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USAID Summer Seminars

The Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, in coordination with the Knowledge for Development Subcommittee, is pleased to present USAID 2004 Summer Seminars. In a workshop format that includes presentations and panel discussions, seminar participants can explore special topics in performance, implementation, measurement and evaluation, policy, management, and business operations. The many diverse topics will bring presenters from within USAID, the Department of State and other U.S. government agencies, and the implementing partner community. These knowledge sharing sessions will be held each Tuesday from June 29 to September 14, 2004 at the Center for Association Leadership at the Marriott Learning Complex, located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, on the Concourse Level (one below street level) near the Federal Triangle Metro entrance to the Ronald Reagan Building. The Center is on your left before the Metro passageway. If you enter through the Metro passageway, the Center will be immediately on your right as you enter.

While the Seminar is designed for USAID staff, the broader development community (PVOs, development contractors, academics, etc.) is welcome to attend. You are invited to attend any or all of the sessions. Click on the session name in the table below for a description. After each session, you can view the materials below, or visit our WebBoard (new page will open).

WHEN: Each Tuesday, 9:00 to 11:00 AM from June 29 to September 14

WHERE: The Center for Association Leadership at the Marriott Learning Complex is located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Main entrances to the Ronald Reagan Building are located on 14th Street and along Woodrow Wilson Plaza at 13th and Pennsylvania Avenue. The Center for Association Leadership is located on the Concourse Level (one floor below street level) near the Metro entrance to the Ronald Reagan Building. The Center is on your left before the Metro passageway. If taking Metro, the Federal Triangle metro stop (blue and orange lines) is connected to the Ronald Reagan Building by a covered passageway. The Center will be immediately on your right as you enter.

OTHER: A photo ID is needed to enter the Ronald Reagan Building.

REGISTRATION: There is no pre-registration, but we recommend that you arrive at least 20 minutes early to pass building security and to get a good seat.

QUESTIONS/POINT OF CONTACT: For additional information, please contact Cindy Arciaga at 202-661-5859 or by e-mail at CArciaga@DIS.CDIE.ORG. Information will be available on the web at: www.usaid.gov/policy/cdie.

1. JUNE 29. People—Our Greatest Asset: How the Human Capital and KfD Strategies Interact Session

An organization’s greatest asset is its people. Their knowledge, skills and expertise are the key to mission success. However, at 1.8 million employees, the federal civilian payroll has been reduced to its lowest level since 1950. Furthermore, this downsizing was accomplished through across–the–board staff reductions and hiring freezes, rather than targeted reductions aligned with agency’s missions. Understanding this issue, the President Management’s Agenda (PMA) identifies the “Strategic Management of Human Capital” as one of its initiatives. The Business Transformation Executive Committee (BTEC) tasked the Human Capital Subcommittee and the Knowledge for Development (KfD) Subcommittee to develop the plan that will allow USAID to “…effectively deploy the skilled, knowledgeable, diverse and high-performing workforce needed to meet the current and emerging needs of government and its citizens.”

This seminar will provide a review of the key points of these two strategies, how they complement each other, and what we consider to be “success”. HR initiatives and updates in recruiting will be discussed, and Knowledge for Development tools will be demonstrated. Presenters will provide updates on Joint Management Council initiatives with State in these two areas and the goals of these efforts. Audience participation, feedback and suggestions will be encouraged and used as the basis for the implementation phase of these activities.

2. JULY 6. An Explanation of USAID's Business Model Review

On December 17, 2003, Administrator Natsios announced the key processes of the new USAID business model. It is part of the Administrator’s efforts to reshape USAID in ways that will let us contribute more effectively to our country’s foreign policy and development and humanitarian relief objectives. The business model is both the means and the organizational structure for how assistance programs are planned, implemented and monitored.

A Business Model Review Group was established, and it looked at six business areas that the Administrator had selected for Review. This presentation will cover the adventures of the Business Model Review Group in their quest to examine the major lines of business in the agency. Attention will be given to their valiant attempt to break rice bowls, call spades spades, and make the Agency work smarter. David Eckerson of M/HR will chair a panel of those who have been working on USAID's Business Model Review.

3. JULY 13. The Global Development Alliance: Technology Created through or Used by Public-Private Alliances

The Global Development Alliance business model is being mainstreamed throughout USAID. In Fiscal Year 2002 and 2003, USAID fostered more than 200 public-private alliances with the U.S. government investing close to 500 million dollars leveraging more than 2 billion dollars in non-governmental resources.

As USAID increasingly uses public-private alliances for its development work, the interests and constraints of various development actors impact our work. Ethnic diasporas, private sector companies (including extractive industries), and foundations are only some of the important actors in our strategic environment.

For this seminar, the GDA Secretariat has invited alliance partners to participate in a panel to talk about recent technological developments that could not be developed or could not be shared widely without a public-private alliance. The presentation will demonstrate or explain the technology for a global education portal, a new water cleaning technology using sachet packets, and possibly new developments in debit cards or other payment platforms for the world’s poor.

4. JULY 20. Passing the Baton: How State and USAID Transfer Knowledge (or don't) in Iraq and Afghanistan

Many organizations face the challenge of transferring knowledge from outgoing to incoming personnel and from one generation to the next. For State and USAID, the challenge has been particularly acute regarding the hundreds of personnel who have served short-term rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan. State and USAID personnel assigned to either post quickly need to understand operating procedures, people, culture, political and economic circumstances, security, and development and humanitarian needs. The learning curve has had to be short and the stakes--for individuals, managers and for the success of the mission--are very high.

This seminar will feature a discussion among veterans of service in Iraq and Afghanistan about how their organizations dealt with the challenge of preparing new people to do their jobs, often in dangerous and harsh conditions, and to pass on their learning to their replacements. The panel will highlight what worked and where gaps remain between needs and solutions. And we'll look to the audience to suggest ideas for meeting those needs.

5. JULY 27. General Budget Support: A New Approach from Other Donors?

Most USAID assistance goes through projects. But over a dozen bilateral and multilateral donors are shifting their country programs away from projects toward General Budget Support. They are urging other donors to move away from projects. What is GBS and why is it becoming so popular?

Under GBS, rather than doing projects, donors provide cash transfers to the government which spends GBS funds on its own development programs. GBS donors claim that if a donor runs an aid project, it is the donor’s and that explains why so many donor projects are not sustained. General budget support, they argue, builds strong host-country ownership and thus it stands a greater chance of supporting sustainable development.

A panel (Joe Lieberson, PPC Evaluation Office, Diane Ray, PPC Development Information Service, Brian Frantz, AFR/DP/POSE) will use USAID evaluations of other donor General Budget Support programs in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania to assess the pros and cons of GBS. The presentation will be of interest to USAID staff, PVOs and contractors who are managing or implementing projects and need to be aware of program changes in the donor community.

6. AUGUST 3. HIV/AIDS: Mitigating the Impacts on Development and Complex Emergencies

The effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on public health are well-known: more than 40 million are currently infected with HIV, and approximately 29 million have already died of AIDS since the pandemic began. Every day, more than 8,200 die from this disease. As bad as these numbers are, HIV/AIDS is having an increasingly devastating impact on other development sectors as well. In countries where the pandemic is most advanced, HIV/AIDS is eroding human capital, degrading organizational capacity, fragmenting social and economic networks, and disrupting the transfer of knowledge and skills that are vital to socioeconomic performance and development. These changes produce a self-reinforcing downward spiral that becomes increasingly more difficult to arrest the longer it continues.

This session will start with a 20-minute presentation on “Mitigating the Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Development” by Richard Cornelius (Senior Policy Advisor for Health, PPC/P) on new policy guidance from PPC on programming to mitigate the development impacts of HIV/AIDS. The presentation will focus on the following issues:

• What is the rationale for supporting efforts to mitigate the development impacts of HIV/AIDS?


• What are the costs and benefits of cross-sectoral collaboration on mitigation programs?


• What are examples of best practices from the field?
• What are some of the practical funding and organizational considerations to consider?

The second part of the session will be a 20-minute presentation on the scope and nature of “HIV/AIDS and Complex Emergencies” by Peter Salama (HIV/AIDS Senior Advisor, Africa Bureau). The presentation will focus on the following issues:

• What is the scope and nature of the HIV/AIDS problem in complex emergencies?
  
• What are inter-agency recommendations to address the problem in complex emergencies?
  
• How is this problem being addressed?
  
• What can be done to improve our efforts, and what is the way forward?

The presentations will be followed by open discussion and Q&A to all presenters.

7. AUGUST 10: USAID’s Role in the War on Terrorism

In September 2002, President Bush unveiled his National Security Strategy to address the unprecedented challenges that are facing the nation. It outlined the new direction in foreign policy required to respond effectively to what occurred the previous September. Among the tools to be engaged in the new war was 'development.' Indeed, it was elevated as a 'third pillar' of our foreign policy, along with defense and diplomacy.

USAID works in 75% of the frontline countries identified as vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist organizations. Our education programs provide an alternative to radical Islamic madrassas; our skills training and economic enterprise programs offer opportunities and alternatives to radical clerics’ recruitment. Our financial reform programs help combat money laundering and are helping reduce the flow of funds to terrorist groups. Our democracy and governance programs help build transparency in government that can deny terrorist sanctuary and safe haven for their training. These USAID efforts–ongoing for years–now have a very specific focus in U.S. National Security.

This seminar will host several representatives from the National Security Committee and State/Counter Terrorism, highlighting some of the work of the interagency coordinating committee for Counter Terrorism. In panel presentations, we will illustrate how USAID’s programs work in conjunction with counter terrorism programs of other agencies.

8. AUGUST 17. USAID’S Business Transformation: Results to Date

Today’s global environment demands a faster, more agile USAID with a sharper focus on the results of our investments of American taxpayer dollars overseas. Meeting foreign policy and program management challenges requires a modern, flexible and well-disciplined organization.

Managing a comprehensive business transformation across an agency as large and decentralized as USAID is an enormous challenge. The Business Transformation Executive Committee (BTEC) unites the most senior career executives across the Agency in a partnership to reform USAID's management systems and improve organizational performance. Over the past two years, BTEC has developed the major components of the Agency’s business transformation plan. USAID is introducing new business systems, processes and changes to our organizational structures.

This session will address some of the more common questions regarding the transformation itself: What is it? What has been planned? What results are there now? A panel composed of BTEC members will highlight plans underway, key milestones, expected benefits, and results already achieved. This session will build appreciation of how USAID’s transformation efforts support our most important assets - people, ideas and technology – as we strive to achieve better results in development and humanitarian initiatives around the world.

9. AUGUST 24. Innovative Health Care Approaches

As health systems in developing countries are challenged to finance growing demands for services, national governments and international donors are looking at innovative ways to protect targeted populations from the financial risks of illness. During this session, two innovative strategies of targeting and providing services will be discussed:

The first half of this seminar is titled, “Improving Health Care Systems Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).” Mr. Mark Landry will describe how integration of health-related inputs into a GIS creates a powerful tool for improving efficiency and effectiveness of health care systems. Four state-of-the-art health GIS applications under development in Yemen will be described: 1) mapping health facilities and analyzing accessibility areas; 2) using GIS to target health care program interventions; 3) donor mapping; and 4) plotting the spatial pattern of the 2000 Rift Valley Fever outbreak. The seminar will address how health GIS applications provide evidence-based rationale for targeting health care system interventions.

The second half of this seminar is titled, “Community-Based Health Financing Schemes/Mutual Health Organizations (MHO) Grow Up.” Mr. Marty Makinen will discuss the transition of MHOs from local initiatives to national programs, and the role of the government and USAID technical assistance in facilitating the transition. Participants will be able to appreciate the complexity of 'scaling-up' community-based MHOs to national-level movements/programs. Can community-based initiatives scale up and keep their souls? The session will look at the different scaling-up experiences of MHOs in Senegal, Rwanda, and Ghana, and at clues for future development in Mali and Benin.

10.AUGUST 31. Muslim World Outreach and Engaging Muslim Civil Society

Terrorist attacks, led by multi-national cadres in many parts of the world, have focused the attention of US policy makers and scholars on the Middle East and the entire Muslim world. The growing antipathy in the Muslim world toward the United States and the West in general spurred USAID to re-examine the ways in which we provide assistance in predominantly Muslim countries. Studies were completed that focused on economic growth, governance, education and civil society challenges in the Muslim world.

There will be a presentation on a USAID-supported program in Indonesia, which engages Muslim organizations and groups in a discourse on democracy, human rights and gender equality. The program, which is managed by the Asia Foundation, has 32 local partner organizations and uses Islamic theology and vocabulary to reach out to a cross-section of the population – Muslim preachers, students in Muslim educational institutions, educators and the general public.

11. SEPTEMBER 7: Trade Capacity Building in Central America

USAID has worked in coordination with other U.S. Government Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) negotiations and to improve trade capacity in Central American countries. Central to the process was the CAFTA Trade Capacity Building (TCB) Working Group. The Working Group helped Central American countries mobilize donor, private sector, and nonprofit support to address priority TCB needs, to identify countries' national TCB strategies on preparing for trade negotiations, implementing trade agreements, and transitioning to free trade.

In this session, a panel will review this experience with an emphasis on the kinds of assistance mobilized during this process, especially with reference to improving the trade policy consultative process, addressing key capacity building needs in regulatory areas such as customs and sanitary measures, and fostering trade-led rural diversification and small business development.

12. SEPTEMBER 14: USAID’S Approach in Fragile States

USAID’s fragile states strategy and implementation plan is based on the recognition that USAID needs a new strategic approach to deal with fragile states. The approach differs from USAID’s assistance to transformational development states.

The presentation for this session will be by Melissa Brown, Ann Phillips and Tjip Walker who will:
+ Clarify USAID goals in fragile states.
+ Explain the analytic framework that identifies drivers of and pathways to failure.
+ Present the implementation plan that outlines changes necessary for USAID to engage effectively in fragile states.

Point of Contact: Any questions concerning this Notice may be directed to Judy Light, PPC/DEI/DI, 202-712-0761, or Joe Lieberson, PPC/DEI/ESPA, 202-712-4704.

To view descriptions for the 2003 seminars, please click here.

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