The Global Development Alliance

The Global Development Alliance (or GDA) is a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was created in May 2001 as a new way to effectively provide aid to developing countries through public-private partnerships. The GDA model combines the resources of corporations, foundations, the faith-based community, indigenous organizations, and other nontraditional partners, with the technical expertise and experience of the U.S. Government. It aligns public resources with private capital, expertise and networks to deepen development impact. These public-private alliances are a response to an ever-growing private sector that has the potential to have a large impact in the developing world. GDAs mobilize the combined resources of participating partners to stimulate economic growth, develop businesses and workforces, address health and environmental issues, and expand access to education and technology. Alliances are co-designed, co-managed and co-funded so that the risks, responsibilities, and rewards are equally shared amongst the partners.

History

The Global Development Alliance was created in 2001, after career Foreign Service Officers identified the potential of - and need for - public-private alliances in international development. In his remarks before Congress on May 15, 2001, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell introduced the GDA as "a fundamental reorientation in how USAID sees itself in the context of international development assistance, in how it relates to its traditional partners and in how it seeks out and develops alliances with new partners."[1] From there, the GDA assistance model has helped in the creation of partnerships between the U.S. Government and the private sector. USAID is working with corporations both globally and locally to increase the effectiveness of assistance by leveraging more than $9 billion for development in public and private resources. Since 2001, over 3,000 distinct partners have been engaged in building over 1,000 public-private alliances. Within the Agency, the Office of Development Partners/Private Sector Alliances Division (ODP/PSA) is the steward of the GDA program. ODP/PSA has four mandates as follows:

  1. Directs the U.S. Agency for International Development towards more strategic alliance building.
  2. Serves as the leading partnership body in the U.S. Government and a convening power for other Agencies engaged with private partners in the federal government.
  3. Liaises as a key point of contact for businesses, foundations, or non-profits who hope to become engaged in alliances with the Agency.
  4. Advances practitioner knowledge and understanding of best practices in alliance building, effective approaches, and opportunity-seeking for ways in which alliances can solve today and tomorrow's development challenges.

Current Alliances

The Global Development Alliance model has grown quickly since its creation, and USAID is now involved in hundreds of partnerships supporting economic growth, health, education, democracy and governance, environment, and conflict resolution all around the globe. USAID works with everyone from large multinational corporations to small indigenous organizations to improve the lives of people in developing countries.

In December 2006, ODP/PSA published a report, Public-Private Alliances on Transformational Development. The report is an introduction to the GDA model for businesses and nonprofits interested in partnering with USAID. It also presents an overview of some of the public-private partnerships formed using the GDA model.

Tools and publications

The Private Sector Alliances Division provides tools to help alliance builders build successful and sustainable partnerships. The GDA database, a comprehensive gathering of USAID alliances, is one such tool that is available to the public. In addition to various online toolkits, ODP/PSA provides publications that offer guidance during the alliance building process. The following is a list of important tools and publications provided by PSA:

Awards

In 2005 the Global Development Alliance was awarded the first Lewis and Clark Award for Innovation in Collaborative Governance. The Weil Program on Collaborative Governance and the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government established this award to recognize and reward efforts in collaborative governance. USAID also awards the GDA Excellence Award to private sector organizations or Agency Missions that have exhibited exemplary partnership models.

References

  1. ↑ Secretary Colin L. Powell, Testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, , May 15, 2001.

See also

External links

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