DAI’s Center for Development Excellence (CDE) is pleased to announce it has acquired the training assets of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Management (CPM), a leading provider of U.S. Government contract compliance and financial management training.

With the move, CDE obtains a suite of materials that provide seminar participants the tools necessary to meet the procedural and contractual requirements of U.S. Government clients, principally the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDE also acquired three master’s certificate programs, and financial software and softcopy templates created expressly for managing USAID awards.

The CDE opened in January 2010 and is officially registered as CDE Resources, LLC. It conducted its first training modules in February. The CDE’s mission is to build the capacity of practitioners and organizations all over the world to track, bid on, win, implement, and responsibly account for development contracts and grants. By acquiring the training assets of CPM, which was founded in 1975 and conducts courses worldwide, the CDE gains access to an additional roster of veteran trainers as well as the training materials.

“The CDE is dedicated to building the capacity of local development practitioners and organizations,” said Mehreen Tanvir, CDE Program Director. “These new resources will absolutely strengthen our ability to help local individuals and groups implement U.S. Government projects more effectively and accountably.”

CPM’s global and U.S. clients will experience a seamless transition, with the course schedule and structure remaining unchanged. CPM founder and lead trainer Robert E. Stross will continue to conduct CPM training and train trainers as needed, and he will advise the new management of CPM as a consultant. Not included in the transaction was Mr. Stross’s popular NGO Financial Newsletter, which he will continue to edit and publish as an independent, standalone enterprise.

“I have worked with DAI for many years,” said Mr. Stross, who has conducted more than 1,400 seminars in 35 countries. “DAI and its Center for Development Excellence will bring highly professional management to the CPM materials and extend their reach into hitherto untapped local constituencies, in line with the CDE’s capacity-building mission.”

“We know from experience that the best and most enduring solutions to development challenges are those designed and implemented locally, and ultimately owned by local people and institutions,” added James Boomgard, DAI’s President and CEO. “That is why we founded the CDE, and we are proud to add Bob Stross’s highly regarded body of training materials to the CDE portfolio.”

The CDE will convene the next CPM trainings, as scheduled, in Islamabad from April 18-22.