simple compliance. I am excited about this change because it will help partners achieve real progress and build strong sustainability.Going forward, USAID is looking at additional improvements to simplify processes and expedite projects. As an example, it is considering using customized performance periods to match intended project results, instead of asking partners to shoehorn operations into prescribed performance periods. The Agency will also work toward less burdensome reporting requirements, and it plans to develop new ways to use report data to learn, adapt, and collect the most useful information more effectively.&nbsp;With these changes, USAID’s ultimate goal is to provide knowledge and resources that help local leaders and development professionals build capacity and drive development well into the future.

USAID staff and a local stakeholder look at papers on a table