DAI Projects

Timor-Leste-Developing Agricultural Communities/Dezenvolve Agricultura Comunitaria

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
August 2010-August 2013

Improving the commercial viability of horticultural production and bringing the successful model to new locations

In 2007, USAID invested in greenhouse and supporting facilities in Timor-Leste to grow high-value horticultural products to replace imports. This investment in a special horticultural area (SHA) in Timor’s Aileu District significantly raised cash income to members of the SHA community. Since then, DAI has been working to improve the commercial viability of horticultural production in Timor and bring the successful model to new locations.

Desenvolve Agricultura Comunitária (DAC) is a three-year project established in late August 2010 to increase rural incomes by improving the commercial viability of horticultural production. DAC is introducing new technologies to selected communities of poor households and linking those communities to markets for their products. Farmers receive focused technical and management training to run their facilities, and communities develop cooperative organizations. Within three years, the rural communities are expected to manage the production facilities independently and take ownership of those facilities from USAID.

DAC’s work is part of a continuous USAID engagement since 2006 with Timorese agricultural communities. In 2007, the Small Grants Program invested in greenhouses, plant nurseries, and supporting facilities to create an SHA at Lequitura in Alieu District. Combined with substantial training and technical assistance from the Dezenvolve Setor Privadu (Development of the Private Sector, DSP) project, the community produced and marketed products that generated more than $20,000 per growing season for the initial SHA.

National awareness of the initial effort encouraged ConocoPhillips to join with USAID in a public-private partnership to establish two more SHAs at Sarin and Liurai in Aileu District. DAI completed construction of the facilities in May 2010, toward the end of DSP, and DAC has since provided training and technical assistance. A core element of DAI’s technical assistance has been value-chain strengthening—establishing commercial relationships between the grower communities and a valuable customer, Kmanek Supermarket, based in Dili. The relationship with Kmanek Supermarket has proven mutually beneficial and appears durable. Kmanek has provided market information as well as material assistance such as seeds and credit.

However, the volume of production from the growing facilities is seasonal, variable, and often too little to meet the needs of Kmanek and other customers. DAC will replicate the facilities and processes used in the SHAs in five or more new locations. The work will form the foundation for a commercially viable horticultural production industry in Timor-Leste by 2020.

Somaliland - Partnership for Economic Growth Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2011-April 2013

Helping local authorities and private sector groups improve the environment for investment and more productive employment

Somaliland enjoys relative peace and stability. Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 and, though not internationally recognized, has managed to establish functioning governance structures and a vibrant private sector that has facilitated investment in sectors from livestock export to telecommunications and remittance distribution.

The largely stable area of Somaliland is ripe for private sector development, investment, and economic policy support. The USAID Partnership for Economic Growth will help legitimize and strengthen the enterprises, entrepreneurs, and private sector associations that can help bridge divisions among clans. Investing in the Somali people will not only benefit the local economy, but also improve stability in the region. The Partnership began in 2011 and runs to 2013, with an option to extend to 2015. The project also expects to expand its activities into the autonomous region of Puntland.

Together with Somaliland’s government and dynamic private sector, the Partnership is committed to promoting growth and stability through:

Coordinating with other strategic donor efforts to fill critical gaps in Somaliland’s legal and regulatory framework that impede private sector development.

Supporting the Ministry of Commerce’s nascent Investment Climate Unit and the Somaliland Chamber of Commerce to develop investment promotion strategies including participation in local business fairs, investment conferences, investor tours, and regional Chamber meetings.

Working with the Ministry of Energy to help create Somaliland’s first legal and regulatory framework to govern the region’s independent electricity production, supply, and distribution, and reduce costs for consumers and businesses.

Working with livestock owners to help them earn more while generating demand for locally grown feed. The Partnership will also work with milk marketers—nearly 80 percent of whom are women—to improve handling sanitation.

Working with farmers to increase production and incomes by establishing irrigated demonstration plots with local agriculture universities and agribusinesses, building nurseries where varieties selected from these plots will be multiplied, and creating a business extension unit to provide training in marketing and business skills to farmers, traders, and vendors.

Moldova - Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (ACED)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development and Millennium Challenge Corporation
March 2011-March 2016

Improving production technologies and postharvest facilities, and developing links between Moldovan producer/exporters and buyers

ACED, which is co-funded by USAID and the MCC, aims to improve Moldova’s high-value agriculture sector, working initially in value chains such table grapes, tree fruits and nuts, and fruits and vegetables. Program elements include developing and expanding market opportunities, training farmers to increase their productivity and meet buyer requirements, providing demand-driven technical assistance to upgrade high-value agriculture value chains, and improving the enabling environment for these activities.

The need to diversify export markets is broadly accepted throughout Moldova. ACED will provide the support and expert advice required to achieve this imperative, including improving Moldova’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards compliance and its ability to meet international food safety standards. The program is staffed by an exceptional team of local professionals backed by international expertise where required to ensure that relevant services are provided in an effective and timely manner.

A second component of ACED is to stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova’s breakaway territory of Transnistria, in part by building the capacity of business service providers to improve competitiveness in the territory. ACED will emphasize training in a variety of business subjects—in collaboration with local business organizations and service providers—to help small and medium-sized enterprises increase productivity and efficiency. ACED will coordinate with other donor programs in Transnistria, including initatives funded by the United Nations Development Programme and European Commission, and remain apolitical.

ACED has a broad and ambitious mandate to increase incomes and generate jobs in rural Moldova. Monitoring and evaluation will play an essential role in tracking the progress of ACED and evaluating its impact in an integrated manner, allowing for ongoing learning, program adjustments, and discussion with the donors.

Democratic Republic of Congo - Programme De Bonne Gouvernance

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2009 - September 2014

Extending responsive, accountable governance to the local and provincial levels

Since its sudden independence in 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has struggled to devise institutions that can provide effective governance for its vast and diverse land mass and for its no less diverse and long-suffering people. DRC continues to strive to consolidate statehood, but huge areas of the country have been or still are ungoverned.

Nevertheless, the DRC has been slowly endeavoring to build, for the first time since independence, effective and legitimate state institutions. The process has been marred by setbacks, as external actors exploit and manipulate state weaknesses to advance their own interests, holding in check the DRC’s potential as a regional economic power. Yet, with considerable support from international partners, progress has been made. The DRC has realized substantial gains from 2006 to 2009 and is poised to consolidate and extend genuine, accountable governance down to the level of newly established local councils.

The Programme de Bonne Gouvernance (PBG), or Good Governance Program, provides comprehensive support to the Government of the DRC and civil society to accomplish three primary objectives:

- Increase demand for accountable governance among citizens and civic organizations;

- Improve the capacity of provincial and national legislative bodies to improve legislative actions and oversee executive activities; and

- Bolster citizen support for decentralization while strengthening the capacity of local government to deliver services.

Accomplishing these three objectives will help align government services with citizen expectations, raise citizen voices, and introduce national and local transparency, equity, and effectiveness in parliamentary operations and decision making. PBG is designed specifically to help the different levels of DRC government provide tangible benefits to citizens in areas such as health, education, and the environment, while strengthening the institutional environment necessary to sustain the reforms. At its core, this program is about improving the quality of governance across the board.

Success Stories

Katuba: Public toilets built with taxes from markets

Civil Society advocates for improved management of Sendwe Hospital in Lubumbashi

Bandundu: The Provincial Assembly has an archive management system

South-Kivu: Decree for organizing Health Mutual Insurance Companies

Maniema: A mayor reports on improved management systems

Kikwit: A new dynamic for transparent management of public resources

Authorities and citizens in Lubumbashi united against school dropouts

Bank accounts opened in Maniema in order to safeguard ETD funds

Opening in Bandundu of parliamentary commissions within civil society

A serious social conflict in South Kivu avoided concerning the rehabilitation of roads

Vietnam Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR Plus)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2010 - September 2013

Supporting the Government of Vietnam as it implements reforms that boost investment, trade, and private sector growth

During the past decade the Vietnamese Government made wholesale changes to its legal and regulatory framework that sparked rapid economic growth. The challenge now facing Vietnam is to further implement this framework. STAR Plus is building institutional capacity at the local, provincial, and national levels and, in some cases, restructuring institutions so that reforms already adopted can unleash new economic potential, bring about new investment and innovation, and ensure that Vietnam remains competitive.

STAR Plus is putting these reforms into practice where they affect individual firms and investors. This process includes more intensive capacity building at local, provincial, and national levels through formal training and by working across government to break down institutional silos and barriers—clarifying roles among counterparts, building better coordination within government itself, and providing counterparts with systems and tools that enable them to fulfill their mandates. STAR Plus is also helping government build capacity to craft new reforms, solicit private sector input on proposed reforms, and measure potential impact.

To respond to Vietnam’s evolving priorities, the STAR Plus strategy has evolved from that of the DAI-led STAR I (2001–2007) and STAR II (2006–2010) projects. Previous programming focused on Vietnam’s obligations under the 2001 U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and the list of laws needed to make the agreement operational, as well as on the country’s 2007 accession to the World Trade Organization.

Economists new to the STAR team are now advising the Office of the Government, Ministry of Finance, and State Bank of Vietnam on macroeconomic policy, and we have added to our team partners that can assist the country in ramping up its governance skills, systems, and processes at all levels.

DAI knows there is great demand in Vietnam for better coordination across government and at the provincial level, as exemplified by several activities, including the e-Official Gazette with provincial governments. There is also great potential to leverage partnerships with U.S. universities. STAR Plus is flexible and demand-driven, with a simple goal to help further Vietnam’s integration into the global economy as it continues its transition to a market-driven economy.

Sri Lanka Reintegration and Stabilization in the East and North (RISEN)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2009 - August 2013

Supporting economic and social stability by supporting vulnerable communities and reintegrating at-risk youth

After 25 years of civil war, the Government of Sri Lanka has regained control of its diverse provinces and peoples. The Eastern Province, an ethnically mixed, politically charged, and economically deprived area, was under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) just two and a half years ago and still erupting in periodic violence as recently as 2008.

Constant battling between the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE, and the Karuna-faction, later known as Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), created a culture of violence in the Eastern Province. When the East was “liberalized” by the government in 2007 and subsequent elections empowered the TMVP, underlying resentment from the local people and lack of follow-through by the government created an environment ripe for further instability.

USAID’s RISEN is designed to implement a wide range of confl ict-prevention and mitigation measures to create and promote stability. RISEN’s overall goal is to improve personal and economic security in targeted communities in the East, providing support and opportunities for at-risk youth and building public confidence that core conflict issues are being addressed by the Government of Sri Lanka

RISEN activities are consistent with the government’s National Framework and Action Plan on the Reintegration of Ex-Combatants into Civilian Life and will collaborate with other USAID programs related to economic growth and democracy and governance to leverage overall impact. RISEN’s three focus areas are:

Community-focused reintegration: RISEN will identify communities where militant recruitment has been high and—with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Government of Sri Lanka, and other donors—develop programs to address needs identifi ed by the communities. All programs will promote collaboration between the local authorities and the public to address security issues.

Institutional capacity building to rehabilitate at-risk youth, especially ex-combatants: RISEN will reintegrate conflict-affected men and women into civilian life by providing training for market-driven jobs and job-related guidance, increasing access to services, and, in some cases, delivering psychosocial counseling.

Expanded access to reliable news and information: RISEN will promote creative approaches to gathering and disseminating news and information to improve public confidence in the transition.

Worldwide - ACP/EU MICROFINANCE

Client: European Union; the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
March 2011-March 2015

Helping people in developing nations gain access to financial services

Microfinance growth worldwide has been uneven. The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) of 79 countries with 740 million people has seen relatively slower microfinance growth, with only one in five households having proper access to financial services. Since 2005, the European Union (EU) and ACP have been developing the microfinance sector through a dedicated program. While its first phase (2005-2010) enabled capacity building of local microfinance actors, the second phase, which runs through 2015, aims to develop inclusive financial systems adapted to the needs of the poor.

Globally, ACP/EU MICROFINANCE supports:

The efficiency and transparency of local markets, thanks to a partnership with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor; and

Training of ACP microfinance policy makers by Boulder Microfinance Training and microfinance practitioners by Making Finance Work, in partnership with the International Training Center of the International Labour Organisation.

Regionally, the program supports:

The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise investment fund for Sub-Saharan Africa though a partnership with the KfW banking group;

The Carib-Cap program for the development of microfinance in the Caribbean with the Inter-American Development Bank; and

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme with the United Nations Capital Development Fund.

On a local level, a call for proposals launched in 2011 will provide grants to institutions that support the responsible offer and delivery of financial services to those still excluded from mainstream access to proper financial services. Through these grants, ACP/EU MICROFINANCE opens its support to a variety of actors, from microfinance providers that cater for the poorest and more vulnerable to specialized supporting structures and institutions that deal with client empowerment. The assignment of the DAI-led consortium’s Brussels, Belgium-based Technical Assistance Team is to ensure the proper coordination and implementation of the programme’s communication, visibility, and knowledge-sharing activities through:

Overall coordination: program implementation, communication strategy and communication plans, setting up the management information system, organization of bi-annual steering committees, regular reporting, and knowledge creation and dissemination;

Partnerships with international organizations: participation in steering committees and events organized by partners, organizing visibility and peer learning activities; and

Grant scheme implementation: preparing the call for proposals, bringing visibility to the call for proposals, setting up the evaluation committee, monitoring the grant implementation, and organizing communication and knowledge-sharing activities for grantees.

www.euacpmicrofinance.org

El Salvador - Fiscal Policy and Expenditure Management Program (FPEMP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
June 2011-June 2016

Advancing tax reform and public expenditure systems while promoting government transparency, accountability, and more efficient use of public resources

El Salvador has undertaken significant fiscal reform in past decade. Since 2005, USAID has helped modernize the country’s tax policy and administration through the DAI-led Tax Policy and Administration Reform (TPAR) Project by providing technical assistance to the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos. As a result, the Salvadoran tax administration streamlined procedures, improved voluntary compliance, reduced tax evasion, and increased tax revenue.

Despite the Ministry of Finance’s progress in laying the foundation for a results-driven fiscal system, challenges remain. The government’s ability to fund its spending and investments is still impeded by subpar compliance, tax evasion, and public distrust evidenced by broad private sector resistance to recently enacted fiscal reform. Public expenditure management and financial controls remain weak, and the lack of a multiyear, results-oriented budgeting framework hinders efforts to translate policies into sustained, effective social spending.

On the revenue side, FPEMP will begin where TPAR left off, resolving systemic problems with the taxpayer database, improving audit techniques, strengthening tax enforcement, fostering tax compliance, and cultivating an appetite and demand for tax policy analysis and reform. On the expenditure side, DAI will help the Ministry of Finance and other line agencies modernize budgeting and expenditure management systems and build capacity for results-oriented budgeting. Simultaneously, the project will reinvigorate dialogue between the government, private sector, and broader public to promote transparency, accountability, and shared commitments to smarter spending, increased compliance, and improved living conditions for all Salvadorans.

At the end of the project, the Government of El Salvador will be able to demonstrate:

A strong, modern tax system that fosters greater voluntary compliance and improved revenue collections;

A budget process that is transparent, accountable, and analytically sound, supported by public expenditure management systems that encourage effective, responsive, and innovative government spending; and

A well-informed private sector that understands and is engaged in the fiscal reform process of the country.

Democratic Republic of Congo - Security Sector Accountability and Police Programme (SSAPR)

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
September 2009-September 2014

Supporting efforts to sustain peace, enhance safety and security, and provide access to justice

Reducing the impact of violence, conflict, and criminality is essential to addressing poverty and establishing democratic systems that respond to the needs of citizens. SSAPR is improving capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide security, safety, and justice for all. But to achieve this objective, it is essential that the security and justice sectors are accountable to the DRC’s citizens, government, and elected representatives.

SSAPR takes a unique supply-and-demand approach to these issues. It addresses key deficiencies in the oversight and day-to-day management of security services (supply), while improving the abilities of parliament and nongovernmental bodies to monitor performance and advocate for change (demand). To this end, SSAPR works in four program areas: an External Accountability Component, working with parliament and civil society; an Internal Accountability Component, focused on improving internal oversight and accountability in the security forces; a Police Support Programme, providing resources and training for the national police force; and a Monitoring and Evaluation Component.

DAI and the African Security Sector Network are implementing the External Accountability Component. Creating external accountability—the type that relies on broad-based civilian and civil society participation—is a necessary step toward security sector accountability. This component is enhancing the ability of citizens and their representatives to articulate their needs and preferences for improved security and access to justice, and to act together with security and justice providers—whether in the state or non-state domain—to improve the delivery of security and justice services.

The External Accountability work is performed at various levels:

Supporting the national parliament and three provincial parliaments to improve their oversight of the military, police, and justice agencies;

Working with civil society, researchers, and media to develop understanding and knowledge of the security and justice system so they are better able to represent the interests of the population;

Improving the effectiveness of civil society organizations to maximize their impact on policy makers and providers of security and justice services; and

Helping individuals and community groups in three pilot provinces create new relationships with the local security and justice institutions in order to advocate and collaborate for improved local security through police de proximite and local police-community partnerships.

Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [subcontract to AECOM]
September 2010 - 2014

Increasing international competitiveness and intraregional trade

The 15-country Southern African Development Community (SADC) region—including government, private sector, and civil society—is realizing the advantages of greater regional and global trade linkages and export-oriented business development. Led by prime contractor AECOM, the project team is advancing this regional integration agenda and increasing the trade capacity of regional value chains in selected sectors. Particular attention is being given to moving primary products such as staple foods more easily from surplus to deficit areas, alleviating food insecurity.

With our South African subsidiary ECIAfrica, DAI has lead responsibility for increasing the trade capacity of regional value chains by:

Establishing new trade linkages and greater competitiveness in staple foods and other strategic value chains;

Enhancing private sector capacity to comply with regional and international market standards, including agricultural standards;

Increasing the use and availability of financial products and services for trade and investment; and

Increasing the use and availability of trade-related information and communication technology products.

Identifying specific constraints along value chains enables all interested parties to focus on their removal. Since many of the bottlenecks are generic, targeting priority sectors will have a positive multiplier effect. Further, while each element of the value chain operates within a national enabling environment, the cost determinants often relate to cross-border policies and regulations. DAI is supporting AECOM’s regional approach—one that is required when addressing cross-border issues—that assists with building a broader coalition for reforms, brings peer pressure for implementation, and raises awareness of best practices.

India - Water Analysis, Innovations, and Systems Program (WAISP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2010 - October 2012

Helping USAID identify strategic investments in India’s water

The confluence of food security, public health, and environmental management issues is inextricably linked to water supply, which in India is squeezed by the twin forces of population growth and climate change. Despite an escalating water crisis fueled by groundwater exploitation, deteriorating water quality, and weak water governance, there is cause for optimism. The public and private sectors are realizing that dwindling water supplies threaten India’s unrelenting economic growth—each section is now more committed than ever to investing in sustainable water resource management.

Working in close collaboration with the Government of India, WAISP will first conduct a whole-of-sector assessment aimed at bolstering India’s ability to face impending challenges through better stewardship of water resources. Following the assessment, WAISP will then implement water resource management pilot programs that simultaneously verify assessment recommendations, achieve immediate results on the ground, and build relationships for potential longer-term investments.

During its two-year life, WAISP is designed to achieve concrete outcomes while laying the groundwork for a potential longer-term investment by USAID/India in the water sector. Its impact should be felt within the sector for many years to come.

WAISP is organized into two components. The analytical component will identify and clarify the water sector’s current status, trends, and major activities in India, especially in relation to health, climate change, and food security. Field implementation will develop, pilot, and scale up water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) models in key areas by assessing existing information management systems and transferring technologies, initiating climate change adaptation planning, and promoting and scaling up innovative technologies and approaches.

WAISP will work with the Government of India at all levels from national to state to local, universities, research institutions, the private sector, and the nongovernmental organization community to strengthen information management, analysis, decision support, and planning systems, linking WASH activities to climate change adaptation and food security in rural areas.

Zimbabwe Agricultural Competitiveness Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2010 - Feburary 2015

Increasing the competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s agriculture private sector through the strengthening of farmer unions, market institutions, and agrobusiness services

Until a decade ago, Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector was flourishing. Amidst the country’s economic decline, the government’s aggressive land reform program essentially dismantled the large-scale commercial farming sector, drastically reducing national productivity and resulting in the country becoming a net importer of food. The decline in demand from large-scale commercial farming and the mass exodus of skilled management and labor led to the deterioration of rural market infrastructure and the decline of the extension and agricultural education system.

DAI is supporting the private sector-driven revitalization of Zimbabwe’s agriculture economy. The program’s core components include:

Strengthening Representative Institutions – to support the development of private sector engagement in policy and regulatory reform that increases competitiveness; facilitates a national dialogue on agribusiness competitiveness; and strengthens consensus of agro-industry organizations on the way forward under the Union Project Trust – an apex organization for farmers in country – which is the host of the program.

Improving Market Infrastructure – by providing direct technical assistance and grant support to key private and public-private partnership institutions that transact, arbitrate, or regulate market information and business services to the agro-industry, such as the Zimbabwe Association of Microfinance Institutions and the Commercial Arbitration Center.

Improving Agrobusiness Skills, Services, Production, and Productivity – by enhancing the quality and quantity of vital business and agro-extension services to key participants in agrobusiness supply chains (from farm gate to consumer) through cascaded business service provider training-of-trainer programs and targeted grant disbursement.

To achieve these goals within a complex and changing political landscape, DAI is consciously working through existing institutions and with the re-emerging private sector to identify needed reforms in the investment environment to promote competitiveness in agrobusinesses. The program relies heavily on supporting local experts and institutions, tapping into the Zimbabwean diaspora in South Africa, and incorporating local bodies directly into the planning, oversight, and monitoring of program interventions.

Philippines - Water and Sanitation Sector Assessment (WSSA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
January 2011 - May 2011

Identifying assistance opportunities for USAID/Philippines while linking water and sanitation activities with initiatives in health and climate change

As of October 2010, USAID projects have provided more than 1 million Filipinos access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation services. As water and sanitation continue to be a pressing development concern, DAI is conducting an assessment for USAID to identify opportunities for expanding coverage, as well as to link water and sanitation activities more closely with the agency’s health and global climate change initiatives. Working in close association with the Philippines National Economic Development Authority, the DAI team is working to:

Analyze and rank constraints and opportunities in the water and sanitation sector and the actions needed by the Philippine Government to meet its high-priority social, health, and environmental goals in water and sanitation;

Assess the contribution of existing USAID/Philippines activities to the Philippines’ water and sanitation goals;

Present options for interventions, given the respective constraints and opportunities; and

Analyze the sector’s vulnerabilities to the impacts of global climate change and possible mitigation and/or adaptation measures.

The WSSA team is reviewing relevant documents, consulting the Philippines water and sanitation sector, and conducting outreach workshops and key informant interviews. In addition to helping chart the way forward, the assessment team is examining how well the Philippines is progressing toward meeting Millennium Development Goals, and how health and environmental outcomes related to the water and sanitation sector are being monitored.

Kenya - Financial Inclusion for Rural Microenterprises (FIRM)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
January 2011 - December 2013

Designing profitable and sustainable financial services models that enable agriculture-led economic growth, improve livelihoods, and contribute to overcoming food security challenges

FIRM is designed to facilitate the expansion and innovation of financial services in five areas key to the development of Kenya’s economic growth and prosperity: agriculture, renewable/clean energy, information and communication technology, gender/youth, and policy reform. FIRM will also capitalize on opportunities that can potentially advance the frontier of financial services into, for example, water, health, and education, in order to benefit marginalized and excluded populations across Kenyan society.

To achieve these objectives, FIRM works in partnership with and supports a wide variety of commercial actors in the financial services industry, government of Kenya agencies and stakeholders, associations, donors, business service providers, and consultants. FIRM has developed the Financial Inclusion and Innovation Fund to underwrite costs associated with these partnerships. FIRM will also continue to manage and grow USAID’s Development Loan Guarantee program in each crucial implementation area.

FIRM’s approach is centered upon, but not exclusive to, agriculture. FIRM has partnered with the Kenya Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) program to create the Agriculture Value Chain Finance Center to strengthen value chains through the development of appropriate and sustainable finance.

The center will strive to overcome identified information failures in agricultural and related financial markets. The center’s core mandate is to undertake activities that apply rigorous quantitative research on select high-impact rural agriculture value chains that have an identified finance gap. Ultimately, this work will lead to partnerships with financial and nonfinancial sector participants to pilot and deliver products and services to improve the performance of agriculture in the Kenyan economy, benefiting individuals, families, and small businesses heretofore excluded from finance.

Vietnam - Supporting Implementation of Labor Laws and Promotion of Sound Industrial Relations (SIIR)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2009–September 2011

Helping labor, industry, and government build and sustain a mutual vision for strengthened industrial relations

Over the past decade, Vietnam has dramatically modernized and liberalized its economy and supporting legal framework. But the framework for industrial relations has not kept pace, leading to inadequate social dialogue mechanisms, problems in productivity and quality, and issues of gender discrimination. As a result, disputes easily escalate – since 2006 there has been a large increase in the number of strikes, mostly in foreign-invested enterprises.

Fortunately, the three representative parties with the greatest stakes in labor unrest – trade unions, industry associations, and the Vietnamese government – all agree that problems exist, and they should solve them together.

Supporting Implementation of Labor Laws and Promotion of Sound Industrial Relations (SIIR) in Vietnam is addressing these challenges, among others, in the current Vietnamese context: a lack of preventative and positive industrial relations; violations and weak enforcement of labor laws; absence of a common framework for collective bargaining; and the inability of the stakeholders to build and sustain their own collective bargaining capacity.

To ensure that employers, trade unions, and workers understand the country’s evolving labor laws and regulations, including those on gender in the workplace, and have the incentives to follow them, a key goal of SIIR is to help improve the capacities of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA), which sets government labor policy and oversees labor inspection, and the Vietnamese General Confederation of Workers (VGCL), the country’s official trade union.

The project works with MoLISA to refine its internal management, train labor inspectors, and improve data collection. The VGCL is being improved through education and representation, as well as institutional improvements geared to advocate for and protect workers’ rights. Information is being disseminated through low- and high-tech means to educate workers, employers, the public, and tripartite stakeholders on the law and regulations.

SIIR’s highest priority will be to build capacity so that the tripartite stakeholders make commitments to internalize and continue work through their own efforts with decreasing levels of SIIR involvement. The project benefits from the buy-in and participation of all three parties toward a common goal of improved labor relations.

Afghanistan - Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations, Regional Command East (RAMP UP East)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
June 2010–June 2011

Helping Afghan municipalities establish capable, legitimate governance and improve basic services

Afghan municipalities have long suffered from underinvestment, limited support, low revenues, and weak institutional capacity. As a result, services and infrastructure in municipalities are minimal. Of the total population of urban households, only 10 percent have piped water systems; only 20 percent of households have consistent city power—and 14 percent lack any access to electricity. Inadequate sanitation services result in high rates of infant mortality. Community and social amenities are deteriorated or absent. Unimproved roads, overflowing drainage systems, and decrepit markets and business districts constrain transportation and commercial activity.

RAMP UP addresses these challenges and helps the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) establish capable, legitimate governance at the municipal level, with three primary objectives: 1) increase the capacity of GIRoA municipal offi cials, 2) improve the delivery of municipal services to citizens, and 3) boost municipal capacity to enable, support, and sustain economic growth. Afghanistan’s urban areas can become more than places of refuge for those fleeing violence and rural poverty. They can be centers of stability, actively promoting and accelerating Afghanistan’s stabilization countrywide.

Building on the success of USAID’s Afghan Municipal Strengthening Project, RAMP UP East will support all 14 provincial capitals under ISAF Regional Command East (excluding Kabul). Its primary customers are municipal officials—mayors, revenue officers, engineers and the like—and the citizens that benefit from municipal services. RAMP UP East’s point of entry for both citizens and municipal officials is to help municipalities implement visible service delivery improvement projects. Through these projects, municipal officials will not only improve their capacity to deliver services themselves, but will increase citizen satisfaction with, trust in, and support for the municipal government.

Embedding technical advisors with municipal staff will provide the necessary resources and build the capacity of municipal staff to better perform their core management responsibilities, such as improving service delivery, supporting economic development, ensuring sound financial management, expanding revenues, and enhancing transparency and accountability.

All RAMP UP East programming will put municipal officials in front of their citizenry, demonstrably in charge of projects and activities made possible with RAMP UP funding. Municipal officials will be in the lead, directing participatory planning processes and overseeing implementation. By working in the background, RAMP UP ensures that municipal officials will not only take ownership of activities, but will also demonstrate their competence as governing authorities.

Afghanistan Agricultural Credit Enhancement Program (ACE)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2010–January 2015

Promoting commercial agriculture by facilitating access to financial services through local financial institutions and industry organizations

With most Afghans engaged in farming and 40 percent of the rural population producing for commercial markets, agriculture is the linchpin of Afghanistan’s economy. Upgrading agricultural value chains—to improve food security, employment, and business opportunities—has become central to the country’s battle against poverty and instability.

Smart credit is needed to help Afghan farmers improve productivity; prompt investment in processing, packaging, and marketing; and allow farmers and others to capitalize on opportunities in domestic and export markets.

Afghan financial institutions have little market information or staff expertise in agricultural lending, constraining their ability to analyze or underwrite agricultural loans with confidence. ACE will create an enabling environment, increase access to credit, and analyze and boost value chains, working under the auspices of the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), an ACE-managed fund established by a $100 million USAID grant to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its agriculture Ministry.

ADF monies will be lent to intermediaries: banks, credit unions, and microfinance institutions, as well as cooperatives, farm stores, agricultural depots, food processors, and other informal financiers. These will then on-lend funds to small commercial farmers, with ACE identifying attractive lending opportunities through ongoing agricultural development programs and MAIL’s national network. ACE, in fact, will be co-located with the Ministry in Kabul, with field offices in Jalalabad, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif.

To mitigate risk and promote innovation, the ADF will offer financial and other incentives to these intermediary lenders. The fund will help lenders build capacity for responsible agricultural lending, and help borrowers package investment opportunities. Working through the Ministry, ACE’s integrated approach will ensure that the country’s priority value chains are provided market intelligence, technology, and institutional support in order to optimize the ADF’s infusion of finance.

ACE also has a mandate to help the Ministry draw on the entire portfolio of donor assistance to create additional opportunities for the application of fund resources. ACE will broker technical assistance, tapping into the best positioned programs to drive agricultural modernization and value chain initiatives.

All of ACE’s work—management of the ADF, funding of intermediaries, loans and repayments, and technical and value-chain assistance—are designed to sustain and be fully transitioned to local control within four years.

Tajikistan - USAID Family Farming Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2010–September 2014

Improving access to food by increasing farm yields, reducing losses, strengthening value chains, and supporting agricultural reform

In 2010, almost 64 percent of the population of Tajikistan lived below the poverty line of $2/ person/day. There are many reasons, including a historically state-controlled economy, five-year civil war, rural unemployment, dependence on imported food, and an agricultural strategy focused on cotton.

Recent economic and social shocks have adversely affected the agriculture sector, reducing land use and its productivity. Inadequate smallholder land size, unresolved land reform issues, skewed agricultural policies and strategies, water management obstacles, and non-sustainable use of the country’s natural resources are significant challenges.

Compared with other Central Asia countries, Tajikistan has the highest number of female-headed households, which are disproportionately affected by poverty and discrimination.

The USAID Family Farming Program is a four-year effort. Its sole purpose is to improve food security in Tajikistan by increasing the volume of agricultural production, raising the income of food insecure households to make food more accessible, and bettering the standard of household nutrition. The program does this by working with household (subsistence) farms and small commercial (individual and family dekhan) farms, implementing interventions along the agricultural production chain from input supply through marketing. The program will also work with national policy issues as the need for specific policy reforms is demonstrated by its work in the villages, as well as assist in the reform of the national system of agricultural education.

We focus on districts in the Pamirs, the Rasht Valley, and Khatlon, and implement activities through four regional offices, supported by a Central Office in Dushanbe. Technical staff is based whenever possible in regional offices and travel frequently throughout the country, providing technical assistance customized to the needs of each region’s farm communities.

At the community level within each region, Village Extension Agents serve as activity monitors and liaisons to reach out and train across all Family Farming Program activities. Programming focuses on tasks/initiatives that have the most immediate yet sustainable impacts and broad community inclusion, especially for woman-headed households and young women and men.

Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Strengthening Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2010 – September 2013

Building a foundation for parliamentary governing in the face of deep-rooted corruption, cynicism, poverty, and ethnic strife

In April 2010 the government of Kyrgyzstan and its president was brought down amid protests over corruption, abuse of power, and increases in utility prices. Within days a new government assumed power, followed in June 2010 by a new constitution and parliamentary system. The first elections to the new parliament—the Jogorku Kenesh, or Supreme Council—were held on October 10, 2010.

Challenges abound for the new parliamentarians of the Jogorku Kenesh. They face deep cynicism about government, as both of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan’s presidents fell into corruption and authoritarianism and were evicted after riots and protests. Tensions continue to simmer in the country’s south between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. Kyrgyzstan is poor as well, with few natural resources.

If Kyrgyzstan meets these challenges, its new parliamentary system could sustain a reasonable balance of power that curbs corruption and incentivizes constructive politics. Its transition to a more democratic and effective form of government could inspire other countries in the region. Failure of the new government, though, could destabilize other states in Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan. Political unrest in Kyrgyzstan could also affect U.S. access to the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, an important supply point for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

To effect reform and stability, parliament must work toward three intertwined objectives: being a constructive actor in government, a responsive and representative body, and a well-managed institution. Under Phase 1 of the Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Strengthening Program, from October 2010 to March 2011, DAI is:

Assessing the roles of other U.S. agencies, implementers, and other donors in the Kyrgyz parliament;

Assessing the needs of the Jogorku Kenesh around four main functions—lawmaking, executive oversight, management and procedures, and representation/constituency relations;

Developing a blueprint for the long-term project; and

Beginning initial member and staff orientations, media outreach and internet presence, committee and sectoral seminars, and training on new procedures and processes, human resources, and legislative review.

Phase 2 will launch sometime after March 2011 following a memorandum of understanding between USAID and the Jogorku Kenesh on short- and longer-term priorities and how to address them.

Southeast Asia - Clinical Trials for Influenza

Client: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases–National Institute of Health [subcontract to Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.]
September 2010–October 2011

Providing a regional health initiative with project management support

DAI is using its extensive project management capabilities to support Social & Scientific Systems, Inc. (SSS) in establishing effective on-the-ground operations in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. DAI will provide administrative and management support services to facilitate the conduct of clinical research under the multisite, multinational Southeast Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (SEA ICRN) and the multisite Indonesian clinical research network, which will conduct some but not all of its research as part of the SEA ICRN.

Our start-up teams are providing in-country support services in logistics and information technology (IT) infrastructure—as well as ongoing operational support services—to the SSS staff and offi ces in the region. DAI is also providing long-term staff in Indonesia to manage operations, IT, and logistics for all the regional offices. Throughout the project, DAI will provide short-term operational support in these areas.

Africa Leadership Training and Capacity Building Program (Africa LEAD)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2010–September 2012

Developing leaders who will design and implement food security strategies and investment plans that reduce hunger and poverty over the long term

The U.S. Government’s Feed the Future (FTF) initiative marks a radical departure from USAID’s customary level of engagement with host-country governments. FTF calls not simply for host-country partnership—long a tenet of most projects—but for genuine host-country leadership.

AFRICA LEAD operates in three regions—with headquarters in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa—and in at least 13 sub-Saharan countries. Working across a range of public and private institutions, it builds the capacity of leaders to devise and manage Country Investment Plans that embrace strong leadership, solid management, and keen strategic planning.

This work is done within the framework of the New Economic Partnership for African Development’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, which requires countries to allocate 10 percent of their budgets to agriculture in order to raise its productivity.

The project is conducting four main tasks:

Delivering training modules that give a cadre of Africans the skills and knowledge necessary to scale up activities in agriculture and food security. Courses motivate participants to take the lead in their own institutions, countries, and regions.

Providing logistical support for seminars as well as follow-up with attendees.

Assessing needs by understanding the roles people and institutions play in meeting FTF goals, and tying those roles to the capacity-building effort; determining which institutions to assess, developing a cost-effective assessment schedule, and tracking institutions’ progress; and communicating capacity-building needs to the institutions that implement the training.

Creating an interactive, easily updated training database that serves as a matchmaking tool that leads institutions to develop appropriate training programs, while ensuring that courses in the database are high quality and applicable to the needs of African leaders.

AFRICA LEAD is measured in part by the quantity and quality of its training, institutional strengthening, and leadership development, but another of its achievements is equally profound: a dramatic change in the perception of the United States on the part of host country governments, in which the United States is seen as a true partner and supporter of a sound development agenda that responds to national priorities and is directed by national leaders.

Mozambique – Support Program for Economic and Enterprise Development (SPEED)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2010 – September 2014

Reforming economic policy to create the conditions for the private sector to flourish

Mozambique has been engaged in economic policy reform since its first democratic elections in 1994. However, there is a pressing need to prioritize, deepen, and accelerate key policy reforms; strengthen private sector participation in policy dialogue; and create the capacity and systems to ensure that key reforms are implemented effectively.

Some positive trends are visible. A strong constituency for reform exists within the business community, a public-private dialogue mechanism is in place, capacity is being built to advance economic policy reforms, and numerous analytical studies have recommended reform priorities.

SPEED supports and expands ongoing reforms to catalyze economic development and speed the transformation of Mozambique’s economic, legal, and governance systems into those of a modern, developed country. SPEED’s goal is to have more companies doing more business, resulting in increased trade and investment and a stronger competitive position for Mozambican firms, thus creating local opportunities for job and income growth.

Applying a comprehensive approach to improving policy development and implementation, our SPEED team delivers training and technical assistance that builds the capacity of business associations and corresponding government institutions and catalyzes trade and investment growth in tourism and agriculture.

Because Mozambican women are under-represented in the policy development process, yet critical to sustained economic growth, we ensure stronger female participation in this area through targeted training and financial assistance to woman-run associations. Additionally, our approach places a high premium on the use of Mozambican expertise to achieve sustainable SPEED results, as evidenced by the prominent role of our local partners and high percentage of Mozambican staff.

Lebanon Water and Wastewater Sector Support (LWWSS)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2009–September 2013

Helping water establishments improve operations and deliver high quality services for which customers are willing to pay

Under the predecessor Lebanon Water Policy Program (LWPP), a DAI-led team based in the Ministry of Energy and Water helped the CEO of the South Lebanon Water Establishment forge a single, effective entity from four separate and underperforming water authorities. It became a model for the other water establishments (WEs) in Lebanon.

DAI is now helping all four of the country’s WEs move toward financial and operational sustainability. LWWSS is introducing new areas of assistance in staff capacity building, capital investment planning, and customer service. The project also includes direct investments in infrastructure and equipment that will enable the WEs to improve and extend services to their customers. The LWWSS team is helping each WE improve operations, financial management, planning, and customer outreach—all essential to long-term financial and operational sustainability.

The challenges faced by the WEs include crippling staff shortages and an aging workforce, poor customer relations, low tariffs that fail to recover operating costs, lack of metering, excessive non-revenue water, and years of underinvestment in the water and wastewater infrastructure.

In addressing these challenges, our approach:

Maximizes the use of Lebanese experts and staff. Aside from our chief of party, LWWSS consists of an all-Lebanese long-term team and several Lebanese short-term advisors. Whenever possible, we use Lebanese firms to procure and install equipment, construct small works, and provide specialized services, thus increasing the number of experts and companies working in the sector;

Embeds full-time advisors in each WE;

Coordinates with the German Office of Technical Cooperation and European Union, both of which are assisting Lebanon’s water sector, to leverage USAID’s resources and avoid duplication;

Introduces innovations and international best practices, especially in customer outreach and service and in infrastructure financing linked to capital investment planning; and

Establishes a clear plan for monitoring and evaluating results. Our monitoring and evaluation process began on day 1. Through preliminary discussions with the CEOs and the initial assessment process, the LWWSS team is working with each establishment to set baselines and benchmarks for performance improvements.

Afghanistan - Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives for the North, East, and West (IDEA-NEW)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
March 2009–March 2014

Helping Afghanistan’s rural communities create resilient, dynamic local economies while eliminating the production of opium poppy

Afghan farmers cultivate opium poppy because they need to feed their families. For many poor rural Afghans, poppy is the only reliable source of cash, credit, and access to cropland to supplement subsistence farming. Sometimes, coercion is also a factor. IDEA-NEW is designed to dissuade Afghans from growing poppy by increasing access to licit, commercially viable, alternative sources of income.

In alliance with Mercy Corps and ACDI/VOCA, DAI adopts a technical approach that DAI used with tangible success in USAID/Afghanistan’s Alternative Development Program–Eastern Region. This approach defines program interventions with reference to customers, uses value chain techniques to reveal customer needs, and then provides tailored, customer-specific incentives to help meet those needs.

The IDEA-NEW project builds on DAI's successful work in the eastern part of the country and extends it into the north. Its primary customers are the communities where poppy is (or is likely to be) cultivated. Infrastructure is our point of entry to a community because the immediate needs of farmers and villagers typically consist of building or repairing basic infrastructure—including roads from farm to market, irrigation, electricity, and cold storage. We offer technical expertise and cash-for-labor.

DAI’s value chain analysis reveals opportunities and high-priority needs, prioritizes subsectors, targets markets, reveals comparative advantages and weak links, and indicates how best to improve value chain functioning and increase community participation in viable value chains. Our diverse program interventions—including efforts to expand private sector activity—then address identified needs by exploiting the opportunities in collaboration with community leaders, government ministries and agencies, and the private sector.

Programmatic and geographic flexibility is integral to our approach: we work where, when, and with whatever means we can to have the greatest impact on poppy cultivation. This means working in provinces not only where poppy is currently grown, but also where poppy growing has declined or ceased, to prevent backsliding. Gender-responsive programming, communications, and monitoring are part of all program activities. Our approach also relies on the decision making and leadership of our Afghan personnel, and on community buy-in and ownership, and pays special attention to food security needs.

To visit the IDEA-NEW website, click here.

Morocco Economic Competitiveness Project (MEC)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
December 2009–September 2013

Reducing poverty, creating jobs, and upgrading the workforce while incorporating social concerns

MEC’s strategic vision is that broad-based economic growth is the strongest lever to reduce poverty and ensure that youth have the opportunity to become productive and engaged members of society. Because unemployment is the main determinant of poverty, job creation is a top priority for the Government of Morocco. We approach the project using a 21^st century definition of competitiveness, incorporating economic, environmental, and social concerns. Given the economic and environmental dimensions, DAI is striving to make MEC’s implementation to be entirely carbon neutral.

Capitalizing on broad national commitment to market openness, business-friendly regulation, and private sector involvement, MEC will tackle three cross-cutting themes:

Accelerating policy reform;

Improving the implementation capacity of Government of Morocco entities; and

Increasing private sector engagement.

The four-year program with a fifth option year has three technical components:

Improving Trade and Investment. Despite recent reforms and legislation, businesses in Morocco still face delays, high transaction costs, and difficulty attracting foreign investment. MEC will build on the successes of recent USAID and Government of Morocco efforts to consolidate reforms, standardize practices across regions, and automate approval processes and interagency information exchange. In high-priority value chains, MEC will leverage venture capital services that bring together investors and high-potential firms to develop opportunities, promote successful export models, and spread business ideas among entrepreneurs.

Using Water Sustainably for Agricultural Growth. Moroccan water resources, already scarce, are declining owing to inefficiencies, waste, and changes in environmental conditions. MEC will enable Moroccan policy makers and farmers to benefit from regional knowledge and experiences. An ambitious plan to modernize Moroccan agriculture is under way – the Plan Maroc Vert. MEC will work with public and private stakeholders to demonstrate the benefits of an integrated approach to agricultural value chain development that includes water optimization, export promotion, and workforce development.

Strengthening Workforce Development. Morocco is struggling with jobless growth and persistent youth unemployment. Foreign investors find the labor code to be rigid. MEC will help move the Dialogue Social toward consensus, promoting measures that balance employee and employer needs. Simple improvements to the administrative system can make hiring easier, providing incentives to formalize domestic workers and others currently counted as unemployed. The Ministry of Employment has committed to expand training services of both public and private providers. MEC will support ANAPEC, and private training institutes to upgrade and expand its training offerings. Working with selected agricultural and export-oriented value chains, MEC will connect master trainers to worldwide experts and trainers, building a sustainable system that will provide access to new training and adult education resources.

Cutting across the three main components are gender and youth considerations aimed at mainstreaming Moroccan citizens now somewhat marginalized, despite Morocco’s economic growth.

Rwanda - Strengthening Sustainable Ecotourism In and Around Nyungwe National Park (SSENNP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
March 2010-March 2015

Helping local stakeholders realize tangible livelihood benefits while protecting their rainforest

Rwanda is an emerging tourist destination. SSENNP is helping the country reach its tourism potential by targeting the spectacular Nyungwe National Park (NNP), focusing on inclusive ecotourism development for the benefit of communities surrounding the park, and leveraging private sector investment in the management, construction, and maintenance of new and existing park infrastructure.

Dubbed Nyungwe Nziza, or “beautiful Nyungwe,” the project is helping to transform NNP into a viable ecotourism destination capable of generating employment and sustainable and equitable income for local communities and other stakeholders, thus providing economic incentives to conserve the park’s rich biodiversity. The goal is a thriving economy in NNP with engaged communities and a private sector that benefit economically by protecting and leveraging their unique environment.

In addition to establishing Nyungwe as the number one birding destination in the Rift Valley, Nyungwe Nziza works to decrease threats to biodiversity, such as fire, poaching, and mining. The project aims to increase park visits and revenue, promote NNP as a brand that goes beyond tourism, and develop a core group of trained professionals to support healthcare in a region vulnerable to HIV and other public health threats.

DAI’s team is designing and implementing market-driven product development and marketing strategies to deliver more private sector investment in infrastructure and services. The project will cultivate partnerships and joint ventures between local communities and the private sector to increase the availability of visitor accommodations and develop new attractions. At the same time, it will train local communities to integrate into existing and new value chains around niche products such as bird-watching, chimpanzee tracking, and cultural activities.

In the end, the investment to increase NNP’s attractiveness as a tourist destination will:

Diversify the local economy, create jobs, and increase family income, resulting in reduced poverty and reduced threats;

Forge scalable and creative public-private partnerships to increase investment in and around the park, resulting in a sustainable, market-driven ecotourism business plan for NNP;

Bolster the ecotourism enabling environment, resulting in sustainable ecotourism development at Nyungwe and beyond; and

Improve the health and lives of people living in and around NNP.

Haiti Recovery Initiative—Ann Leve Kanpe (HRI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
January 2010-July 2011

Strengthening local and national capacity to promote stability in the aftermath of a natural disaster

The January 12, 2010, earthquake shattered Haiti’s teeming capital of Port-au-Prince, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people, rendering homeless thousands more, and leaving the city in ruins with miles of buildings and homes collapsed and infrastructure broken.

With help from abroad, the Haitian government was able to recover and bury bodies, clear main roads, and restore water and electricity. But immense devastation and homelessness remained, overwhelming people’s ability to simply stand back up (Ann Leve Kanpe means “let’s stand up” in Haitian Creole). Much of Port-au-Prince’s secondary roads, alleys, sidewalks, and drainage canals remained blocked by rubble. With the March-through-November rainy season approaching, this raised the specter of flooding and a potential public health crisis.

Under the direction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Transition Initiatives, DAI staff flew to Port-au-Prince within a week of the earthquake and began helping with the recovery. The immediate goal: support the Government of Haiti and the mayors and civic leaders of Port-au-Prince’s eight urban communes in organizing and implementing cleanup, which included helping national leaders establish communications and assemble cash-for-work cleanup teams. These efforts would be led by local leaders who recruited personnel and planned and prioritized local efforts.

By providing emergency infrastructure and technical assistance, HRI is increasing the capacity, effectiveness, and visibility of the Government of Haiti as it carries out mandates under the State of Emergency. In doing so, HRI facilitates short-term economic and sociopolitical recovery through large-scale temporary job creation, building the confidence of Port-au-Prince’s residents and civil society.

Importantly, by improving local government service delivery, these grant-funded initiatives increase the credibility of the Government of Haiti in conflict-vulnerable communities, thus promoting stability. HRI’s participatory, demand-driven approach requires that DAI work closely with municipal officials and local leaders in each step of this process.

HRI is also acquiring or rehabilitating temporary facilities to restore core Government of Haiti ministry functions, and building government capacity to communicate key information to the public.

The partnerships borne of HRI are built on USAID/Haiti’s existing programs and relations with GoH partners, maximizing collaboration with international actors such as the World Bank and United Nations, and U.S. government partners.

Jordan - Fiscal Reform II Project (FRP II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
November 2009 October 2014

Fostering innovative, results-oriented government in Jordan

The USAID-funded Fiscal Reform Project II (FRP II) assists the Government of Jordan (GOJ) in enhancing the macroeconomic foundations for growth by improving government spending, taxation, and fiscal policy, and helps create a results-oriented government and facilitate trade. To achieve this, FRP II works towards five objectives:

Improved efficiency of use of public resources through stronger public financial management, including work with the General Budget Department and Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS);

Results-oriented government;

Enhanced revenue mobilization through better revenue administration, primarily through our work with the Income and Sales Tax Department;

Adoption of resource-saving reforms in selected government programs through sound policy analysis initiated from the Ministry of Finance; and

Increased efficiency in trading across borders.

Collectively, these will enhance government effectiveness, improve the business environment, and create the conditions necessary to attract new investments, create jobs, spur economic growth, and improve Jordanians’ standard of living.

Activities

In ongoing efforts to build the capacity of counterpart staff, the project through January 2011 has conducted 130 capacity building events, training 2,781 professionals to more effciently and effectively carry out their core functions in areas ranging from taxpayer service techniques to database administration to macro-fiscal modeling. FRP II is also:

Strengthening results-oriented budgeting in a number of line ministries, while also strengthening the capacity of General Budget Department budget analysts so that budget requests are better aligned with ministry and national strategic priorities;

Supporting development of two new macroeconomic framework models to improve the modeling and analytical capacity of the Ministry of Finance’s Studies and Economic Policy Department; and

Implementing an Innovation and Excellence Fund to encourage people in government agencies to formulate creative solutions to vexing public sector challenges.

Progress and achievements

FRP II submitted recommendations to the Council of Ministers, which approved the merger, elimination, or restructuring of 22 autonomous public institutions, a significant step towards more efficiently organized and results-oriented government. The project has also:

Launched the Jordan Customs Single Window in two additional border crossing points, for a total of eight Single Windows throughout the country, covering 80 percent of customs transactions;

Rolled out the GFMIS to two spending agencies, the Ministry of Finance and General Budget Department, in a watershed step towards more transparent, consistent and real-time budget preparation and execution processes across all spending agencies;

Encouraged enhanced fiscal transparency by helping the General Budget Department develop two important publications: The Budget in Brief, and the Citizens’ Guide to the Budget that will serve as guides and sources of awareness for Jordanians to understand better where their money goes, and how such financial resources are used in government projects and programs; and

Assessed tax arrears and identified over JD 1.5 billion in taxpayer arrears that are owed to the ISTD, and developed methods for improving the analysis of these arrears and their respective taxpayers, and methods for tracking these taxpayers down and encouraging their compliance through collaboration with the Ministry of Justice.

Partners

To achieve its objectives, FRP II works closely with a number of the Government’s key economic institutions. Among them:

Ministry of Finance, to improve its analytical capabilities, improve debt management, and strengthen the organization and operations;

General Budget Department, to fully implement results-oriented budgeting, build analytical abilities, strengthen financial controls and classifications;

GFMIS Project Management Unit, to provide assistance for some staffing, and international expertise for GFMIS implementation and rollout to all government;

Income and Sales Tax Department, to improve overall operations, implement information technology (IT) modernization, implement the newest legislation, train staff, and improve taxpayer services;

Jordan Customs, to implement single window, train staff, work with others to reduce obstacles to crossing borders, and improve overall IT.

The Ministry of Public Sector Development, to introduce strategic planning, results orientation, public sector reform, and innovation throughout government;

Ministry of State Mega Projects, to build capacity within the GOJ to develop standards for all capital projects; and

King Abdullah II Center for Excellence, to build excellence throughout GOJ organizations and introduce innovative methods in government services.

FRP II Website

Success stories

Jordan Customs leads Middle East in Single Window implementation

Government trainers take the lead from foreign experts, deliver world-class trainings

Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas Capacity Building Program (FATA CBP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
January 2008–December 2010

Improving government service delivery and social and economic development in the tribal areas

In Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), socioeconomic development has been inhibited by a lack of development funds. In addition, worsening insecurity in the region is contributing to the gap in development between FATA and the rest of Pakistan. A large infusion of funds expected over the next several years will be critical to create economic opportunities, raise living standards, and bring the seven FATA Agencies and the six Frontier Regions into mainstream Pakistani society.

The goal of FATA CBP is to help the Government of Pakistan’s FATA governing institutions — the FATA Secretariat and the FATA Development Authority— leverage these funds to improve service delivery and increase the legitimacy of the government in the strategically important tribal areas.

To improve the quality of service delivery, FATA CBP is addressing existing constraints to providing responsible, effective, transparent, and flexible development activities. This effort includes building the capacity of the FATA institutions and addressing the concerns of a wide range of stakeholders in FATA. CBP is identifying and developing the capacity of local civil society partners, and increasing the stake of FATA citizens in their government. CBP is also helping the Government of Pakistan to better communicate with the people of FATA and change perceptions through positive and relevant radio programming and insightful documentaries. The program will also develop long-term strategies for public administration reform in FATA. Achieving these goals in a restrictive security environment is a constant challenge and demands flexibility. To meet these goals, FATA CBP:

Supports the FATA institutions and improves service delivery through staffing support and intensive training in management, financial planning, and project design and reporting;

Improves efficiency of key government functions with information technology infrastructure, systems, and training;

Improves the ability of the FATA institutions and other donors to plan, implement, and monitor development funds, and provides technical support and on-the-job training to improve effectiveness and productivity in managing resources;

Identifies and supports the development of civil society organizations through grants, internships, and training;

Builds the capacity of the FATA institutions to communicate with the public by supporting a media and strategic communications department within the FATA Secretariat to provide consistent and reliable information and effective media strategies for FATA institutions; and

Improves civilian-military cooperation to focus on stability and reconstruction activities.

Georgia - JSC BasisBank Institution Building Programme

Client: JSC BasisBank/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
March 2009-March 2011

The project is part-funded by the ETC Multi Donor fund.

DAI is supporting Basis Bank in the implementation of a comprehensive institution building programme. The objective of the programme is to strengthen the bank to allow it to compete effectively in Georgia and the region and thereby contribute to increased competition and a more balanced distribution of financial power. The programme spans a large area of the bank's activities, from corporate governance and strategic review to risk management and internal systems, with extensive work being done on the streamlining of corporate and retail lending.

Worldwide - RESPOND

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2009 – October 2014

Improving global capacity to respond to emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases

The list of recently emerging zoonotic diseases—diseases that pass from animals to humans, including SARS, West Nile Virus, Ebola, avian influenza, and novel H1N1—reveals the urgency of work at the intersection of human and animal health. RESPOND, a five-year, worldwide program, will improve both government and private sector capacity to respond to these outbreaks.

While RESPOND is based in Washington, D.C., project teams will conduct field work from regional hub offices in “hot spot” areas, including the Congo Basin, Southeast Asia, the Amazon Basin, and the Gangetic Plain.

Integrating animal and human epidemiology and disease surveillance, RESPOND will align public health officials and other government workers with physicians, veterinarians, and other private sector actors. The program will provide long-term field epidemiology training, short-term in-service training, and academic preparation for health professionals. It also seeks to identify and counter disease outbreaks while they are still within animal populations, and strengthen local capacity to respond to outbreaks within human communities.

By project’s end, RESPOND will have created a more sustainable public health infrastructure in 25 high-risk countries by embedding project activities in existing public health systems and academic institutions. The people and institutions that make up these systems will be prepared to respond to epidemic and pandemic events, such as an outbreak of Ebola or H1N1, and respond more effectively to common debilitating and deadly diseases.

DAI’s RESPOND team includes the University of Minnesota, Tufts University, Training Resources Group, Inc., and Ecology and Environment, Inc. Its key objectives:

Forming cadres of public health professionals, including increasing numbers of women, who represent a range of disciplines (such as veterinary medicine, human health, and emergency/epidemic response) and share common training and degrees, public health approaches, vocabulary, and techniques;

Getting wildlife professionals and human health and animal health specialists to embrace the common goal of protecting people from zoonotic diseases, and developing within each RESPOND country a mutual respect across professional disciplines and enhanced joint planning and implementation;

Securing funding from national governments for local, district, and national agencies and ministries involved in the fight against these diseases, thus demonstrating their recognition of zoonotic disease threats and commitment to protecting their people;

Increasing connections, collaboration, and coordinated outbreak response planning among public and private stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and global levels; and

Improving public health as zoonotic diseases are identified more quickly, response actions are mounted faster, outbreaks are limited in extent and severity, and the incidence of human infections is reduced.

East Africa - Roads to a Healthy Future Program (ROADS II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2008–September 2013

Building defenses against HIV/AIDS through food security,

This program, a successor to the Regional Outreach for Addressing AIDS through Development Strategies (ROADS) project, is implemented under a Leader with Associates (LWA) cooperative agreement, where Family Health International (FHI) is the holder of the Leader Award and DAI is a subcontractor to FHI.

ROADS II, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, operates in nine East African countries: five PEPFAR focus countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) and four non-focus countries (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, and Sudan). It has two objectives: to increase access to multisectoral HIV/AIDS, health, and related services for mobile populations and vulnerable communities along major transport corridors; and to increase African regional institutions’ capacity to assist in scaling up best practices and applying lessons learned in HIV and health.

DAI is contributing in two areas: food security, and the economic strengthening of AIDS-vulnerable communities. We focus on increasing household food production, building savings and access to credit and other financial services, and linking affected households into business activities in mainstream value chains that will enhance the food security of participating communities.

The economic activities of most ROADS II beneficiaries lie in low-yield subsistence agriculture and low-margin petty trade. Most of these households are further disadvantaged by the recent deaths of working members, poor agricultural skills, inadequate access to inputs, the inability to raise the capital required to grow microenterprises, and the dissolution of safety nets that would allow them to recover from accidents or illnesses. They are stuck in a poverty trap, eking out a living by, for example, selling poor-quality sunflower oil or peddling water bottles at truck stops. Adverse living conditions force many of these low-income women and youths to engage in transactional sex, furthering exposing them and their partners to HIV infection.

With FHI, DAI is rolling out a program to empower members of these communities to improve their lives through savings groups, business skills training, and participation in higher-value local and regional industries, with the goal of building their resilience and reducing the risks they face in securing their livelihoods.

DAI’s technical and regional experience in this area is informed by our work on the Urban Agriculture Program for HIV-Affected Women in Ethiopia and its successor, the Urban Gardens for HIV-Affected Women and Children project.

Ukraine - EU/EBRD SME Support to Ukrainian Banks, 2nd Tranche - UkrSibbank

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
July 2009 – December 2010

Supporting the expansion of lending services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine

UkrSibbank received a 50 million euro credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2008, but has had difficulty disbursing the funds in the wake of the global financial crisis and its impact on the Ukrainian economy. The free-falling Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, and dwindling trust in a government paralyzed by infighting led to a frenzied rush in autumn 2008 to withdraw deposits. In December, the central bank banned withdrawals of term deposits, the most popular way of saving in the country.

Amid the resulting liquidity crisis, banks have stopped performing their contractual obligations; there are reports of angry customers waiting in front of banks that are unable to pay out deposits or forced to restrict withdrawals. Since the beginning of 2009, nine banks have been placed in receivership, and many of those with foreign ownership have received aid from their parent institutions. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that banks have restricted lending criteria so sharply that lending operations are effectively frozen.

UkrSibbank, majority-owned by BNP Paribas and boasting a dense branch network covering all regions of the country, sought out technical assistance after hearing of DAI's recent successful work at Raiffeisen Aval, also in Ukraine. DAI is implementing an SME lending scheme at UkrSibbank, with the focus on building the bank's capacity through training in credit analysis and portfolio management. Other areas in which DAI may provide assistance are:

Portfolio monitoring and risk management;

Streamlining SME lending processes;

Credit scoring and application processing;

Compliance and reporting; and

Marketing and product development.

Worldwide - Engaging Private Investment Partners for PEPFAR

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2009 - April 2010

Leveraging PEPFAR programming through analysis, social venture network creation, and partnerships

Implemented by DAI and San Francisco, California-based Origo, this groundbreaking public-private partnership will ally venture capital with public funds to mitigate the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Working under the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Global Development Alliance Strategic Services Program (GDA SSP), the DAI/Origo team is:

Analyzing the budget and program funds of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), as well as those of potential partners;

Developing a strategy for engaging venture capitalists, foundations, and nontraditional investors;

Developing a Private Sector Advisory Network to consult with PEPFAR; and

Planning public-private partnerships.

Initially, the project is identifying opportunities to engage venture capital in Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania.

Preventing HIV depends on a complex of factors rooted in the personal security of individuals and communities, and central to security is economic stability. To promote economic stability, the project will work to engage external capital players and investors in joint ventures with PEPFAR, USAID, and other public sector partners.

Scores of private investors—including banks, investment funds, venture capital and private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, and private philanthropists (at local, regional, and international levels)— are dedicated to helping people and countries plagued by HIV/AIDS. PEPFAR’s programs, partners, and funds can serve as useful enablers to these investors. DAI and business design firm Origo are finding and filling the gaps between PEPFAR’s focus areas and those of investors.

This work is closely aligned with the GDA, which is developing complementary "pipelines" that match philanthropic, venture, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation capital to USAID-supported enterprises.

GDA SSP PEPFAR also complements DAI's work with the Hewlett Foundation to develop investment and partnership opportunities via an Africa Development Corridors Platform, which uses geospatial analysis to visualize and identify investment opportunities along infrastructure corridors that include the PEPFAR target countries. Visual mapping will inform decisions regarding corridor investments that leverage diverse resources.

West Bank and Gaza - Gaza Private Sector Revitalization Initiative (GPSR)

Client: Palestinian National Authority
February 2009 – August 2009

Assessing and Validating Damage to Private Businesses in Gaza from Israeli Bombardment

Under contract to the Palestinian National Authority, DAI will assess the damage caused to private businesses in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli incursion of December 2008.

Creating and staffing a Project Management Unit that uses transparent and efficient processes in line with international best practice, DAI will evaluate the damage to production machinery, office furniture and equipment, and factories and other business premises in Gaza.

Since 1987, DAI has undertaken more than 20 short- and long-term projects in Palestine, including the current Palestinian Facility for New Market Development.

Democratic Republic of Congo - Assessment of Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry Conservation Needs

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2009 - April 2010

Identifying assets to spur livelihood development, reduce environmental degradation, and conserve critical habitat and other biodiversity resources

Natural resources, development, security, and good governance are inextricably linked in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For many years, and particularly since the early 1990s, the DRC has undergone massive political strife, armed conflict, and population displacements, with severe humanitarian consequences. While hostilities have revolved around political and ethnic struggles, natural resources have inspired, fueled, and sustained the power clashes, particularly in the east of the country.

The DRC’s new government faces the challenge of ending continued violence in the east, rebuilding the country after years of neglect and violence, and meeting the basic needs of citizens.

Although the DRC’s forests and biodiversity have the potential to contribute to national, local, and global welfare, this potential is hampered by threats including the incursion of subsistence agriculture into forest lands and protected areas; unsustainable and illegal logging practices; the expansion of mining into biodiversity reserves; commercial trade in bushmeat and protected species; erosion of traditional forest rights, which hurts forest communities and indigenous people; and the continued presence of armed troops in many protected areas.

Against this backdrop, DAI has been asked to conduct an assessment that will:

Facilitate USAID Mission planning by framing new program options to address tropical forest and biodiversity issues, and identifying opportunities to integrate these issues into Mission activities;

Inform Mission staff, the DRC government, and others regarding present trends, threats, opportunities, and data on the DRC’s tropical forests, biodiversity, and environmental issues;

Facilitate donor collaboration by helping USAID understand its programming vis-à-vis other donors and partners; and

Serve as a vehicle for cooperating with and building the capacity of DRC institutions pertinent to biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation.

DAI’s assessment will identify actionable, practical activities to strengthen environmental management and conservation activities across the DRC, while at the same time identifying opportunities to integrate tropical forest work and biodiversity into the Mission’s rural development programming.

Africa - Trans-Sahara Security Symposium (TSS)

Client: U.S. Department of Defense [subcontract to Lockheed Martin Corporation]
September 2007-July 2012

Increasing the capacity of North and West African partner nations to use enhanced civil-military operations/relations to counter irregular threats

The U.S. Africa Command’s Operation Enduring Freedom-Trans Sahara and DAI are conducting this innovative civil-military operations/relations (CMO/R) education and training program that supports the interagency Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSCPT). This multiyear Department of Defense training series supports the U.S. Agency for International Development and Department of State’s joint TSCTP effort to build civil-military capacity and enhance regional security and cooperation.

TSS seeks to increase the capacity of North and West African partner nations to use enhanced CMO/R to counter irregular threats to human, national, regional, and international security.

Each TSS training better enables participants to:

Coordinate between military and civilian authorities in countering irregular threats such as transnational criminal groups and transnational terrorist activity;

Inform and advise their organizations on security sector stakeholders, roles, and best practices;

Build the capacity of interagency and regional partnerships to counter extremist elements’ ability to exploit crises; and

Identify actionable early warning mechanisms and conflict triggers.

The TSS program conducts eight to10 CMO/R training events per year to foster continuous learning for key civil-military leaders from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia. TSS’ three-tiered curriculum offers participants a platform for progressive learning as well as continuous key leader engagement opportunities throughout the program year. Trainings include:

Country Specific: Annual country specific trainings are held in each partner country and focus on how 21st century irregular threats affect national stability.

Regional Trainings: Semi-annual trainings bring together select TSS graduates of country-specific trainings from the eight participating African nations and explore regional irregular threats, emphasizing collaborative responses to security challenges.

Senior Leader Symposium: This annual symposium brings together outstanding alumni to engage regional organizations and partners in collaborative efforts to address regional security challenges.

Worldwide Support for Trade Capacity Building (TCBoost)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [SEGIR-GBTI II IQC]
January 2008-January 2011

Harnessing the power of trade to transform the growth trajectory of developing countries

The DAI/Nathan Group (DNG) is providing expert assistance in assessing and prioritizing trade capacity needs for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington and USAID regional and country missions.

Under TCBoost, lead firm Nathan Associates Inc.—with support from DAI and the DNG consortium—designs and implements a wide variety of trade-related projects, such as customs reform, export diversification and competitiveness, trade policy reform, trade facilitation, and trade-related labor market adjustment.

TCBoost can customize deliverables for each mission, including:

Analysis and research;

Needs assessments on specific topics, such as customs reform;

Short courses for USAID staff and host country partners on a variety of subjects; and

Best practice guides

DAI is providing TCBoost with training and technical assistance services on specific trade capacity-building topics, including economics, labor environment and gender, trade policy and capacity building, business environment reform, and value chain development.

The DNG consortium for TCBoost includes Associates in International Resources and Development, Development & Training Services (dTS), Sandler Travis Trade Advisory Services, and the QED Group, LLC.

Philippines - Local Implementation of National Competitiveness for Economic Growth (LINC-EG)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2008-September 2012

Helping communities design and implement business reforms tailored to reflect their local and regional needs and strengths

LINC-EG is a four-year project under the Global Business, Trade and Investment II (GBTI II) indefinite quantity contract. Implemented by the DAI/Nathan Group, LINC-EG will promote local and national economic competitiveness to improve prospects for economic growth and fiscal sustainability in the Philippines.

Working with local advocacy groups, the project develops policy reforms that improve Filipino private sector competitiveness, particularly in Mindanao. Although these reforms can target any level of government, the project focuses on local governments, combining our understanding of the agents and institutions involved in reforming the Philippines’ political economy with a technical approach that builds ownership among local reform advocates. For example, the project includes subnational provincial competitiveness indexing.

LINC-EG’s approach will be to select reform-minded localities that can serve as growth models, regional “growth poles,” and inspirations to other local governments.The project is driven by seven technical assistance packages that strengthen public-private partnerships and facilitate private sector development:

Measuring Factors of Competitiveness: To collect data about regulatory conditions and the production-cost burdens created by transportation constraints in Mindanao, and to recommend reforms.

Supporting the Competitiveness Policy Agenda: To foster streamlined and transparent processes for transferring ownership of leases and land, ease asset ownership rights, and permit securitized borrowing on par with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Streamlining Business Permitting and Licensing: To enhance service delivery and enable a full-service center with one-stop shop capabilities for business start-ups in Davao City’s National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center.

Improving Property Rights and Land Use: To stabilize the property rights of poor farmers, attract or increase investment in rural areas, create on- and off-farm jobs, bring underused land into production, and improve local competitiveness.

Improving Income Tax Collection Efficiency and Reducing Tax Leakages: To enhance tax revenues, especially in the Northern Mindanao region, based in Cagayan de Oro City, the second-largest source of revenues in Mindanao.

Improving Trade Facilitation and Customs Administration: To bring the Philippines in line with best international practices for customs administration thereby facilitating competitiveness by reducing import and export transaction costs.

Expanding Infrastructure:To improve logistics chain performance through diagnostics, stakeholder dialogue, implementation planning, and technical advice.

Cambodia Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise 2 / Business Enabling Environment (MSME 2/BEE)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (SEGIR GBTI II IQC)
October 2008–September 2012

Enabling entrepreneurs and provinces to be productive and influential, as well as effective partners with the Royal Government

Cambodia MSME2/BEE is a follow-on to the highly successful Cambodia MSME project, which was implemented by DAI from 2005 to 2008. The predecessor project worked to improve the competitiveness of swine, clay tile, and aquaculture value chains in Cambodia’s rural areas.

MSME2/BEE will expand the geographic and value-chain reach of original project and additionally focus on improving Cambodia’s business enabling environment. The project’s overall objective is to improve business productivity in selected value chains; increase the voice of business in policy making; and improve the Royal Government of Cambodia’s ability to respond to the private sector in reforming the business environment.

The project will cover 12 provinces: Battambang, Siem Reap, Prey Veng, Kandal, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kratie, Kampot, Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Speu, Takeo, and Svay Rieng. Select value chains may include swine, clay tile, aquaculture, non-timber forest products, water and sanitation services, fruit, vegetables, animal feed, and poultry.

Through the initial Cambodia MSME project, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the DAI team, and people of Cambodia, together achieved several notable successes:

Improved Small Business Production, such as when medical and vaccine suppliers were persuaded to market their products to small farmers -- heretofore ignored as too poor a market – which resulted in more sales for the suppliers and healthier herds for the farmers. Overall, the project facilitated 59 training sessions for 1,963 MSMEs.

Promoted Competition, as when rural brick and tile makers were linked with construction firms in Phnom Penh, boosting sales for the rural businesses while teaching them to improve the quality of their product and delivery.

Established Public-Private Dialogue, which in one case prompted the Cambodian government to safeguard small farmers by imposing a moratorium on pig imports until fairer trade regulations could be established.

Built Communication and Trust among business owners and between the public and private sectors.

Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative -- Phase Two (VNCI II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2008-February 2013

Creating an efficient administrative system by simplifying the procedures for businesses and citizens

In the years leading up to Vietnam's 2007 accession to the World Trade Organization, the country's government revised and updated more than 150 laws, regulations, and administrative procedures regulating businesses, international trade, and investmen -- reforms designed to align Vietnam with best business practices in both its local-regional and its national-international business sectors.

This comprehensive process, supported by two USAID-funded projects implemented by DAI --VNCI I and Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) -- helped Vietnam to develop a more streamlined and equitable business environment, support rapid economic growth, and generate more business, both domestically and abroad. But the country, until recently one of the poorest in the world, now faces new challenges created by its remarkable economic surge.

VNCI II is working with the Vietnamese government to address four issues that hinder the country's business environment: an inefficient administrative system; inadequate infrastructure; the slow, uneven process of decentralization; and a shortfall in effective public consultation.

These are key obstacles to the realization of Vietnam's "Project 30," a three-year initiative to transform the role of government vis-à-vis citizens and business. Project 30 is tasked with simplifying 20,000 to 30,000 administrative procedures to ensure consistency, simplicity, and transparency; to facilitate access to such procedures for individuals, organizations, and businesses; to increase government and business efficiency and socioeconomic development; and to fight corruption.

Consisting of five related components, VNCI II will:

Support legal, regulatory, and administrative reform and policy coordination;

Develop new policy/legal frameworks and financing models for infrastructure development;

Provide education and outreach to key stakeholders regarding alternative mechanisms for infrastructure financing;

Support decentralization to improve economic governance and performance; and

Expand the democratic governance dimensions of VNCI I.

Underpinning the planning and implementation of VNCI II's programs is the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). Applied countrywide, the PCI measures indicators such as property rights certification, waiting periods for business registration, access to business documentation, use of provincial economic courts to resolve business disputes, bias toward state-owned enterprises, time required to comply with regulations, and the frequency and effects of bribery.

The PCI sheds light on the factors underlying the stronger private sector dynamism seen in some provinces relative to their neighbors. In so doing, it identifies economic governance practices that can be addressed at the provincial level and highlights the importance of good economic governance for attracting investment and generating growth.

Kosovo -- Ministry of Foreign Affairs Support

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2008–March 2011

Bolstering Kosovo’s international legitimacy by strengthening the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Until recently, the fledgling nation of Kosovo’s most pressing concern was not governing as an independent state but finalizing its territorial status. With that issue resolved, Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) must now—within an extremely brief timeframe—establish itself as an institution, create a presence in foreign countries (that is, establish embassies), and negotiate various international agreements and treaties related to its status as a sovereign country. KMFAS supports that process.

Initially, DAI is helping to conduct a situational analysis that identifies the issues KMFAS must address immediately. Included in this phase of the project is the development of a joint planning mechanism representing the MFA, the U.S. Embassy, and other donors and stakeholders to coordinate project activities with donor-funded assistance to the MFA.

After the design document is complete, DAI will work in collaboration with MFA personnel to address legal and policy issues, along with the procedural and operational aspects of building a new institution. Additionally, legal experts will address treaties and international laws requiring ministry action as well as national policies and laws framing the work of the MFA and diplomatic missions.

Working closely with the MFA and USAID, DAI will seek to:

Establish fully functional embassies and diplomatic privileges and immunity;
Support the operations of the Office of

Bilateral Relations, International Organization, and Security Issues, and the Office of Legal Issues, Treaties, and Human Rights;

Build long-term capacity in the MFA offices; and

Provide legal expertise and support in the event of unforeseeable developments that may affect KMFAS objectives.

This project is implemented under USAID’s Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG) indefinite quantity contract (IQC). The BRDG IQC’s objectives are to provide technical expertise to promote democratic governance in countries in all stages of political development, and to build governance in fragile states by reinforcing the legitimacy of state structures, policies, and functions; by strengthening public management; and by promoting strategic planning, policy, and institutional reform.

Honduras - Banco Ficohsa Phase I

Client: International Finance Corporation
August 2008-August 2010

Strengthening the capacity of a Honduran bank to expand financing to MSMEs and home buyers

Building on its recent entry and growth in mortgage and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) lending, Banco Ficohsa— Honduras’ largest locally owned commercial bank—is assessing its experience and the Honduran market to identify opportunities for profitable growth.

Working with the bank, DAI is studying the segmentation of the enterprise and residential mortgage markets, and assessing Banco Ficohsa’s capacity to better serve these segments. Our advisors are also designing a plan to improve Banco Ficohsa’s strategic focus in the highest-potential segments and its product offerings; marketing and sales strategies; policy guides, manuals, and procedures; staffing, organizational structure, and skills; cost management; and support systems.

Once the improvement plan is complete, DAI will prepare and help Banco Ficohsa implement an action plan that encompasses:

Educating the organization on upcoming improvements to policies, plans, and procedures;

Developing more responsive yet standardized products, with training for staff and marketing strategies to reach out to key audiences;

Preparing manuals and processes that incorporate the improved policies and product lines;

Training credit officers, risk analysts, and supervisors in sound MSME and home financing practices;

Providing human resources support to recruit staff who specialize in MSME and home financing;

Creating new lending products for home financing that cover construction, mortgage, and home improvement loans, as well as developing further strategies for penetrating the housing market; and

Implementing best practices in mortgage and home improvement loan origination and administration, supported by IFC’s mortgage tool kit.

This project is part of the IFC Latin America and Caribbean MSME Finance Technical Assistance Facility. The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to business and governments.

To address the financing needs of MSMEs in Latin America and Caribbean, IFC launched in July 2007 a joint investment-advisory services program aimed at enhancing the capacity of financial institutions to provide financial services to such enterprises.

Armenia - Multi Bank Financing Framework Facility -- Credit Advisory Services and Institution Building

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
April 2008-March 2010

Developing Armenia’s financial sector so it can provide better service and more loans to small and medium-sized enterprise

Despite a well-capitalized financial sector, banks in Armenia are still relatively conservative, their loans typically short-term and for small amounts. Bank involvement in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains shallow and the cost of funds is high, which limits the availability of financing on a large and sustainable scale. Additionally, while financing can be found for projects and for larger corporate entities, it tends not to be available for day-to-day lending needs or mid-sized entities.

Despite this financial context and less-than-promising export opportunities (the landlocked nation suffers from stressed relations with its neighbors), Armenia’s SMEs have potential for growth in the domestic construction and service sectors—especially if they can forge ongoing working relationships with financial institutions.

DAI has been contracted to help European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) partner banks in Armenia build loan portfolios with smaller customers, then work with these banks to develop and manage those portfolios. Among the project’s goals is to lend to businesses outside the capital, Yerevan. DAI is helping banks by:

Streamlining and standardizing lending methodologies;

Strengthening credit appraisal, risk and portfolio management policies, and internal controls to ensure high portfolio quality (less than 5 percent of portfolio in arrears);

Refining existing SME products and/or introducing competitive and profitable products, as well as corresponding marketing activities;

Training loan officers and other staff on advanced cash flow-based lending and modeling (cash flow forecasting), advanced sales and marketing skills, and compliance issues related to anti-money laundering and EBRD requirements and guidelines; and

Ensuring high standards of integrity in the credit appraisal process.

As part of its effort to expand SME loan portfolios, DAI will deliver documented credit policies and procedures, including an integrated due diligence component, enhanced credit appraisal and risk management policies and procedures, a training program and materials in English and Russian/Armenian, marketing efforts geared toward SME lending, and SME loan products.

Ethiopia -- Urban Gardens for HIV-Affected Women and Children

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2008–September 2011

Improving food security and livelihoods for HIV/AIDS families

An underappreciated aspect of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa is the need for affected families to secure the basics of life: food and livelihoods. HIV/AIDS-stricken households are frequently sucked into a vicious cycle in which poverty leads to reduced food security, in turn causing malnutrition and a propensity to engage in risky behavior for survival, which further spreads the disease and deepens poverty.

For example, such households often suffer diminished access to food because—with family members sick or caring for the sick—there is less household labor to grow crops or earn wages, just as the family faces escalating medical or burial costs.

The Ethiopia Urban Gardens for HIV Affected Women and Children Program, like its predecessor the Urban Agriculture Program for HIV/AIDS-Affected Women (UAPHAW), improves household nutrition and income by distributing gardening inputs and irrigation drip kits, and by providing HIV/AIDS care and nutritional and health education to affected households.

Since 2004, DAI has set up 15,000 household, school, and community nutrition gardens in Addis Ababa. HIV/AIDS-affected people who had never held a trowel are producing kale, spinach, carrots, and other vegetables to eat and sell. Plots previously strewn with garbage and litter have been transformed into urban gardens.

The Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Kebede Worku, called the program, “one of the excellent examples of partnership against HIV/AIDS.”

“The urban gardening project in Addis Ababa is the kind of effort USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore would like to see expanded,” wrote USAID in its FrontLines publication in January 2008. This current program represents just that expansion. Four times larger than UAPHAW, it will serve 24,000 new households with drip irrigation kits and technical assistance, reaching 84,000 women and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the first three years alone. The program will also expand educational modules in nutrition, food preparation, AIDS treatment, OVC care, and garden-to-market linkages—while adding livestock, poultry, and fruit tree training.

Other aspects of the expanded program:

Children under age 18 will be measured to see if their improved diets lead to healthier bodies and growth;

Communities with especially bountiful gardens will form communal savings and lending programs from the proceeds of their work;

Drip irrigation kits – a tank, valve, regulator, and hose – will be manufactured locally, reducing the cost and improving the availability of replacement parts; and

Community conversations will enhance linkages with nutrition, education, and other support services.

Democratic Republic of Congo - Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance in the DRC (BRDG-DRC)

Client: Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2008–September 2009

Improving citizen understanding, trust, participation, and ownership in government

Following a seven-year civil war, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on a path toward recovery. A constitutional referendum was successfully implemented; free, fair and transparent elections have been held; and those elections have produced a President, a National Assembly, and provincial assemblies. Senators and provincial governments are in place and a decentralization process mandated by the constitution is under way.

Working at national and provincial levels, BRDG-DRC provides long- and short-term consulting and technical assistance, training services, applied research, workshops, conference organization and hosting, logistical support, and commodities to advance the DRC’s political transition. BRDG-DRC also awards and administers grants to nongovernmental organization (NGOs) supporting the peace and transition process and promoting democratic governance through institutional development and civic engagement.

BRDG-DRC’s seven core areas of intervention – political space for reforms, access to information, democracy resource centers, legal reform, decentralization, legislative strengthening, and judicial reform – include the following activities:

Helping to draft legislation and amendments and develop an independent magistrature.

Training national parliamentary staff, provincial assembly members, and NGOs in public hearings.

Providing technical, logistical, and material support to the Political, Administrative and Justice Committee of the National Assembly, the Permanent Commission for the Reform of Congolese Law, and the Economic and Financial Committee of the National Assemby.

Funding media efforts to responsibly analyze and publicize the new government’s reform agenda.

Facilitating public budget hearings to improve transparency and accountability in national and local governments.

Assisting NGOs and NGO networks with strategic planning.

Supporting democracy resource centers to foster engagement in political discourse, access to information, and debate of new laws and reforms.

Providing technical assistance to Bandundu, Katanga, and North Kivu provinces in community development, local government capacity building, and the engagement of civil society organizations – and facilitating decentralization in these provinces.

Supporting the Amani Peace Process in the Eastern DRC through technical assistance to the National Coordinating Unit as well as material and logistical support to the Provincial Development Committees and Kimoka Peace Camp.

Dominican Republic - Proyecto de Justicia de USAID

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [BRDG IQC]
June 2008–July 2011

Facilitating reform at all levels of the judicial system

The adoption of a new criminal procedures code (CPC) in the Dominican Republic is bringing about institutional and organizational transformation needed to modernize the country’s judicial sector. Through Proyecto de Justicia de USAID, DAI is helping the Dominican Republic’s justice institutions implement the new CPC by providing assistance in policy making, administration, and operations management

DAI works with key justice sector institutions (judiciary, prosecutor, public defender, and police) to improve service delivery and upgrade human resource capacity. DAI is supporting the creation of a locally owned strategic plan for the justice sector and will support reform champions at all levels. We are also providing appropriate training and mentoring on the duties and responsibilities of justice sector operators under the CPC, and helping to improve key elements of the justice process.

Simultaneously, DAI is working to ensure that the public has greater access to information about the justice sector. DAI is helping to increase the capacity of civil society organizations to comment on justice sector issues and provide system oversight. Through a grant program, DAI is ensuring that the community-level Casa de Justicia program – which seeks to improve access to justice – is fully evaluated, and supporting efforts to sustainably institutionalize and expand the program.

Implementation strategies include collaborating with participatory working committees to develop and then advocate for technical and training approaches; using data-based management to ensure that process improvements are measured quantitatively; coordinating with other programs’ efforts to strengthen civil society participation; and communicating the activities of the USAID project throughout the justice system.

Kenya Transition Initiative Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
May 2008–May 2011

Stabilizing Kenyan society by promoting national unity

Adopted in the wake of flawed national elections and resulting interethnic violence in 2007, Kenya’s February 2008 peace accord and power-sharing agreement afford Kenyans the political framework around which they can begin to rebuild their country. Seeking an enduring settlement to ethnopolitical frictions, the two principal political parties are challenged with working out the details of how to implment the agreement. The rebuilding process will also include addressing the ethnically-related population displacement that occurred as a result of the conflict.

USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) is working to help Kenya restore its position as an anchor of stability in the Greater Horn of Africa region. Through assistance in reducing tensions and by enabling economic, political, and social recovery, the Kenya Transition Initiative Program is helping to renew the nation’s confidence and capacity in addressing instability, political marginalization, and violence.

The program advances recovery efforts and fosters stability through strategically targeted assistance to Kenyan state and nonstate actors in the promotion of national unity. The program is working toward inclusion of historically marginalized groups while seeking to counter the ethnically based nationalism that looms large in Kenya’s political economy and flared up to disastrous effect in the post-election violence.

Working nationwide, the program supports community leaders—local and national—who mitigate conflict, stabilize communities, or build peace. Additionally, the program is facilitating greater transparency in the political process by supporting the Kenyan Parliament’s efforts to record and broadcast parliamentary proceedings.

Working in close coordination with the Government of Kenya, the U.S. Embassy, the USAID Mission in Nairobi, other donors, independent media outlets, and civil society, OTI’s in-kind small-grants mechanism allows the program to work at the grassroots level. It provides maximum flexibility in seizing opportunities to build the capacity of state and nonstate actors to enable broad-based recovery from election-related violence and address the underlying causes of instability.

The project operates in Nairobi and Eldoret, and will open offices in Kisumu and a fourth location to be determined

Liberia - Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment (ETOA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
May 2008 - September 2009

Leveraging the natural resource base without jeopardizing ecological health

Liberia has the opportunity to transition from the chaos of civil war and economic devastation to sustainable economic development. Empirically sound guidance on how Liberia can leverage its natural resource base without jeopardizing its future ecological health will be critical to the country’s ability to recover and develop. The Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment (ETOA) is one tool that enables the U.S. Agency for International Development to guide Liberia down the road to recovery.

DAI is conducting the ETOA within a multilayered, holistic framework that weaves together three crosscutting themes: development of a shared vision, encouragement of collaborative planning, and facilitation of catalyzing actions.

DAI is engaging stakeholders in identifying what natural resource, human capital, and other assets already exist and how these can be used to spur livelihood development, reduce environmental degradation, and conserve critical habitats and other biodiversity resources.
This assets-based approach seeks to break down the barriers and resource constraints that limit stakeholder creativity or imagination when it comes to tackling environmental issues in a holistic manner.

The ETOA is also using an integrated spatial planning methodology to engage policy makers, donors, local authorities, and communities in building consensus on the use of land and natural resources. This methodology harnesses local knowledge for both economic and environmental benefits.

DAI will deliver two national-level stakeholder
workshops and additional training sessions on GIS, data collection, management, and analysis to strengthen the capacity of Liberian institutions and USAID implementing partners to continue critical data collection, mapping, and environmental assessment activities after the ETOA is complete. [PLACE IQC]

India Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Financing and Development Program

Client: German Technical Co-operation (GTZ)
Project Completed (2009)

Improving the competitiveness of SMEs

India’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand behind the country’s economic growth and employment generation and make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation. The sector however, suffers from limited access to adequate finance and business development services, with the state-run system of business services covering only around 1 percent of all SMEs.

In line with the Indian Government’s strategy to strengthen economic growth and employment by developing the SME sector, DAI is facilitating linkages between the SMEs and business development and finance services providers.

Business Development Services. GTZ’s objective is to develop pilot initiatives that showcase market-oriented, cost-effective business development services for SMEs in the pharmaceutical, automotive component, and garment sectors in the metropolitan areas of New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Indore, and in the small mountainous state of Uttarakhand.

DAI introduced the concept of SME vendor development programs at Tier I automotive sector firms. Such programs are widespread in original equipment manufacturers, but had not been introduced further down the value chain to SMEs.

DAI provides export market facilitation services for SMEs in the Ayurvedic (traditional Indian medicinal system) and natural pharmaceutical sectors. DAI is also coaching its local service-delivery technical partner on how to profitably serve the SME market.

Finance Services. GTZ’s objective is to encourage partner banks to serve this under-banked sector of the Indian economy and assist them to do so more cost-effectively and profitably.

DAI is introducing the concept of customer relationship management (CRM) to India’s largest bank and SME lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), through development of a foundation course in CRM. SBI will offer this CRM course to its own staff and market the course to other banks, including the Small Industries Development Bank of India.

DAI is working with SBI and ICICI Bank (the largest private sector bank in India) to improve their methods of SME credit risk assessment, and thereby streamline their processes for evaluating SME loan applications. This will save the banks money, and will save their SME clients valuable time.

The GTZ SME Program is part of the multidonor SME Financing and Development Program supported by the U.K. Department for International Dvevlopment, KfW, and the World Bank in addition to GTZ.

Haiti - Economic Development for a Sustainable Environment (DEED)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
February 2008 - January 2011

Providing rural communities with the economic incentives and knowledge to improve the management of critical watersheds and natural resources

The Economic Development for a Sustainable Environment (Developpement Economique pour un Environnement Durable, DEED) project uses a market-based approach to integrate improved management of lands and other natural resource assets with expanded enterprise and job opportunities in the production of suitable high-value crops, creating livelihood options for hillside farmers currently trapped in poverty.

Linking the management of natural resources to sound conservation while simultaneously offering livelihood options provides the essential stimulus for promoting sustainable watershed management. DAI's DEED team creates this link by weaving livelihood improvements into all aspects of watershed and natural resource management.

DEED works in two watersheds in Haiti--one in the north, near Cap Haitien; the other near St. Marc, about two hours north of the capital, Port-au-Prince--to unlock the potential for growth by delivering the technical services, training, and business support needed to build the local skills and capacity to sustain growth. DAI's work provides rural communities with the economic incentives and knowledge to improve the management of critical watersheds and natural resources, emphasizing the introduction of high-value tree crops, the creation of new jobs, and the institutional strengthening of newly decentralized government agencies.

DEED is working to:

Raise the household income in the target areas as a result of improvements in agriculture, marketing, and off-farm employment;

Increase the amount of fragile land under environmentally sound management--reducing annual cropping on unsuitable hillsides;

Implement improved and sustainable management for priority conservation areas that improves the biophysical conditions of the ecosystems;

Increase the number of households deriving improved livelihoods from sound management of natural resources; and

Leverage funds from the private sector for investment in enterprise development and watershed management in the target watersheds.

DEED can accomplish these targets only by reversing Haitian dependence on donors. DAI is building on the existing natural assets and human capital in the two watersheds and customizing approaches that facilitate public-private collaboration, catalyze local commitment, and instill Haitian ownership of a collective vision for sound watershed management and sustainable improvements in livelihoods.

DEED Newsletter (September 2010)

DEED Newsletter (August 2010)

DEED Newsletter (Nov - Dec 2009)
DEED Newsletter (October 2009)
DEED Newsletter (September 2009)
DEED Newsletter (August 2009)
DEED Newsletter (July 2009)
DEED Newsletter (June 2009)
DEED Newsletter (May 2009)
DEED Newsletter (April 2009)
DEED Newsletter (March 2009)
DEED Newsletter (February 2009)

Haiti DEED Success Stories

USAID Rallies behind Community to Safeguard Food Supply in Bas-Limbe by Protecting Mangroves

Kout Lanbi Agrikol Launched by USIAD as a New SMS-Based Information System to Target Rural Farmers and Businesses

USAID Partners with Haitian Business Service Providers for Building Capacity of Producer Groups in Rural Watersheds

USAID’s DEED Program to Implement Soil Conservation Plans in Two Watersheds

Agricultural Fair in Cap-Haitien for Producer Groups

First Class Graduates From USAID’s DEED Training Program for Producer Groups

USAID’s DEED Sponsors Apiculture Expansion around Limbe

USAID-Initiated Tree Nursery becomes Regional Service Provider

CFET Expands and Launches Field Training Office in Montrouis

DEED Partners Invited to Expert Training Seminar in the Dominican Republic for Improved Cocoa Production

USAID Invests in Training for Improved Cacao Production in Haiti
USAID Supports Farmers Producing Yam to Generate Wealth and Reforest Hills in North of Haiti USAID Connects Vegetable Growers to Pool of Buyers, Increasing Economic Opportunities in the Watersheds
USAID Facilitates First Tenant Farming Agreement for Improved Land-Use and Food Supply in Montrouis
USAID Improves Food Security in Rural Haiti by Empowering Farmers in Montrouis
USAID Funds University Fair Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Production in North of Haiti
USAID Partners with Haitian Government Agency for Improved Natural Resource Management Through Information and Mapping Technology
USAID Invites Public to Discover Components of Its Environmental Project in Haiti's Watersheds and to Gage Its Impact on Communities
USAID Encourages Haitian Farmers to Exchange Knowledge and Expertise, in Order to Improve Agricultrual Production and Increase Revenues
Rural Haitian Communities Design Land-use Planning Maps
Haitian Landowners to Co-invest with UDAID in Sustainalbe, Productive Land-use
USAID/Haiti Addresses Environmental Deterioration of Coastal Areas
Twelve Rural Producer Groups Engage in Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development USAID/Haiti Invests in Environmentally Sound Rural Enterprises

Africa - Civil-Military Operations in Support of Counter-Terrorism Project

Client: Special Operations Command Europe (U.S. Department of Defense) [subcontractor to Lockheed Martin]
Projected concluded in December 2008

Training African military officers to improve civil-military coordination, implement effective stabilization operations, and counter the emergence of extremism in national and regional contexts

DAI is conducting civil-military operations training for Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) as part of an effort to advance the development-security nexus in line with the shift in United States national security doctrine. The project is a component of an inter-agency initiative called the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP). The TSCTP mandate is to prevent, deter, or mitigate terrorist influence in at-risk African nations. As a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin Corporation, DAI will conduct courses aimed at improving civil-military coordination between mid-level African military officers and civilian authorities. These trainings introduce human development issues that affect security in West Africa—including extremist ideologies—and develop diplomatic, defense, and development strategies to minimize the recruitment of disaffected individuals and counter these threats. The courses enable participating military officers to inform and advise their organizations on the scope of civil-military operations and the full-range of players involved. The trainings cover issues and programmatic approaches involved in civil-military affairs, various means of improving coordination between military and civilian authorities, the role of the military in providing security and stability in a democracy, and regional security issues. Overseen by DAI’s Crisis Mitigation and Democratic Governance group, the project will consist of eight to twelve trainings in the Trans-Sahel including Senegal, Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The first regional training was held in November 2007 at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana.

West Bank and Gaza - Management of the Palestinian Facility for New Market Development (FNMD)

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
April 2008-April 2012

Increasing Palestinians' economic stake in the peace process through shared risk

In the West Bank and Gaza, periods of relative political stability have witnessed significant economic growth and employment generation, while times of heightened tensions and violence have resulted in recession and hardship for an increasing number of households. The Palestinian private sector is now poised to assume its role as a driver for economic development, employment, and growth. The FNMD will provide matching grants to Palestinian businesses to improve their capacity to reach export markets and develop new products. Building on our 15-year presence in the West Bank and Gaza, DAI will manage the Facility.

The four-year project will provide Palestinian businesses with the capital required to invest in needed knowledge and skills, channelling funding to businesses in both the West Bank and Gaza. The funding will provide flexible and responsive support despite difficult political conditions. DAI will create a pipeline of bankable projects by stimulating demand for the fund through stakeholder buy-in, knowledge sharing, and FNMD promotion. As the Facility manager, DAI will serve as an investor and select project plans based on anticipated return on investment, including exports and increases in sales, and analyze the risk attached to the projects to ensure they achieve tangible results. To ensure the Facility’s long-term success in terms of economic growth and export creation, DAI will provide after-care services to FNMD clients, strengthen their linkages to financial institutions, and capture results. DAI will also ensure that FNMD results support future political dialogue and serve as a resource for policy creation for Her Majesty’s Government and the international community.

Iraq - Agriculture Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Revitalizing Iraq’s agricultural sector

For 8,000 years, the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has yielded agricultural goods. But after years of war and neglect, Iraq’s farming system is in a dire state. To provide work and income to Iraq’s rural population, the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Agriculture Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI) worked to revitalize the area’s agricultural sector.

With four components—agricultural production, agribusiness, rural financial services, and soil and water resources—this program assisted the rural population in solving the most pressing problems facing the agricultural sector. The program’s goal was to restore and improve conditions for productive and profitable agriculture. DAI built on existing physical infrastructure and human and institutional resources to address the underlying causes of weakness in Iraq’s agricultural production.

The program conducted assessments of Iraqi agriculture, identifying where and how resources should be used and then awarded competitive grants to private firms and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to implement projects that increased production quickly, reduced or eliminated the need for food aid, and improved rural incomes. Cereals, horticulture, livestock, dairy, and poultry production received the most attention.

One of the main products of ARDI’s initial period was A Transition Plan for the Agriculture Sector in Iraq (Volume I and II). The U.S. Ambassador requested that ARDI and the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) together develop recommendations and guiding principles to inform those working in the agricultural sector of specific development and reconstruction needs. A large ARDI team worked with MOA staff, Coalition Provisional Authority officials, and private sector business people to produce the three-year plan, which then provided the overall strategy for ARDI interventions. It was also used extensively by other donor agencies and the military to focus investments in agriculture. Among the program’s achievements:

ARDI put an estimated $80 million back into the local economy through contracts for equipment, construction, and other services.

ARDI generated jobs for 34,000 people in any given week.

ARDI built the skills of 19 NGOs active in agriculture development, 293 agricultural cooperative members (through 15 newly formed cooperative associations), 4,300 beekeepers and honey producers, 233 independent pesticide dealers (launching a national association), and 526 extension specialists.

ARDI’s training effort improved the ability of mechanics and welders in four governorates to provide repair and maintenance services for agricultural machinery. The 216 rural mechanics and welders trained under ARDI will work in approximately 210 workshops, each of which represents a new small business opportunity in a rural village. Each workshop should be able to offer improved services to a minimum of 100 clients, for a total beneficiary population of 21,600 tractor owners.

ARDI rehabilitated 68 veterinary clinics in 17 governorates, serving 135,068 livestock breeders owning 5.7 million animals. Thanks to these efforts, 967 veterinarians were able to return to work in fully functioning clinics. The rehabilitation projects also provided temporary employment for 4,905 workers.

Afghanistan - Microfinance Investment and Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA)

Client: World Bank
Project Completed (2005)

Building the capacity of domestic financial services to boost economic development

A significant impediment to economic opportunity for many Afghan citizens is the absence of any source of credit or access to financial services. To overcome this development obstacle, DAI’s team of specialists worked with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development to design, establish, and operate the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility.

This apex facility serves as a national, multidonor mechanism that provides qualified local microfinance institutions with grants and loans for lending capital and building institutional capacity. The long-term vision is to create a sustainable financial intermediary capable of mobilizing diverse resources to fund retail microfinance institutions with traditional and innovative financing instruments.

Specifically, DAI hired and trained management and administrative staff; implemented an on-the-job mentoring program; developed an operations manual; established procedures and criteria for monitoring and evaluating participating microfinance institutions; set up accounting, financial management, disbursement, administrative, and procurement systems; and developed a management information system for grants administration, financial management, and project evaluation of microfinance institutions.

Prior to the establishment of MISFA, the nascent microfinance sector had only 17,000 borrowers and total available loan capital of approximately $1.5 million. By the end of the project’s 18-month pilot phase, a committed and talented group of national staff, working alongside expatriate counterparts, had helped to build a strong microfinance industry that was rapidly expanding breadth and depth of outreach.

From an initial World Bank capitalization of $5 million, MISFA built a multidonor capital fund of $33 million, with $23 million disbursed in grants and loans to 12 microfinance institutions. These microfinance institutions held an outstanding loan portfolio of $9.5 million, serving 110,000 clients with a portfolio at risk very close to 1 percent.

Afghanistan Immediate Needs Project - Nangarhar (AINP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2005)

Generating jobs and income for Afghans as an alternative to poppy production

In 2004, USAID launched a national plan to create meaningful alternative livelihoods and assist the Afghan people in developing a licit economy; this immediate needs project (AINP) was its first step.

DAI worked with USAID in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on income-generating, labor-intensive development projects, engaging local officials and nongovernmental leaders and groups in all project development activities. The goal was to generate 2.375 million days of paid labor and material support and to create meaningful employment and income for 5,000 families in the province. AINP laid the groundwork for a longer-term alternative livelihoods project funded by USAID, also implemented by DAI, called the Alternative Development Program/Eastern Region.

AINP's principal objective was to provide licit employment in Nangarhar province to benefit the population as the opium economy contracted. AINP was a quick-impact, one-year program to set up and implement labor-intensive activities in the short term while paving the way for positive impact over the longer term.

AINP's second objective was to help establish an economic safety net for those households having no adult males to participate in alternative employment activities, lacking the resources to secure a basic livelihood, or considered otherwise vulnerable.

Collaborating closely with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) and RRD-Nangarhar, line ministries of the Afghan government on the provincial level, the Governor of Nangarhar, and village councils and authorities, and supporting the larger government of Afghanistan counter-narcotics initiative, AINP implemented community-driven quick-impact activities in all the districts of Nangarhar province to provide employment and household income support.

AINP results included:

2.9 million days of paid labor worth $10 million

More than $2.3 million invested in local communities using locally procured materials

260 subprojects in nearly 600 villages

15 percent of project labor days worked by women

1/3 to 1/2 of labor days worked by returnees

134,000 people employed from 70,000 families

Administrative costs below target

Additionally, AINP left an impressive legacy of small and medium-scale, productivity enhancing infrastructure projects across Nangarhar, including:

1,000 structures built: dikes, flood protection walls, road culverts, wash culverts, irrigation control structures, canal intakes

147.5 km of roads rehabilitated

2,300 km of small and medium-sized canals desilted

314,925 olive trees pruned

Worldwide - Evaluation of the Impact and Effectiveness of Development Alliances

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Evaluating USAID’s public-private partnerships to increase and enhance their use

USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) business model breaks the traditional development assistance mold, and sets forth a new way of doing business. GDAs are cultivated with the philosophy that social and economic conditions in poor and transitional countries are improved in more effective and sustainable ways when public and private sectors work in collaboration. Since its creation in 2001, the GDA has time and again obtained anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of its alliances, however, evaluation methods which were created to measure conventional approaches to development, may not adequately measure the development outcomes of public-private partnerships.

The GDA has contracted with DAI to initiate a formal evaluation of its alliances. The purpose of the evaluation was to help GDA refine its strategy and workplans, develop new tools and training for alliance implementations, and design new mechanisms to help missions build more alliances with improved scale and impact. Findings were shared with USAID practitioners at both the mission and headquarters level as well as to GDA partners, thought leaders, experts, and potential new alliance partners.

The evaluation team pushed GDA beyond the anecdotal to examine the critical factors of alliance effectiveness in advancing development. The team developed an analytic framework to derive typologies for categorizing alliances, developed metrics for determining impact, and identified best practices for facilitating future alliance building. Once the methodology and framework were in place, the team then evaluated a sample selected across the more than 500 GDAs undertaken to date. The objectives include analyzing the impact and effectiveness of projects, decision-making criteria, management procedures, monitoring, feedback mechanisms, and communications and support between the missions and headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Other objectives of the evaluation were to indicate if GDAs met the expected alliance goals or if there were unexpected outcomes, to analyze the sustainability of the outcomes and the value alliance partners attributed to the collaboration, and to outline the motivations of the private sector partners. To most accurately gauge the success of an alliance, the team took into account the perspective of multiple players including the private sector, foundations, international and local nongovernmental organizations, and various civil society actors.

South Africa - South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) HIV/AIDS Strategy

Client: Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
2007–2010

Becoming a world leader in promoting more accessible and effective HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support services for football players, their families, and the world.

As the host for the upcoming 2010 World Cup, all eyes are on South African football – locally, regionally, and around the world. The South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) recognizes the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impact on the football fraternity and the community at large and supports national efforts to reduce the spread of the disease and minimize its impact.

ECIAfrica, a DAI subsidiary, is assisting SAFPU in developing an HIV/AIDS policy for football players. This process was preceded by a situational analysis which confirmed the lack of HIV/AIDS programs aimed at benefiting football players. It also highlighted high-risk sexual behavior among football players, low perceptions of risk, low HIV testing rates, and fears of discrimination. The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South African society in general suggests that a significant percentage of football players are living with HIV/AIDS, or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

This policy is meant to serve as a management tool for SAFPU, enabling it to address concerns, gaps in knowledge, patterns of behavior, and attitudes that predispose football players to HIV/AIDS. The Union intends to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in the sector, and address issues of stigma and discrimination, voluntary counseling and testing, and access to care and support services. The policy incorporates international best practice and has been formulated in the context of South African law and the International Labor Organization (ILO) code of practice on the management of HIV/AIDS in the workplace.

The SAFPU HIV/AIDS policy will lay the foundation for a larger campaign for change. ECIAfrica is working with SAFPU on developing an HIV/AIDS related theme for the 2010 World Cup and is recruiting and training professional football players to serve as Ambassadors for Change – role models in the fight against HIV/AIDS for the global community.

Lesotho - Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight Aids (ALAFA) Project

Client: British Department for International Development (DFID)
Project Completed (2007)

Bringing together government, service providers, industrialists, labor, brands and retailers, funders, donors and multinational organizations in the fight against AIDS in Lesotho

The Lesotho apparel industry is the country’s largest private sector employer with around 46,000 people employed at present. It is estimated that one third, or 15,000, of these workers are HIV positive. Most apparel industry employees are young women, and it is this gender and age group whose risk of HIV infection is greatest. The Association of Lesotho Employers has identified HIV/AIDS as one of the major issues threatening the sector.

The ComMark Trust, funded by the British Department for International Development
(DFID) and managed by ECIAfrica, a DAI subsidiary, was established to make commodity and service markets work for the poor in Southern Africa. One of the markets targeted by ComMark was the textile and apparel industry in the region. In 2005, ComMark received funding from DFID to design a strategy to address HIV and AIDS in the industry, and the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) project was born in the course of that process. The research team found not only that an intervention was feasible, but also that it was vital to the sustainability of the apparel industry, to save an estimated 1,850 lives per year in the industry and increase productivity. They also found that the industry was combating two of the key long-term drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, namely poverty and gender inequity. Both the business and human case for a long term intervention were strong.

ALAFA, launched in Maseru in May 2006, is a comprehensive private sector response to the pandemic. The alliance brings together government, service providers, industrialists, labor, brands and retailers, funders, donors and multinational organizations. The initiative aims to provide education and prevention, voluntary testing and counseling, and ultimately management of AIDS through the roll-out of antiretroviral drugs. Some results to date include:

Workers reached with prevention: 24,000

Workers tested: 2,170

Workers on treatment: 283

Workers who have access to treatment: 11,000

Workers registered for treatment: 587

Workers on antiretrovirals: 104

Workers who have access to treatment: 11,000

Workers registered for treatment: 587

Workers reached with prevention: 24,000

Workers tested: 2,170

Workers on treatment: 283

The enthusiasm of the international business and donor community to join the fight against HIV and AIDS in the Lesotho apparel sector has been exceptional. Assuming sufficient funding is raised to roll out the program throughout the sector, it will be one of the biggest private sector interventions in the world. ALAFA has now received further funding from DFID, Gap Inc., and Irish AID. Additionally, Edun, a socially conscious clothing company created by rock icon Bono and his wife, is donating US$10 from the sale of each t-shirt sold from the ONE t-shirt campaign. More than US$250,000 has already been handed over to ALAFA. The ONE t-shirts are being sold in the US through the retail chain Nordstrom who has already made a $100,000 donation to ALAFA.

Ghana Central Management Consultant for the Agriculture Project (CMC)

Client: Ghanaian Millennium Development Authority [MCC Compact]
January 2008–April 2010

Enhancing the profitability of commercial agriculture for Ghana’s small farmers

Ghana is proud of the progress it has made in creating a stable, democratic society with a market-driven economy. Already a worldwide agricultural force in the cocoa industry, Ghana has seized upon the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact as an excellent opportunity to trigger a private sector led-transformation of Ghanaian agriculture and rural life, building the human, institutional, and physical infrastructure that will attract investment to rapidly increase farmer incomes, generate employment, and markedly reduce rural poverty. The Central Management Consultant for the Agriculture Project (CMC) is part of Ghana’s MCC Compact, which has tasked the Ghanaian Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) with overseeing $547 million aimed at reducing poverty through private sector-led agricultural and agribusiness development.

DAI will assist MiDA in assuming overall management of the agriculture project, which consists of three main activities: training farmers and enterprises in commercial agriculture, developing irrigation, and improving post-harvest handling and value chain services. These interventions will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the Ghanaian agricultural sector, capitalizing on the synergies that will come from increasing the skill levels of producers and businesses, promoting investments in appropriate infrastructure—including cold storage and packing house facilities, as well as improved roads—and facilitating greater access to finance based in part on more secure land tenure rights.

Kenya Access to Rural Finance (KARF) Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2007–September 2010

Increasing access to financial services for micro and small enterprises with a special emphasis on rural and agricultural businesses

KARF will leverage the successful work of DAI’s Kenya Microfinance Capacity Building Project (KEMCAP) to expand access to financial services in rural areas and for agricultural micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. KEMCAP provided technical assistance and facilitation for the passage of the Microfinance Act 2006, which allows for the licensing and regulation of deposit taking microfinance institutions. This new law creates an opportunity to expand savings services throughout the country, which is of vital importance to poor rural households and can create a large pool of new capital for lending. KEMCAP’s support to the Association of Microfinance Institutions (AMFI) has created a dynamic, sustainable organization able to provide member institutions with capacity building, technical assistance, improved industry-wide performance reporting, and other services. AMFI is now poised to take a leadership position in expanding the frontier of access to financial services in Kenya.

DAI will accomplish KARF’s objectives by building partnerships with existing market facilitators in important value chains such as horticulture, maize, dairy, and other high-value agricultural products. To support upgrading and competitiveness strategies, KARF will facilitate increased lending within these value chains and through financial institutions. DAI’s team also will work through AMFI to build synergies with organizations supporting non-agricultural rural development, particularly community-based financial organizations that can sustainably increase outreach to rural areas. With the Central Bank of Kenya, DAI will address legal and regulatory obstacles to the expansion of rural and agricultural finance. KARF also will work with local service providers, including consulting firms and AMFI, to build industry capacity to serve rural and agricultural clients and advocate for an appropriate enabling environment that will permanently expand access to finance for Kenya’s underserved rural and agricultural communities.

Moldova - Business and Tax Administration Reform Project (BIZTAR)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2007–September 2010

Improving the business environment by limiting the opportunities for corruption, reducing the red tape involved in starting and operating a business, and improving tax administration

The BIZTAR project will build on DAI’s 14-year history in Moldova. It will contribute directly to the Government of Moldova’s efforts to encourage productive investment by improving the business environment and lowering the overall cost of state regulation of private enterprise. The project addresses these objectives by focusing on initiatives to streamline business-state interaction through regulatory reform and efficient administrative procedures. The goal for this support is to ensure that reporting requirements for tax and other business purposes are kept to the minimum needed for effective government operations. The BRTA project will also support policies and administrative reforms to ensure that each piece of information that is justifiably needed should be supplied by businesses only once. On the regulatory reform side, the project will seek to improve business licensing procedures, simplify reporting requirements, improve access to government information, and engage the public to monitor reform efforts. The tax administration work will simplify tax reporting requirements, improve taxpayer services, improve the audit program, strengthen the tax appeals process, and help to prevent tax fraud.

BIZTAR is the first project awarded to the DAI/Nathan Group, a joint venture of DAI and Nathan Associates Inc. formed to pursue task orders under the Global Business, Trade and Investment II indefinite quantity contract. DAI will lead the project. [SEGIR GBTI II IQC]

Bangladesh - Promoting Governance, Accountability, Transparency, and Integrity (PROGATI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [BRDG IQC]
September 2007-September 2012

Improving government oversight and expanding opportunities for civil society to voice its concerns in the decision-making process

Bangladesh has made recent advances in its economic, social, and political sectors by adopting sound macroeconomic policies and devoting a relatively high proportion of its budget for social services. Also, since the advent of the caretaker government (CG) system in 1990, elected governments are generally seen as legitimate and representative. However, political partisanship, weak governance, persisting gender disparities, and systemic corruption still jeopardize Bangladesh’s development. Its politicized institutional systems and unresponsive checks and balances reduce Bangladesh’s credibility and legitimacy and open the door for political instability, violence, and extremism.

Through PROGATI, DAI will work to improve these shortcomings by focusing on four key areas: media (creating a center for investigative journalism), civil society (supporting coalitions and watchdog organizations), public institutions (strengthening the comptroller and auditor general functions), and parliament (creating a parliamentary budget analysis unit). DAI will implement PROGATI in two phases. In Phase 1 leading up to elections, PROGATI will provide training, technical assistance, and grants to strengthen the capabilities of civil society, the media, political party reform platforms, and government officials. We will expand these programs in Phase 2 by adding a focus on newly elected officials. DAI will take full advantage of the political space provided by the CG for the PROGATI networks to promote public demand for a Governance Pact whereby the parties agree to the specific steps they will take to share power and improve governance in the next government. Monitoring implementation of that Pact will be an integral part of Phase 2.

Success Stories

Strengthening Local Accountabilities

Using a Fellowship to Launch a Career

Promoting Transparency in Food Aid

Worldwide - Capitalizing Knowledge, Connecting Communities (CK2C) Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [PLACE IQC]
October 2007–September 2012

Expanding the reach and capacities of the natural resources management community worldwide

Through this two-year project, DAI facilitates the exchange of knowledge across natural resource management (NRM) communities worldwide. CK2C supports the three fundamentals of knowledge management—information, sharing, and knowledge—through stocktaking exercises, management of the FRAME website (www.frameweb.org), and training USAID mission and home office staff on the fundamentals of sound NRM.

Stock taking is a method of field assessment that identifies sites in which investments in NRM have had a strong, positive impact. This exercise describes the NRM practices and governance systems in place, identifying the “enabling conditions” (such as changes in markets, better communication of knowledge, and new infrastructure) that contributed to the local successes in NRM. Stocktaking assessments are typically followed by a workshop to discuss the study findings among key stakeholders at the local and national levels. One of CK2C’s first stocktaking activities will be in climate change adaptation.

The FRAME website (www.frameweb.org) facilitates knowledge sharing through its partner pages, Communities of Practice, NRM library, and FRAMEgram newsletter. FRAME hosts more than 20 partner pages, providing a platform and information technology support for nongovernmental organizations or local and international projects to have a home on the World Wide Web. Some of these partners include the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group, USAID Biodiversity/Forestry Extended Team, and Asociación de Promoción Iniciativas Ecológicas (APIE). FRAME also facilitates dialogue and forums through Communities of Practice, which provide a reliable and collective environment for NRM practitioners at all levels to discuss and exchange ideas and documents. These communities include Transfer of Management for Protected Areas, Environmental Trends Analysis, and Natural Products.

In collaboration with USAID, CK2C will develop NRM core competencies and training for USAID staff. In this component, DAI will work with a wider group of USAID staff to conduct a training needs assessment, develop competencies based on interviews and focus groups, and plan and model USAID’s NRM training strategy, including developing calendars, desiging and implementing the curriculum, and facilitating four training sessions in the next two years.

Serbia - Serbian Agribusiness Project

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [RAISE Plus IQC]
October 2007–September 2012

Contributing to rapid, sustained, and broad-based economic growth in Serbia

USAID’s strategy for the next five years is to help Serbia become a prosperous, democratic country moving further toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Given the critical role of agriculture in the Serbian economy, the Serbian Agribusiness Project (SAP) builds on current and past USAID programs to help the Serbian agricultural sector transform into an increasingly efficient and competitive sector that is broad-based and that integrates producers from all regions of the country into the agricultural economy.

A major emphasis in SAP is to build the capacity of service providers supporting Serbia’s agribusiness sector, incorporating them seamlessly in project activities, providing them with the latest technical skills, and building a market for their services.

To achieve SAP’s objective of “increased value of Serbian agricultural product sales and increased agricultural employment,” the DAI team works at the producer and firm levels to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of Serbian agribusinesses, as well as at the policy level to improve the enabling environment for Serbian agribusinesses.

DAI works to strengthen producer organizations at the technical, management and financial, and marketing levels. In addition, to improve agribusiness development services delivery, the project team works closely with potential service providers to develop and deliver the services, while ensuring that they respond to market demand. DAI is also improving access to and utilization of financial services.

SAP takes a dual approach to increasing access to domestic and international markets. We work directly with businesses, developing their marketing skills and knowledge of export and domestic markets and helping local producers to interact with supermarkets, identify their needs, and conclude contracts to replace imported product. On the international front, we work with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management, the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency, and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce to educate producers on international market offerings.

DAI also works to maximize the effectiveness, size, and reach of public sector support for agricultural marketing programs. Our team is implementing efforts to improve crop and livestock production estimates and market price information systems and to facilitate legal, policy, and regulatory reform.

Burundi Agribusiness Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [RAISE Plus IQC]
October 2007–September 2010

Diversifying rural economic opportunities by improving agricultural and natural resource governance, strengthening domestic markets, and expanding regional and international trade

Burundi’s extreme poverty is largely due to the fact that more than 90 percent of the population on subsistence agriculture—and the agriculture sector has one of the lowest productivity rates in the world.

DAI is supporting Burundi’s efforts to respond to changes in the world agricultural market that occured in the 1990s, when Burundi was mired in crisis, and to revitalize the country’s agricultural sector. The Burundi Agribusiness Program (BAP) will develop agro-enterprises that will raise rural incomes; diversify economic opportunity; strengthen competitive, commodity-based value chains that link producers to domestic, regional, and international markets; and stabilize the country so it does not relapse into chaos and bloodshed.

The DAI team is working to:

Facilitate the state’s disengagement from the main agribusiness value chains and create a new value chain architecture that draws on the strengths of small farmers and the private sector.

Reacquaint Burundians with an international market that has evolved considerably in the past 13 years.

Defuse the potential for conflict rooted in four decades of cyclical turbulence.

Overcome serious structural and environmental challenges.

Rebuild from the decapitalization that occurred during the civil war, in terms of both rural household assets and value chain infrastructure.

To achieve these goals, DAI is focusing first on the country’s coffee value chain. Given Burundi’s existing production base and considerable agro-ecological potential, there is considerable potential to provide high-quality product and access fair trade opportunities. We will identify additional value chains that have growth potential and support them in later years. We will train producers and enterprises in collaboration, quality standards, and post-harvest handling procedures. In addition, we will examine financing options, strengthen agricultural associations, and support initiatives that resolve land disputes.

Uzbekistan - AgLinks Uzbekistan

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
August 2007 - July 2011

Enhancing agricultural linkages and productivity

DAI is implementing the AgLinks Project, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded effort to increase agricultural productivity in Uzbekistan through a mix of technical assistance and training.

Since the early 1990s, USAID has demonstrated the U.S. Government’s commitment to economic development and stability in Central Asia through its portfolio of agriculture-related projects. With AgLinks, USAID aims to consolidate the gains made over this time, build upon the accomplishments and lessons learned, and deepen and accelerate results through adaptation and replication, all with the ultimate goal of increasing productivity, raising incomes, and generating employment.

The project—whose clients include private farmers, agroprocessors, and public sector entities linked to agriculture—will boost market-driven productivity at the farm level and improve market linkages to upgrade agribusiness value chains. AgLinks is developing the capacity of local service providers to help farmers respond to market demand and ameliorate choke points in the market linkages between producers and buyers in the value chain.

The project works in stone fruits, pome fruits, and grapes in the regions of Ferghana, Namangan, and Samarkand. Private farmers are reached through water-users associations and agrifirms, the latter being former Soviet-style cooperatives currently transforming themselves into commercial agribusiness entities. The project provides farmers with technical assistance and training, focusing on increasing agricultural productivity and incomes.

AgLinks also assists agroprocessing companies to identify new domestic, regional, and international markets through cost-share attendance at food and beverage trade shows. Additional assistance is provided to meet the increasingly stringent market requirements and standards (such as ISO and HACCP) of these new markets.

The project will build two cold stores in 2010 to hold fresh fruits and vegetables, with both to be managed by agrifirms. Finally, AgLinks supports quasi-governmental organizations such as the national testing laboratory on food safety issues and the national tree nursery research and extension system on farmer training.

South Africa - Tourism Enterprise Programme (TEP)

Client: Business Trust and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism South Africa
July 2000-March 2010

Facilitating the growth and expansion of small, medium-sized, and microenterprises within the tourism economy to create jobs and income-generating opportunities

Under Apartheid, the majority of South Africans were restricted from traveling freely or owning land and making investments in the areas of their choice. This resulted in an undeveloped culture of tourism in the population at large and a lack of appreciation of the economic opportunities presented by it. To this day, the industry remains predominantly white-owned and -controlled, catering largely to white and foreign tourists. At the same time unemployment in South Africa has been rising since the 1970s. By 1998, 3 million people (24 percent of the economically active population) were unemployed, according to the official definition.

Business and government leaders understood that concerted action would be required to face the challenges these two issues posed. A strategy was devised through intensive consultation and the Business Trust settled on tourism as the sector most likely to yield sizeable numbers of job opportunities in the shortest time. TEP was initially launched as a four-year national job creation initiative in July 2000. Following good performance in Phase I, TEP was granted an extension through June 2006 and was recently extended once again to March 2010. This extension will help TEP broaden the range of stakeholders to serve as a trigger and catalyst for small, medium-sized, and microenterprise (SMME) participation in industry growth and job creation in order to help achieve the goals of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa of providing 400,000 new jobs in tourism by 2014. TEP works with the SMMEs by assessing their constraints to growth, recognizing that jobs can only be created by businesses that are growing sustainably. TEP and the SMMEs then jointly identify appropriate ways of addressing these constraints and often make use of specialist service providers in doing so. During the first six years, TEP assisted more than 3,100 SMMEs to grow their revenues by more than R2.1 billion collectively, creating more than 30,500 jobs in the process. The targets set for TEP’s Phase III are to facilitate R1.8 billion in transaction and to assist more than 2,000 tourism SMMEs, resulting in a further 28,500 jobs created.

Montenegro - Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency Facility

Client: Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW)
July 2005-September 2009

Establishing an efficient and ecological energy supply in Montenegro

A high degree of inefficiency and pollution are major challenges facing the Montenegrin energy sector, besides the necessity of general rehabilitation measures. The economic potential for investments in renewable energies and energy efficiency measures in Montenegro is high and - due to a lack of information, awareness and financial means - far from being used to full capacity. Accordingly, a facility will be established to promote renewable energies and energy efficiency related investments (the so-called RE-EE Facility Montenegro). DAI Europe, in partnership with Encon Services, has been contracted by KFW to assist in the implementation of the RE-EE Facility in Montenegro, and facilitate and promote the development of a market for renewable energies and energy efficiency investments. Furthermore, DAI consultants will provide training measures for the personnel of the partner bank(s) regarding the extension of loans for renewable energies and energy efficiency investments. Overall, the programme objective is to assure in a sustainable manner that an efficient and ecological energy supply in Montenegro is provided. This shall contribute to economic and social development as well as to environment protection and sound use of resources in Montenegro.

South Africa - Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Program (IDIP)

Client: National Treasury
July 2006-October 2009

Promoting effective policy, planning, budgeting and management within the public sector

Education and health promotion are two of the most important services a government provides. While the quality of services is a key ingredient, the physical infrastructure, location, and condition of schools, hospitals, and clinics are an often neglected-yet critically important determinant of a country’s ability to equitably care for its people.

South Africa falls short in this area of infrastructure, particularly for those who have been historically marginalised. In some provinces, more than half of the total population’s health needs are considered unmet. In the most recent School Register of Needs, 45 percent of schools nationwide lacked electricity and 29 percent lacked potable water. While many schools have no toilet facilities at all, nearly half of the schools that do use insufficient or unsafe sanitation. Migration to better locations can cause classroom and health clinic overcrowding, while poor infrastructure planning can result in building where the population is declining or where there is little demand.

Accordingly, the South African government launched Infrastructure Development Improvement Programmes (IDIP), managed by the National Treasury - in collaboration with the Development Bank of South Africa, National Department of Public Works, and Construction Industry Development Board—to address the problem of underspending on infrastructure and to alleviate the chronic backlog in health service, classrooms, and maintenance.

ECIAfrica and its joint venture partner, the Project Shop, are implementing IDIP over three years. In Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State, ECIAfrica provides three long-term experts, supported by shorter-term specialists in procurement, information technology, demographics analysis, and other fields as needed. Our staff advise and support the provincial Departments of Education, Health, and Public Works to build their capacity, business processes, and systems.

Specifically, under IDIP ECIAfrica is:

Establishing formalised structures to manage and monitor infrastructure delivery;

Establishing an integrated provincial infrastructure planning function for education and health infrastructure;

Instituting adequate monitoring and control processes and systems;

Promoting a cooperative change culture within the relevant provincial government departments to support education and health infrastructure delivery; and

Improving departmental capacity for effective delivery of infrastructure.

Worldwide - Global Development Alliance (GDA) Strategic Support Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2006–October 2011

Enhancing the use of public-private partnerships to further USAID’s global development objectives

Since its inception, USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) has been a leader in building innovative and sustainable partnerships to improve the quantity and quality of international development work and offer a dynamic response to complex global challenges, natural disasters, and humanitarian crisis. DAI and its team of experts are helping GDA build on this foundation to expand the use of partnerships and improve their impact on people and communities in developing countries.

The GDA Strategic Support Program IQC seeks to assist the GDA to become the global leader in public-private partnerships for development assistance. The program also supports other USAID/Washington bureaus and offices and USAID missions overseas in understanding and implementing these global alliances. The program will enhance USAID’s engagement with the private sector, foundations, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and other donors on alliances and will help mainstream partnerships at USAID, communicate the benefits of alliances globally, and design model alliances for development and humanitarian purposes.

This task order provides the backbone of core services support to the GDA. DAI has set up and staffed an efficient and seamlessly integrated support office for GDA based partly in the Ronald Reagan Building and partly in the DAI Washington office. Among other activities, the DAI team is working to:

Create demand within USAID and missions through effective marketing of GDA successes, dynamic communication materials, targeted training, organized dialogues with potential partners, and practical tools for effective alliance management;

Help missions integrate partnerships into appropriate programs, providing advice, training, and recruitment of dedicated staff;

Develop effective communication and outreach materials for key internal and external audiences;

Advocate globally for alliances by positioning the GDA as the global thought leader on public-private partnerships; and

Broaden outreach to key potential partners among the private sector, foundations, universities, other governments and donor organizations, and nongovernmental organizations at the international and local levels.

For more information about the GDA's work, go to http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_partnerships/gda/

Additional Resources

Private Capital Fuels International Development.

Central America and the Dominican Republic-CULTIVAR

Client: U.S. Department of Labor [subcontractor to Social Accountability International]
May2007–May 2011

Improving compliance with labor standards and enhancing agricultural competitiveness in Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic

Consumers increasingly look for a commitment to social and labor standards from both producers and retailers. Thus, exporters from Central America and the Dominican Republic can improve their competitive position by embracing and demonstrating a commitment to such standards.

Supported by the U.S. Department of Labor, CULTIVAR aims to raise labor standard compliance and increase the competitiveness of targeted agricultural sectors in Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The four-year, multistakeholder project will bring together the main stakeholders in key agricultural sectors to improve working conditions on farms—with an emphasis on health and safety—and increase workers’ awareness about their rights and increase their capacity to use the appropriate mechanisms to exercise them. As part of the process, the project will also seek to strengthen the social dialogue on the importance of compliance with national and international labor standards for the region’s competitiveness.

Project activities will include training for rural employers and workers in three topics: national labor law; how to identify and document labor conditions; and mechanisms for raising issues and presenting claims at the farm level and with appropriate authorities. CULTIVAR will be shaped by local communities seeking advice from national actors on project priorities, but working primarily through community-based, multistakeholder committees to develop and implement training—piloting the initiative in one or two agriculture communities in each country.

The project will engage a range of socially responsible brands and retailers as well as international trade unions and nongovernmental organizations in order to build support for the project goals and seek their advice and encouragement of their local counterparts’ participation. This group will encourage their suppliers’ compliance with national and international labor standards and benefit from the replicable best practice solutions to improving sourcing practices identified by the project.

Albania - Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness (AAC) Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2007 - July 2012

Promoting the sustained growth of Albania's agricultural sector and increasing rural household incomes

The five-year AAC program works with producers, suppliers, and processors along promising value chains to increase productivity, improve quality, and access better markets. AAC’s value chain approach assesses constraints to competitiveness and provides long- and short-term technical assistance, training, linkages to financing, and targeted performance grants to address these constraints. AAC has expanded the number of postharvest handling facilities and collection points in the country, and has developed exports of watermelons and cabbages. The Market Information System developed by AAC addresses information constraints by providing daily price reports on 22 market commodities in Tirana and four regional markets. A major project focus at present is to transition management of the system to the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture to ensure its sustained availability.

Success Story:

Increased Sales for Albanian Watermelons

Middle East and Africa - Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (ABRI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
May 2007–April 2010

Transforming the culture and governance of water in the Middle East and Africa

By working closely with missions and governments in the Middle East and Africa, actively pursuing co-investments from the private sector, reaching out to like-minded foundations, and partnering with regional institutions, the Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (ABRI) will address some of the most challenging water issues we face: transboundary river basin management, inefficient and nonproductive water use, and lack of access by the poor to improved water and sanitation services.

The Middle East and Africa have some of the world’s greatest river systems while much of its population suffers from limited access to clean water that is far below international standards. Despite having many huge cities like Cairo and Lagos, it is largely rural, often with the majority of the population working in agriculture and related industries. It is an area of great political instability and social turmoil. We ignore them and disregard their very serious challenges at our peril.

ABRI has three primary objectives:

Promote transboundary water cooperation to improve water security. ABRI will support activities that build confidence and foster cooperation among riparian states. It will initially target working with regional organizations and governments to improve cooperation on the management of the Tigris-Euphrates and Nile rivers and will jumpstart jointly designed technical activities.

Improve water resources management. ABRI will support activities to strengthen regional institutions and initiatives to improve water resources management and sector governance. Initial areas identified for possible work include water valuation and groundwater management. ABRI will identify and reach agreement on priority areas through consultations with USAID missions, national governments, regional organizations, and other stakeholders in the Middle East and Africa.

Improve access to clean water and sanitation. ABRI will seek greatest reach and impact by working with regional water utility associations (such as the newly formed Arab Countries Water Utilities Association and similar entities in Africa), selected water utilities, municipal and national governments, and private sector partners to test and share successful approaches for expanding access to clean water and improved sanitation services, improve utility cost recovery and operations, and create successful solutions to expanding services to poor neighborhoods and villages.

China - Technical Assistance to a Chinese City Commercial Bank - Small Business Banking Program

Client: International Finance Corporation PEP-China and Client Bank
July 2007–December 2010

Assisting a Chinese commercial bank in developing a small business banking line of business

The Chinese banking market has expanded substantially in the past few years and is now very competitive, including large state-owned banks with nationwide branching, joint stock banks, and city commercial banks. Several banks at all levels have some foreign ownership stake, including the client bank. Additionally, foreign banks are now being licensed to conduct business in China, and several of these have indicated that they expect to compete in local markets through a strategy of opening branches. Because of the strong local economy, some new market entrants are establishing offices that will be in direct competition with the client bank.

The client bank has already taken several steps to establish small business lending as a significant line of business, including developing an expert credit scoring model and a survey of small business clients to determine needs and constraints. The bank’s commitment to small business banking is borne out in the tremendous growth of its small business lending portfolio, increasing by 150 percent from the end of 2005 to the end of 2006.

To assist the bank, DAI will deliver a technical assistance program tailored to the bank’s specific needs. The overall objective will be to provide the bank with the products, systems, tools, and training it needs to achieve its goals for this line of business. Key program components will include:

New/refined/improved small business credit policies, processes, systems, and organizational units;

An improved credit scoring model and efficient utilization of the tool by lending officers;

Introduction of two to three new lending products;

Delivery of four to six formal training workshops and related training materials; and

A significant increase in the bank’s small business lending volume while maintaining a reasonable level of credit quality.

Mexico - Agricultural and Rural Bank Officer Training Program

Client: United States Trade and Development Agency (Donor) & Financiera Rural
Project Completed (2008)

Developing a professional rural bank and credit officer training program for Financiera Rural

Through a USTDA grant, DAI is creating and implementing a rural bank and credit officer training program to give Financiera Rural staff a solid foundation in basic and advanced rural and agricultural loan and credit operations, and to give the institution the in-house expertise it needs to meet its future demands for new officer training. The program has clear training and impact objectives—as well as built-in tools for assessing the impact of the training on both skill development and institutional performance—and makes extensive use of participant exercises to reinforce the skills learned in the training sessions.

The interactive multimedia training and testing program is designed to be used as part of a trainer-led program or for independent study to reinforce knowledge and skills learned during the initial training. In addition to reproductions of the training sessions, these materials will contain extensive interactive self-testing and practice exercises. The DAI team will ensure that Financiera Rural has the capacity to deliver the courses in the future by building the skills of the institution’s in-house trainers.

The basic and advanced training modules that DAI is preparing for the program include the following:

Basic Credit Analysis

Financiera Rural Credit Policies and Procedures

BankExec International Bank Simulation

Advanced Credit Analysis

Microcredit

Rural Financial Markets, Institutions, and Clients

Elements of Rural Business Development

Agricultural Concepts

Managing Problem Loans

Systemic Risk Analysis and Management

Evaluating and Financing Rural Financial Institutions

Jordan - Instituting Water Demand Management in Jordan (IDARA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
March 2007-September 2011

Managing water demand in Jordan to keep pace with the country's economic growth

Jordan is considered to be one of the 10 most water-deprived countries in the world. It is making every effort to cooperate with neighboring countries that control or share much of the available water resources. But, as Jordan aspires to raise the quality and standard of living of Jordanians, it must expand the commercial, industrial, and tourism sectors, thereby putting additional stress on the country’s already stretched water resources.

There are limited options for what can be done to augment the water supply needed for Jordan's rapidly growing population and ambitious economic development goals. The most viable short-term options are to manage its water demand to more effectively use the current water supply, and embrace water-use efficiency throughout the country. Past attempts in water demand management by the government, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other donors have had an undeniable impact and yielded many lessons, but have not been sustained by the government or the private sector. Limited resources and commitment were among the reasons, but the lack of integration of water demand management into an institutional context was their undoing.

IDARA directly tackles that weakness. It focuses on three areas of intervention—building institutional capacity, creating an enabling environment, and conducting activities that demonstrate effective water-demand management. These activities are changing standard operating procedures, creating a critical mass of expertise, revising public thinking about what can be achieved through the effective management of water, and promoting public-private initiatives for the implementation of best water-saving practices.

Jordan IDARA Fact Sheets

IDARA Fact Sheets

Worldwide - Turnaround of a Large Retail Bank

Client: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Project Completed (2008)

Restructuring failed banks as permanent, powerful providers of financial services for the poor

For too long, the microfinance industry has focused on the emergence of a separate and unequal set of financial service providers that do not participate in national clearing systems, preventing them from offering meaningful transfer, remittance, and payment support products; are unlicensed and unable to provide reliable or convenient options for savings; and lack the strength to grow with their clients. In contrast, state-owned banks have the infrastructure and regulated status required to rapidly and profitably extend a full range of microfinance services, but are hobbled by political interference, insolvency, and weak management.

DAI is currently conducting in-depth research to identify a state-owned bank that has the potential for transformation; DAI will then lead the turnaround effort. Project staff are examining cases in which the candidate bank is a government-owned entity that has the potential to become a dynamic, profitable, private bank focused on the low-income market segment. The ultimate goal is to transform the relevant country’s financial sector and create the ability for millions of poor citizens to manage risk and seize economic opportunities.

DAI will use Foundation funds to cover the human resources and associated costs required to take over management control of the bank and will secure funding from other sources for all other expenses, including recapitalization of the bank. After the restructuring, the bank will be sold, and DAI’s team with work with the government to ensure that the new owners continue to offer banking services to the poor.

South Africa - Completing the Responsible Tourism Planning Program for Municipalities in South Africa

Client: Development Bank of Southern Africa
Project Completed (2007)

Assisting the Development Bank of Southern Africa to facilitate the completion the Responsible Tourism Planning for seven municipalities

For most municipalities in South Africa, and southern Africa as a whole, tourism represents one of the three key economic opportunities available for their citizens; the others are agriculture and forestry and mining and quarrying. In South Africa, municipalities are seen as the drivers of economic development, protectors of the environment, and deliverers of social goods and services. However, capacity to meet those expectations is limited because “wall to wall” municipal government that is inclusive of all people and land has only been a feature of South Africa since the emergence of democracy. This fact, combined with the “apartheid” education system that restricted the majority of South Africans from a decent education, has left a real void in local government management. The parastatal Development Bank of Southern Africa has as its focus the provision of infrastructural support (finance and other forms of assistance) to municipalities, including support for the development of tourism infrastructure. The bank developed Responsible Tourism Planning (RTP) Guidelines in 2003 that defined its planning and enabling environmental technical assistance program that has been completed in 26 municipalities of the 282 total. This program is to facilitate another seven with perhaps another five in the pipeline. The key components of the program include training of officials and stakeholders to manage the RTP process and to roll it out to a given set of quality standards.

Bangladesh - Developing Business Service Markets (DBSM) Programme, Impact Assessment Research

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
June 2005–December 2009

Examining the impacts of the DBSM Programme on economic growth and poverty reduction

For this impact assessment, DAI examined the impact of the DBSM programme—part of the wider KATALYST project in Bangladesh—and created policy lessons on the impacts of a service market development approach for donors and practitioners. The objectives were to:

Assess the contribution to pro-poor growth, employer income, and conditions at a market level;

Assess the increase in competitiveness within selected markets and subsectors; and

Examine the contribution of business service market development to the above.

Vietnam - Mekong Housing Bank – Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Support

Client: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
September 2006–March 2009

Providing strategic advice and building capacity within the banking sector in Vietnam

DAI Europe and PriceWaterhouseCoopers Vietnam are working together to address the need to upgrade the core banking functions of the Mekong Housing Bank (MHB). In the context MHB’s rapid growth and many internal and external pressures, this project focuses on six activity components: corporate strategy and planning, organization and human resource development, credit risk management, asset and liability management, management information systems, and internal audit and controls. The core focus of the technical assistance program is to build capacity within the bank across all the functions, through a series of targeted short-term interventions and extensive training and coaching.

Ukraine - Aval Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine

Client: European Union/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2009)

Strengthening lending to the small and medium-sized (SME) enteprise sector in Ukraine

Since its inception in 1992, Raiffeisenbank Aval (AVAL) has continued to strengthen its position in the Ukrainian market through an extensive branch network and a strong customer deposit base. AVAL’s core focus is on the consumer and SME segments. Currently AVAL is strong in micro and small business lending, and lending to larger business borrowers. However, the bank has assessed a need to address the segment that lies between these two. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development contracted DAI to establish an SME lending program and ensure through an institution-building program that the commitment of AVAL to SME lending is sustainable.

Romania - Volksbank Leasing

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed 2008

Expanding the leasing capacity at Volksbank Leasing to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector

Established in 2000, Volksbank Leasing (VBL) is now among the top five players in the Romanian leasing sector. By 2005, VBL had concluded 112 million in leasing contracts, approximately 80 percent of which were in the vehicle leasing sector and the remaining 20 percent in equipment leasing. The company is particularly keen to expand its equipment leasing business, and given its existing orientation toward the SME sector, sees the European Union/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Finance Facility as an ideal opportunity to do so.

DAI has been contracted by the EBRD to implement a Technical Assistance programme to enable VBL expand its leasing operations for the SME segment. After assessing its current leasing policies and procedures, DAI will assist VBL with the development of a commercial strategy for equipment leasing by industry sector/equipment type. Building on strong experience in providing advisory services on risk management for leasing companies in emerging economies, DAI will review VBL’s current risk management practices and scoring system and provide recommendations to senior management. In addition, DAI will provide tailored formal and on-the-job training on risk management and sales skills for SMEs.

Liberia Community Infrastructure Project II (LCIP II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (MAC IQC)
April 2007–April 2010

Consolidating peace through integrated economic, social, and infrastructure development activities

Since March 2004, DAI has been active in Liberia supporting social reconciliation, community infrastructure reconstruction, economic development, and—most recently—democratic governance and civil society strengthening. Building on this presence, DAI is now implementing the Liberia Community Infrastructure Project II, which targets vulnerable youths by combining literacy and numeracy training, enterprise development, agribusiness, and key infrastructure projects to consolidate peace and foster economic growth for the nation. The project works closely with government officials, particularly with the Ministry of Public Works. DAI also funds local nongovernmental organizations to partner with project staff to implement skills training and enterprise development activities. LCIP II is the follow-on contract to the Liberia Community Infrastructure Project.

LCIP II in the News
USAID Launches Private Sector Internship Program (PIP)

Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI)

Client: World Bank
March 2007–March 2008

Developing a new small and medium-sized enterprise lending methodology along with risk assessment and monitoring procedures

DAI assisted LBDI to expand its business, particularly to the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) segment. The banking sector in Liberia is extremely small, comprising only five operational banks. Ecobank and LBDI dominate the sector, both managing around 30,000 accounts.

LBDI has a great growth potential, especially in expanding its outreach to previously under-banked segments. Within the Liberian context, LBDI has the highest capacity to respond to many of the financial markets, including corporate, real estate, domestic savings mobilization, and remittances (such as Western Union money transfers).

LBDI was in need of stronger credit risk management procedures to ensure that its expansion plan was sustainable in the long-run, particularly as it expanded its lending portfolio to include the riskier MSME segment. DAI’s team addressed all aspects of lending, including product development, policies and procedures, staff development, marketing and sales, and institutionalization of the lending function within the bank.

Kenya - Equity Bank – Phase II

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
January 2007–March 2008

Designing microfinance products for Equity Bank in Kenya

Building on its prior working relationship with the bank, DAI assisted Equity Bank in developing its capacity to lend to the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. Over the previous five years, Equity Bank has targeted small-scale businesses and individuals that have had limited access to finance. In doing so, they have become a significant player in the financial sector in Kenya. The bank’s success has been led by an accomplished management team and a highly motivated staff. As part of the growth, Equity has evolved into a full-service bank although it continues to focus its activities primarily on the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise segment.

DAI worked with Equity to develop:

Strong credit policies and procedures, effectively communicated throughout the bank;

Robust risk management procedures;

Competitive products implemented for all lending areas based on Equity’s strategy;

A strong organizational structure clearly outlining roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines;

Tailored training curricula and internal training capacity; and

Credit scoring and rating models where appropriate to ensure better credit decision making.

Central Europe - Deutsche Leasing – EBRD Framework

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
October 2006–October 2008

Implementing a technical assistance program to expand Deutsche Leasing’s operations for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary

DAI is implementing a technical assistance program to assist the three Deutsche Leasing (DL) companies in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary to expand their respective leasing operations for the SME segment. Developing the human resource capacity of the three leasing companies has been identified as the most important factor in delivering outstanding customer service to the SME segment. Training is therefore the cornerstone of this assignment. DAI will assist the DL companies to identify their specific training needs, develop targeted training programs, and deliver formal classroom-based and on-the-job training to front and back office staff members, as well as senior management. The aim is to encourage and strengthen a customer-oriented culture throughout the entire organization. DAI will also provide advisory services to strengthen DL’s risk decision processes and procedures. Furthermore, DAI will work with the three DL companies to support the correct implementation of the EBRD credit line and provide assistance with the required reporting/monitoring tools in line with EBRD requirements.

Central Europe - BA-CA Leasing Group

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
January 2007–January 2008

Introducing a gap analysis scoring model for the BA-CA Group

DAI is adapting the gap analysis scoring model for use in each leasing company of the BA-CA group in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia. DAI provided the scoring model in a temporary Excel-based software platform appropriate for pilot testing. This software is intended to create a unique scoring database for each user. The team developed the scoring and gap analysis algorithms in a data model that any programmer can use for coding the scoring model to the appropriate programming language. To ensure the long-term benefit, DAI implemented a training course in model use, reviewed pilot test results, and produced a report on recommendations.

Bulgaria - Socié té Gé né rale Expressbank (SGE)

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
October 2006–December 2009

Improving capacity for small and medium-sized enterprise lending in Bulgaria

SGE, one of Bulgaria's leading banks in the consumer finance market, is increasingly interested in expanding its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan portfolio and has introduced tailored SME products, created a dedicated SME department, and concentrated efforts on increasing the commercial structures aimed at SME customers. Within the framework of the European Union/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) technical assistance programme, SGE anticipates to continue to increase its SME banking market share in a highly competitive market. DAI Europe Ltd. is assisting SGE in this process by reviewing and suggesting improvements to SGE's SME lending methodology, risk management practice (including credit scoring), and SME loan product offering. DAI also trains newly hired and existing loan officers in credit and sales skills. Once the human resource base of the Bank is strengthened, DAI will advise on a suitable marketing campaign to support the active growth strategy in the SME segment and the utilization of the credit line in accordance with EBRD requirements

Bangladesh - Remittance and Payments Partnership

Client: U.K. Department for International Development [subcontractor to Emerging Markets Group]
Project Completed 2008

Improving the access to and reducing the costs of remittances in Bangladesh

This project aims to improve the access to and reduce the costs of migrant remittances flowing into Bangladesh. DAI’s work on this project complements the Government of Bangladesh’s current efforts to introduce and strengthen formal remittance channels. The Remittance and Payments Partnership has three main components:

Improving the enabling environment for remittances through the development of a National Payments Strategy and Council, to be supported by a range of private and public stakeholders. DAI also is supporting the development of an automated clearing house for Bangladesh.

Improving the range of remittance products through the operation of a challenge fund that will provide grants for innovation and infrastructure investment.

Providing better information to migrants on their rights and better understanding migrants’ needs.

Azerbaijan - Parliamentary Program in Azerbaijan

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (Legislative Strengthening IQC)
April 2007–April 2010

Creating the institutional checks and balances that can ensure development is broad-based, transparent, and participatory

The Parliamentary Program in Azerbaijan will assist the Parliament of Azerbaijan—Milli Mejlis (MM)—to improve its government oversight and representation functions, with an emphasis on internal institutional reform and training of new constituency-based staff.

Azerbaijan faces serious challenges to its democratic development. Democratic institutions are new and evolving from a historical legacy of highly centralized authority, and Azerbaijan ranks near the bottom of several international measures of corruption. A strengthened parliament is critical to maintaining a healthy system of checks and balances and, thus, supporting successful social and economic development. It must first, however, solidify its own sense of identify, with clearly understood roles and responsibilities, professional services, and a vastly stronger relationship between the Deputies and the constituents they should serve.

DAI’s approach to the Parliamentary Program in Azerbaijan will be to establish new norms of behavior to improve institutional professionalism and responsiveness to citizens. We will use European Union standards and legislative compliance mechanisms as we design and implement capacity-building activities.

The initial work will focus primarily on providing assistance on internal parliamentary functions and procedures. This requirement will be accomplished by:

Reviewing internal processes, including human resources and research functions;

Providing training for members of parliament and parliamentary staff;

Assisting in the establishment of constituency offices;

Helping establish transparency mechanisms in the legislature; and

Enhancing the capacity of the Parliament to effectively address civil society concerns.

Parliamentary Program in Azerbaijan Recent Activities
USAID Initiates First Workshop for Azerbaijan’s Parliamentary Aides

Armenia - Medium-Sized Co-Financing Regional Facility

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2007)

Building capacity in the Armenian banking sector

While the banking sector in Armenia is seen as outpacing other sectors in the country—with assets and liabilities having grown substantially over the last five to seven years—there is still a lack of adequate financial intermediation. Banks have received good international support and have developed good lending systems, especially for lending to the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise sectors. However, there is still a significant gap in lending to larger corporate clients and in managing and monitoring corporate and larger small and medium-sized enterprise client portfolios. DAI developed and implemented an institution building plan for three banks: ACBA, Anelik, and Arneconombank. To do this, DAI reviewed the banks’ organizational structure and corporate governance procedures. Our consultants also assisted the banks with the implementation of these recommendations.

Bulgaria - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Credit Line Support – Rational Energy Utilisation and Financing Plans

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
April 2004-June 2011

Designing and implementing a financeable and rational energy utilization program

In partnership with EnCon Services, DAI is implementing an EBRD-funded project intended to develop Rational Energy Utilization Plans with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria. The project is part of a European Union initiative to support Bulgaria's Energy Law and to assist with the closure of the oldest first-generation Soviet-designed blocks of the Kozloduy Nuclear Plant.

Compared with other countries in the region, the Bulgarian economy stands out as one of the most energy-intensive in Europe. A core aim of this project is to develop adequate bank financing services directed at industrial customers for use in energy efficiency projects.

Accordingly, a first step has been to reach an agreement with participating banks on approaches, procedures, and deliverables. The DAI team has been working with participating banks to develop streamlined procedures for customer/project identification and to enhance their due diligence and risk mitigation capabilities. DAI Europe is also actively working with participating banks to market the project in order to increase branch participation in energy financing and attract new clientele. Finally, DAI team members and Encon consultants will be working directly with SMEs to develop bankable energy efficiency project proposals for the participating banks to evaluate with a view to financing.

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Asia and the Near East - Addressing Major Water Resources Issues in Asia and the Near East

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Recommending program improvements based on analyses of USAID’s regional water resource projects

USAID’s Asia and Near East (ANE) Bureau spans from Indonesia to Morocco. Many of its 20 country missions are supporting projects concerning responsible and sustainable water resource supply and usage. Through this program, DAI assists the ANE Bureau and its missions to develop their water resources portfolios, provide support for problems demanding immediate attention, and help launch new initiatives, particularly those with policy implications beyond national boundaries. The program promotes collaborative approaches to strategic planning and joint problem-solving in the water sector; advances key water sector policy reforms through expanded stakeholder participation; fosters innovative public-private partnerships and increases private sector participation; and supports the development and dissemination of innovative approaches to water development to increase water use efficiency and better manage demands for water.

Africa - Millennium Villages Project: Monitoring and Evaluation

Client: Millennium Promise
Project Completed (2006)

Placing African villages into a larger development context through a coherent overall results framework

Millennium Promise is a nonprofit organization working to eradicate extreme poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Its flagship program is the US$100 million Millennium Villages Project (MVP)—a holistic, community-driven, sustainable development initiative. In coordination with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the UN Millennium Project, Millennium Promise is currently implementing the project in 78 Millennium Villages across Sub-Saharan countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The MVP process involves local institutions and governments and builds capacity and empowerment at the local level. It links into national development plans to develop support from local, provincial, and national governments. Rather than helping just a few individuals take a few steps out of poverty—only to risk being drawn back as the village-level circumstances once again take hold—MVP interventions are designed to break the poverty cycle and to lift all residents in a village out of poverty. They address all aspects of social and economic development within a village—from better health to improved nutrition, from more effective education to improved incomes.

In association with ECIAfrica, DAI Washington is helping the MVP Director of Monitoring and Evaluation and her team develop a strong monitoring and evaluation system and process to track the implementation, impact, and outcomes of the project.

Successfully placing the villages into a larger development context requires a coherent overall results framework that identifies how the villages interact with outside forces and actors and how they can sustainably integrate into the larger economy at the district, provincial, and, eventually, national levels.

The DAI team is developing a monitoring and evaluation plan that emanates from and includes the following elements:

An understanding of progress in terms of achieving the Millennium Development Goals;

Training and capacity building at the local level;

Eventual transfer of the Millennium Promise monitoring and evaluation plan to the community; and

Transparency.

Working from a logical framework for the MVP as whole—identifying the key success factors and steps necessary to ensure long-term sustainability, while also drilling down to village-level priorities—will ensure the proper blend of big picture development anchored at the village level.

Belarus - Support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development (BIZPRO/Belarus)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Bringing microfinance and business development services to Belarussian entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs and owners of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) face many obstacles in Belarus’s business environment, yet their success is one of the keys to meaningful economic growth in Belarus.

The purpose of BIZPRO was to assist Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine to achieve economic growth through micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise development initiatives.

In Belarus, BIZPRO implemented the CAP/CIPA accounting program and engaged a local think tank to provide economic analysis designed to generate and inform public-private dialogue.

China - Small Business Lending

Client: World Bank, International Finance Corporation
Project Completed (2006)

Addressing constraints to small business lending in China

The International Finance Corporation-China Project Development Facility (IFC-CPDF), along with Chinese regulatory authorities and commercial banks, has identified lack of financing as the major constraint limiting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth in China.

With the support of the IFC-CPDF, the Nanjing City Commercial Bank has launched an initiative to develop and expand a new line of small business lending products, aiming to provide relatively small loans to enterprises that employ 100 people or fewer. This program will require efforts to develop the bank’s specific loan products and grow its small business portfolio.

DAI is providing technical assistance in three areas: 1) organizing a training seminar on best practices in small business lending; 2) helping to develop a survey instrument to assess the current environment for SME lending and gauge the financing needs of small businesses; and 3) preparing a business/marketing plan for the bank.

Tanzania - Comprehensive Review of Public Sector Employment and Wage-Bill Issues, Government of Zanzibar

Client: Government of Tanzania
Project Completed (2006)

Developing a realistic roadmap and action plan for efficient and effective management and control of public expenditures on personnel

Since 1999, the Revolution Government of Zanzibar has faced a decline in revenues that, in turn, has led to serious public sector employment and wage-bill issues. Most of the decline in revenue had to be absorbed by a reduction in non-wage expenditures, which consequently constrained the ability of the public sector to deliver basic services. The wage-bill consumes an unacceptably high percentage of public expenditure, and there are concerns about the way in which it is managed.

The objective of this assignment is to assist the government in reviewing employment and wage-bill issues relating to the civil service and identifying strategic solutions and options. DAI’s work includes addressing issues related to “ghost workers,” advising on wage-bill management, putting in place a strategy for human resources management, and advising on options to reduce the wage-bill to acceptable norms. DAI is assessing strategic and policy options and will propose solutions for government consideration, drawing on good practice from the East Africa region and elsewhere.

Indonesia - Orangutan Conservation Services Program (OCSP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
March 2007 – September 2010

Maximizing the protection and long-term survival of viable orangutan populations in the wild

Based in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), and Balikpapan (Kalimantan), OCSP’s goals are to implement policy reform, law enforcement, public outreach, and site-based conservation measures that will reduce the widespread habitat destruction that threatens the remaining populations of wild orangutans at key sites in Borneo and Sumatra. The main drivers of orangutan habitat loss and populations decline include forest conservation and logging, which are the consequences of poor land use decisions that followed in the push toward decentralization in Indonesia.

If viable wild populations of orangutans in Indonesia are to survive increasing threats to their natural habitats, change must occur at three levels. Nationally, policies must support habitat protection and establish appropriate incentives for conservation. Regionally, decentralized authorities and conservation programs must have the knowledge and wherewithal to implement these policies in a manner that meets economic development and conservation goals. Locally, government, businesses, and communities must reach compromises that avoid the type of conflict that threatens to derail many of the country’s well-conceived conservation initiatives.

DAI brings to OCSP many years of experience working in Indonesia and in conservation and natural resource management. By September 2009, OCSP will have established sustainable orangutan conservation programs in at least four priority locations covering about 2 million hectares (ha) of prime habitat where 80 percent of the critically endangered Sumatran species and at least 9,000 members of the two Bornean subspecies will be protected. Threat levels will be reduced through implementation of site-specific conservation plans supported by improved law enforcement, outreach, and sustainable financing schemes.

The OCSP team expects to broker commitments from public and private donors and government to provide at least $4 million annually for orangutan conservation in the region by 2009. More importantly, OCSP will build Indonesian and international momentum for orangutan conservation and a constituency that will sustain this support well into the future.

Worldwide - Stamping Out Pandemic and Avian Influenza (STOP AI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
March 2007-March 2011

Working to prevent, respond to, and recover from highly pathogenic avian influenza

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is economically devastating for commercial and backyard producers alike, especially in developing countries where poultry is often a mainstay of poor households. If the virus became pandemic in the human population, it would be catastrophic in more than economic terms—and across more than just the developing world. To ensure that HPAI does not evolve into a human health crisis, USAID’s STOP AI project will provide technical resources and support services in preparedness planning, surveillance, and prevention; outbreak response; and re-infection prevention and recovery. STOP AI has three critically important and interrelated objectives:

Improved global availability of technical experts who are appropriately qualified and trained in internationally accepted procedures for addressing HPAI outbreaks in animals;

Increased use of internationally accepted practices for animal and human disease control; and

Reliable and timely logistical support provided to facilitate and enhance international assistance to countries affected by the H5N1 virus. STOP AI is an emergency preparation, response, and recovery project, supported by DAI’s proven corporate capabilities in mobilizing and deploying teams worldwide and facilitated by robust information and communication, knowledge management, and geographic information systems. Working with U.S. Government agencies, national governments, international and nongovernmental organizations, and a roster of deployable veterinarians and other health experts, the project will detect, respond to, and contain HPAI outbreaks. While focused on animal health threats and responses, STOP AI will also address the human health aspects of HPAI, such as human exposure during poultry production and human welfare in outbreak situations. In short, STOP AI is a key mechanism for ensuring that the highly pathogenic bird flu virus—especially H5N1—does not evolve into a virulent strain transmissible among humans. In implementing STOP AI, DAI’s Avian Influenza practice and its subcontractors—Bird Flu Control GmbH; Macfadden & Associates, Inc.; Management Sciences for Health, Inc.; Michigan State University; QED Group, LLC; Training Resources Group, Inc.; UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; and Winrock International—will draw on their worldwide network of epidemiologists, veterinary virologists, public health experts, communication strategists, laboratory diagnosticians, trainers, emergency responders, poultry specialists, and food safety experts. Recent Activity STOP AI Project launches pilot series of courses to build capacity among animal and human health experts to support Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza preparedness and response in poultry populations worldwide.

Worldwide - Avian Influenza Program under the Global RAISE Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures Project

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Reducing and containing highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks worldwide

The RAISE SPS Project builds trade capacity to support applications of sanitary (food safety and animal health) and phytosanitary (plant health) measures to protect consumers and food systems from human, plant, and animal health hazards. RAISE SPS has also conducted pioneering analytical work on the relationship between small farmer supply chains, supermarkets, and international food safety standards.

In mid-2005, the project’s mandate was expanded to include support for highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) interventions to reduce and contain animal-to-animal and animal-to-human AI outbreaks. Under this program, DAI has:

Assessed and evaluated national AI preparedness plans;

Conducted tabletop simulations;

Trained more than 400 state and private veterinarians in the prevention, testing, and diagnosis of AI, and in biosecurity, culling, and disposal measures;

Delivered behavior change communication workshops;

Developed electronic, print; and mass media messages; and

Conducted trainer-of-trainers workshops on the use of commodities (personal protective equipment, decontamination of AI infected areas, rapid diagnostic testing, and packaging and international shipping of AI samples).

The AI program has worked in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mali, Moldova, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Armenia - Avian Influenza Program in Armenia

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Building Armenia’s capacity to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza

Under the Armenia Agribusiness Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Market Development Program (ASME), DAI is building Armenia’s capacity to prepare for and respond to highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) outbreaks. The program works with a broad range of partners—Armenia’s intergovernmental AI team; the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Nature Protection; international organizations such as the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; research and educational entities; and private producers—to meet the growing threat of AI. The program is forged around three pillars:

Providing technical support to the Government of Armenia to strengthen the National Veterinary Service’s surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, and monitoring capabilities;

Assisting private poultry producers to improve their flock monitoring and biosecurity practices, and preparing to respond effectively to outbreaks; and

Coordinating AI communications activities among donor organizations and government ministries, developing communication materials to improve the public’s knowledge of AI, improving the biosafety practices of both domestic bird raisers and commercial poultry operations, and enhancing consumer confidence in the safety of poultry products. ASME’s AI program has trained more than 700 village-level veterinarians, health officers, mayors, and government, donor, and nongovernmental organization decision makers in planning and preparedness, outbreak response, and prevention and recovery. Recent Activity ASME supports the development of standard operating procedures for field-level outbreak response management.

Egypt - Technical Assistance for Policy Reform II (TAPR II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2005–October 2009

Supporting economic policy and institutional reform efforts in Egypt

TAPR II’s objective is to provide a comprehensive and integrated source of technical assistance to Egyptian reformers to help them define and implement their visions for economic policy and institutional reforms. The project team works to promote investment, improve Egypt’s financial structure and services, support macroeconomic stabilization, increase trade and investment, and strengthen the private sector. It seeks to reduce government’s role, deregulate burdensome regimes, streamline processes, and harmonize policies, laws, and regulations that govern economic institutions. The project also builds the capacity of individuals and institutions necessary to support the implementation of those reforms to ensure that policies, processes, and procedures, once adopted, will be appropriately sustained and institutionalized. TAPR II is building partnerships with Egyptian reformers within government and the private sector to support critical demand-driven reforms while responding to changing circumstances.

DAI is the lead on two of TAPR II’s seven components. DAI staff work to facilitate services to private enterprise, streamline administrative processes, and open opportunities previously reserved for state-owned entities. This component focuses on and responds to activities that encourage investment, enhance business development services, increase productivity, promote international standards, and stimulate enterprise competitiveness by increasing market access and better integration of Egypt’s enterprises into global value-chains.

DAI also provides program support to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of project monitoring, evaluate Egyptian achievement of goals to obtain funds under the U.S. Government Direct Support Program to Egypt, improve the availability and dissemination of information on economic reform to the public, and provide opportunities to solicit greater involvement of civil society in the reform process.

Angola - Regional Trade Project (ProAgro)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Using regional trade as a stimulus to rebuild the agricultural sector

ProAgro was designed to test ways to use regional trade as a stimulus to rebuilding the agricultural sector in Angola. Working closely with the input supply industry, project staff facilitated access to new markets for goods needed in Angola and enhanced the businesses links into the South African economy. The project targeted three subsectors: potatoes, bananas, and coffee. Its major components included:

Enhancement of commercial markets for improved agricultural equipment and technologies.

Market studies

Enhancement of availability of domestically produced high-quality potato and garlic seeds.

Identification of foreign investment partners to enhance Angolan production and/or improve marketability of product.

Subsector analyses and developing commercial markets.

Linkages among farmers and local distributors and agriculture input suppliers.

Organization of trade missions for businesses and officials.

The project succeeded in facilitating more than $800,000 of trade in inputs and technology. Work on two of the subsectors led them to be included in the Agricultural Development and Finance Project, a five-year follow-on project that was funded by Chevron and USAID that was won by ECIAfrica and CLUSA. [AMAP BDS IQC]

El Salvador - Improved Management and Conservation of Critical Watersheds (IMCCW)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
November 2006 - September 2010

Helping local stakeholders realize tangible economic benefits linked to improvements in watershed management and the conservation of biological resources

To improve the economic situation in rural areas, the Government of El Salvadorï¿½s development strategy focuses on enlisting local support for improved natural resources and generating better economic opportunities through higher-value agriculture and sustainable tourism, linked to improved management of El Salvadorï¿½s water, land, and biological resources. Specific opportunities in this endeavor include:

Growing specialty coffee marketsï¿½especially certified, environmentally friendly coffees;

Expanding tourism based on environmental attractions such as the ï¿½Ruta de Flores,ï¿½ national parks, and beaches; and

Encouraging Salvadoran farmers to produce higher-quality fruits and vegetables using environmentally sound practices for both domestic and international markets.

IMCW seeks to reverse economic trends in rural western El Salvadorï¿½trends that threaten the sustainability of critical ecosystems, degrade water supplies and quality, and bind farmers to environmentally destructive subsistence farming that supports neither well-being nor conservationï¿½by supporting the effective management of areas of high biodiversity importance while promoting responsible economic growth. The project focuses on improving the management of land, water, and biological resources in two hydrogeographic zonesï¿½Grande de Sonsonate-Banderas and Barra de Santiago-El Imposibleï¿½that include 14 watersheds.

The DAI teamï¿½s approach empowers local communities and stakeholders using integrated spatial planning to develop agreements on land use and land zoning for protected areas, ecological corridors, and their buffer zones. Following this approach, the DAI team will help local stakeholders to improve their livelihoods and realize tangible economic benefits linked to sustainable improvements in watershed management and the conservation of biological resources. This approach directly links the sustainable protection of parks and protected areasï¿½and the management of ecological corridorsï¿½to improved income- and employment-generating opportunities in high-value products such as specialty coffee, fruits and vegetables, and ecotourism. DAIï¿½s work will provide the foundation for developing a strong rural economy based on improved environmental management. [Water IQC]

Vietnam - Support to Vietnam’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy under Poverty Reduction Support Credit III – Support to State Audit of Vietnam

Client: European Commission (Asian and Latin American Countries)
Project Completed (2007)

Improving conditions for sustained and stable economic growth through improving governance and combating corruption

Vietnam’s economy is on the path of sustainable and equitable growth and has good prospects to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. However, numerous aspects of public administration require further development to promote conditions for sustainable growth. Corruption scandals, such as Project Management Unit 18, fueled the need for better management of public finances and donor funds. Through this project, DAI and the U.K. National Audit Office provided support to the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) to improve conditions for sustained and stable economic growth by building capacity in public sector auditing and helped to implement the new State Audit Law.

The project had four key components: 1) development of auditing standards and ethical standards for auditors in line with international standards; 2) development of financial and compliance audit procedures and training; 3) development of performance audit techniques to enable SAV to better evaluate the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of national targeted programmes and foreign-funded projects; and 4) support to the SAV Centre for Sciences and Staff Fostering, including development of new training curricula and training material and introduction of modern training methods to SAV trainers.

Uganda - Support to the Legal and Regulatory Environment for Business in Uganda – Phase II

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Working with the government to enhance enterprise growth and competitiveness

Significant achievements have been made in the past decade in revitalising the Ugandan economy, but poverty levels remain high: some 35 percent of the population is estimated still to live under the poverty line. The formal private sector has grown but still comprises a low proportion of the total economy, and its capacity to grow further and faster is held back, inter alia, by weaknesses in the regulatory environment. From 2000 to 2003, DAI managed the DFID-funded Deregulation project in Uganda, designed to improve the regulatory environment for business growth. This next phase of the project focuses on creating national capacity for regulatory best practice in Uganda. This work includes components such as introducing regulatory impact assessment into government policy processes, raising awareness and implementing public education campaigns, building capacity of civil society organisations and business organisations to influence the policy agenda, instituting institutional changes, and facilitating reductions in administrative and regulatory barriers faced by businesses while protecting important social and environmental standards.

The project team is working closely with senior civil servants, Members of Parliament, business leaders, and civil society organisations. The project has developed a holistic and inclusive approach to better regulation: blending the team’s experience in economic impact appraisal with social cost-benefit analysis and environmental impact assessment, and bringing a wider range of stakeholders into the consultation and public debate process.

Slovenia - SME Finance Facility - Volksbank Ljudska

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2007)

Deepening credit market for small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia

Having identified a need to deepen small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) credit markets in Slovenia, the EBRD undertook this project with the aim of building financial intermediaries’ confidence and capacity to assess risks and extend financing to Slovenian SMEs. DAI was contracted to design an appropriate lending methodology to allow Volksbank to substantially increase its SME lending activities to a number of branches. Team members implemented SME lending and institution-building schemes, recruited and trained new staff, and developed an SME marketing campaign appropriate to the redesigned existing SME products. The team also integrated environmental due diligence into the procedures of Volksbank in compliance with Slovenian regulations and implemented appropriate information technology support for all necessary application, screening, monitoring, and reporting procedures.

Slovakia - SME Finance Facility - OTP Banka Slovensko

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2007)

Improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises

DAI was contracted to help OTP develop a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending methodology that will enable the bank to substantially increase its SME lending activities. Under this programme, the bank developed the “Progress loan,” an SME loan product that allowed conditional approval to be given within 48 hours of the bank receiving all appropriate documentation. Among its major achievements, DAI delivered two training courses: a time management course aimed at OTP senior management and a sales skills training for the lenders. These training initiatives were supported by intensive on-the-job and individual training that included tutorials in how to manage client interviews. Moreover, team members contributed to an OTP-led marketing initiative which involved SME Road Shows, which were held across the country over the upcoming months. In addition, DAI consultants designed and implemented incentive schemes for middle managers and planned further marketing activities aimed at supporting new SME loan products.

Slovakia - CAC Leasing

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2006)

Deepening financing methodologies for small and medium-sized enterprises

DAI was contracted by the EBRD to deepen small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing methodologies at CAC Leasing and to assist with the development of a new credit scoring model. In particular, the team was tasked with the following objectives:

Developing a software scorecard appropriate to the new credit scoring model.

Increasing integration of environmental due diligence processes as part of the information technology system updates.

Conducting staff training courses with a focus on credit assessment and monitoring as well as customer relationship management and credit scoring.

Assisting the company’s management team with its re-organisation plan and management and re-designing the risk processes in preparation for the Basel Accord.

Providing advanced training to sales team leaders in innovative sales techniques for the SME market.

Expanding the company’s marketing strategy with respect to the SME market.

Representing the EBRD by monitoring compliance and procedures, making recommendations to the CAC management on relevant policies, and making recommendations to the EBRD for the expansion of the programme.

Sierra Leone - Accountability Project - Support to the Auditor General’s Office

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Strengthening governance and reducing corruption in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has ranked at the bottom of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index for more than 10 years. Like other areas of public administration, the Office of the Auditor General was weakened by the civil war, a lack of resources, and a deterioration of government accountability systems. Weak financial management and information systems, shortages of qualified staff, and a weakened Parliament constrained the office’s ability to act as an independent assessor of government financial activities. In consortium with PKF LLP, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and the Swedish Institute for Public Administration, DAI is worked to improve the quality, quantity, and impact of public sector auditing through support to the Auditor General’s Office, the Public Accounts Committee, civil society groups, and the media through institutional and process development, training, and joint audits. Important aspects of the project included supporting improved audit legislation and the audit framework; assisting in development of the Public Accounts Committee; strengthening human resource capacity and management; providing audit training; improving procedures and practice for public sector external audit through development and testing of audit manuals; and strengthening the role of the Audit Office in the national fight against corruption.

Serbia - Technical Assistance for the State Budget Preparation Process

Client: European Commission (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation)
September 2005–December 2008

Establishing a budget planning process that improves resource allocation in the Serbian public sector

Serbia continues to face a challenging agenda of economic reform and transition, and public administration reform and governance issues are among the government’s stated priorities. Through the State Budget Reform project, DAI is supporting the government in its efforts to strengthen public expenditure management and the move to a medium-term budget framework. The team works to introduce improved budget planning and preparation processes in the Ministry of Finance and selected sector ministries to 1) bring enhanced realism to the budget planning process by requiring that budgets are planned against realistic mid-term resource ceilings; 2) strengthen linkages between sector policies and strategies and budget allocations; and 3) allow and require budget users to utilise resource inputs more efficiently in the implementation of programme activities.

Serbia - Metals Banka - Western Balkans SME Finance Framework

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
September 2006–December 2008

Supporting the growth and development of private small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia

The financial sectors of the Western Balkans are characterized by low penetration and limited intermediation. Only a few financial intermediaries seek out small businesses customers, and conservative collateral requirements and cumbersome credit procedures further limit small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) access to finance. The EBRD has established an SME Finance Facility to support Western Balkans countries in the transition to a market economy by strengthening the financial system and by increasing SMEs’ access to finance via the banking system, thereby enabling the SMEs to increase production and employment. DAI works with Metals Banka to incorporate high-quality lending as an integral part of its ongoing business activities.

Russia - Public Sector Institutional Reform Project

Client: European Commission (Tacis)
Project Completed (2007)

Increasing the efficiency of public sector service delivery for the benefit of Russian society

DAI supported ARCADIS BMB on this project, which aimed to increase the efficiency of the Russian public sector’s service delivery. Specifically, the project ensured that state services comply with set standards and are accessible to citizens, including in electronic form. The DAI team created administrative regulations and implementation mechanisms for selected state ministries, agencies, and services and defined and designed standards for selected state services as well as a system of quality assessment and a mid-term benchmarking system. A further goal was to devise a system of flexible indicators to measure state performance for selected departments (internal indicators) and the delivery of state services (external indicators). DAI developed a system of e-government, compatible with the existing Russian programme “e-Russia” and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines. The project introduced European experience and best practice in these areas, in line with common standards as established for a European Administrative Space, and adapted European Union experience and best practice to specific Russian circumstances where necessary.

Russia - Management of Sub-National Public Finance

Client: European Commission (Tacis)
April 2006–December 2008

Improving the use of public finances at the subnational level

The economy of the Russian Federation has undergone a significant transformation since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The general shift from plan to market economy is well under way and the so-called “first-generation” reforms, such as the liberalisation of exchange rates and the opening of the trade regime, are essentially completed. The government is now facing the more difficult “second-generation” reforms of medium-term structural and administrative reform. As a part of this process, DAI is supporting improvement in the use of public funds at the subnational level of government. The specific aim of the project is to support regional governments in introducing modern budgeting techniques and performance-oriented budgeting. This work includes the establishment of a public expenditure management system and operational tools for effective financial programming, accounting, and monitoring and evaluating on the subnational level. Furthermore, DAI is working to disseminate best practices in the budget process to other regions and municipalities through a train-the-trainer process and the replication of the model in selected regions.

Russia - Administrative Reform II – Improvement of Public Expenditure Management

Client: European Commission (Tacis)
Project Completed (2007)

Advising on the current process of reforming the Russian state budget

The Russian economy is consistently growing and the government acknowledges that administrative reform, civil service reform, and reform of the budget system will be imperative to maintain the growth momentum. Subsequently, the principles of budget formation have to be revised in order to support the complementary public service reform efforts. After managing the State Budget Reform project from 2003 to 2005, DAI is now assisting the Government of Russia in its reforms to build up a comprehensive public expenditure management system. The team works closely with the government to strengthen the principles of mid-term performance-oriented budgeting in the Ministry of Finance and the line ministries. A wide range of areas are being improved, including reporting requirements, performance assessment, and control systems. Furthermore, DAI will advise on how to modernise control and audit systems, how to design appropriate systems of internal control, and how to improve access to information about the budget process and budget process reforms.

Montenegro - Education Finance Decentralisation

Client: Government of Montenegro
Project Completed (2006)

Promoting democratization and improvements in the adequacy, equity, and efficiency of resource allocation in education

The government of newly independent Montenegro is engaged in a long-term process of education reform to improve the quality of education. Currently, education (pre-school, primary, and secondary) is the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), but a key element of the government’s reform agenda is to partially decentralise education funding by delegating financial responsibilities to municipalities. DAI is assisting MES in this process by developing the procedures of decentralised education finance. The project consists of four main components: 1) developing proposals for the optimisation of the school network on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis of school costs; 2) designing a funding formula to support efficient, equitable, and effective financing of schools; 3) developing mechanisms to decentralise education funding of non-staff costs to municipalities; and 4) strengthening financial management mechanisms in schools and proposing methods of financial management for municipal education spending.

Macedonia - SME Finance Framework – Investbanka

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
February 2006–December 2008

Developing and implementing a methodology for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises

DAI has been contracted by the EBRD to help Investbanka substantially increase its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending activities. Team members are designing an appropriate SME lending methodology and programme to roll out at the head office in Skopje and at least five branches outside Skopje. The team is assisting with staff training on SME credit assessment and portfolio monitoring, as well as with the development of appropriate software solutions. These measures will then be backed up by the establishment of a credit risk management team to monitor the credit portfolio (especially exposure by client) and to review the financial analyses performed by loan officers.

Kazakhstan - Development of Standards for the Civil Service Provision

Client: European Commission (Tacis)
Project Completed (2007)

Developing an effective, professional, transparent, and customer-oriented civil service

Kazakhstan is one of the leading former Soviet countries in the field of public administration. Since independence in 1991, the government has implemented a series of economic and political reforms, but further improvements are required to ensure continued progress. DAI worked with the government to develop performance standards and performance indicators for the Kazakhstani civil service in selected pilot ministries and oblasts; the standards and indicators were later be extended across the whole public administration. The project involved a number of core activities, including consulting with citizens, undertaking performance surveys (and publishing their results), and adopting customer service charters that served as a contract to govern the standards of public service delivery in Kazakhstan. The project involved establishing a pilot one-stop shop for the provision of administrative services to Kazakh citizens in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. The overall project objective was to improve public service delivery, making it more responsive to the needs of the people, of better quality, and delivered efficiently and economically.

Hungary - SME Finance Facility - HVB Leasing

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2008)

Improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in Hungary

DAI was contracted to assist HVB Leasing Hungary to move from current leasing methodologies—typically based on asset financing—to methodologies based on rigorous credit analysis of lessees. DAI team members worked to ensure that leasing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was a sustainable business going forward, and that SMEs themselves had adequate access to lease financing. In particular, the team assisted with the following objectives:

Introduced a standardised credit scoring model to facilitate quick decision making regarding leases while ensuring a sound and thorough approach; - Reviewed the evaluation, approval and monitoring procedures currently used by the company;

Streamlined the organisational processes within the company;

Implemented the necessary organisational changes to ensure the successful implementation of the facility;

Trained managers and leasing credit officers in cash flow-based leasing analysis, accounting issues, risk evaluation, and funding optimisation;

Reviewed the marketing strategy of the company with respect to the facility; and

Provided senior management with training on management and sales techniques.

Egypt - Capacity Building Programme

Client: European Investment Bank
Completed 2008

Supporting the development of the private sector in Egypt

The overall objective of this programme project was to contribute to private sector development in Egypt and to help stimulate and strengthen the capacity of the Egyptian financial sector to provide services to private small and medium-sized enterprises. Accordingly, the DAI team provided technical assistance to build the capacity of the National Bank of Egypt and the Export Development Bank of Egypt by transferring best industry practices in the areas of lending and equity financing.

Bulgaria - SME Finance Facility - Union Leasing

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2008)

Building capacity in SME leasing to increase small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to finance

DAI was contracted by the EBRD to help Union Leasing (UL) build its capacity to incorporate small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leasing as a normal part of its ongoing business activities. In particular, the team conducted a comprehensive review of the micro and small leasing programme with UL in order to identify room for improvement. The DAI team focused specifically on UL’s credit analysis procedures and practices, including the analysis of lessees’ financial performance and operating risks at the stage preceding the approval of the lease. The team also evaluated the performance of the information technology (IT) systems and their Basel 2 compliance. The analysis of the IT support was aimed at developing an in-house Integrated Leasing Information System. Finally, the team assisted with the introduction of an enhanced marketing approach based on media selection, new communication strategies, and client targeting.

Bulgaria - SME Leasing Facility - Hebros Leasing

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2007)

Introducing and improving leasing methodologies and systems at Hebros Leasing

DAI Europe was contracted to introduce and improve MSME leasing methodologies and systems at Hebros Leasing (HL) and assist with any organisational and operational changes. The Facility aims to provide short and medium term financing to SMEs, ensure adequate IT capacity for handling SME leasing contracts and to contribute institutional assistance to HL, primarily in the areas of Basel 2 compliance, risk analysis and marketing. In particular, DAI Europe consultants assisted with a market review of SME leasing requirements and with an evaluation of the present policies and methodologies of HL regarding IT support, risk management, reporting and marketing skills.

Bulgaria - SME Finance Facility - DSK SME Lending

Client: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Project Completed (2007)

Increasing lending activities to small and medium-sized enterprises

DAI was contracted to assist DSK in the development of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending and to provide the following services:

Review all aspects of SME lending, with the aim of expanding the SME portfolio. This has involved restructuring and reorganisation of the bank in an effort to improve efficiency.

Review DSK’s Credit Rating Model and design and develop the existing model into a more sophisticated statistical credit scoring model.

Train DSK lending staff via mentoring and classroom-based training in subjects including financial and business analysis, sales and marketing, and information technology solutions.

Develop incentive schemes for 130 SME loan officers and 100 SME sales officers.

Develop and implement a marketing strategy to help DSK realise its goal of becoming the leading local SME lender by leveraging its branch network and leading retail client base.

Jordan - Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality (SABEQ)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [Subcontract to BearingPoint]
September 2006–September 2011

Improving productivity and Jordan's enabling environment

Improving Jordan's productivity will be the key to sustainable economic growth, job creation, increased wages, and improved standards of living. While the private sector is key to stimulating and sustaining growth, it cannot do so alone. The government plays a critical role by creating an environment that fosters private sector excellence. Despite the Government of Jordan's good intentions and various strategic plans for improvement, the Jordanian bureaucracy increases the costs of doing business, which, in turn, discourages private investment. In addition, current regulations and business-government relations are distorting competition and market dynamics, further constraining private sector investment in productive activities.

To address these issues, SABEQ works with both the public and private sectors to achieve two principal goals: 1) increasing the number of jobs available to Jordanians, and 2) enhancing the competitiveness of Jordanian firms (ranging from micro through small, medium-sized, and large). The program has four main components:

- Financial integrity, oversight, and broadened capital markets;
- Expanded trade and investment;
- Removal of government constraints to achieving private sector competitiveness; and
- Enhanced productivity (improved people/improved product).

DAI is the lead on component 4, working to improve skills, increase industry competitiveness, foster cooperation, and create more efficient value chains in Jordan's services and industries.

Worldwide - Fiscal Reform and Economic Governance

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2006–September 2010

Addressing fiscal and governance issues in developing and transitional countries

Fiscal Reform II assists USAID’s Office of Economic Growth to support rapid, sustainable, and equitable economic growth in USAID-assisted countries by enabling USAID to better address fiscal and other selected economic governance issues that arise in developing and transition countries. Through Fiscal Reform II, DAI staff is called upon to:

Identify best practices and toolkits by supporting a research agenda that encompasses critical issues in fiscal reform and economic governance;

Develop seminars, workshops, training sessions, and other communications activities such as maintnance of a project website;

Provide field support to analyze situations, diagnose the problems, and help initiate the resolution process; and

Provide quick response field support for bridging or short-term implementation efforts to strengthen local capacity for fiscal management and economic governance.

Collectively, these activities will strengthen USAID’s understanding of the issues and potential solutions and facilitate access by missions and bureaus to the economic governance expertise and training resources needed.

Fiscal Reform II is a follow-on activity to the earlier Fiscal Reform in Support of Trade Liberalization (Fiscal Reform I) Task Order, which was also implemented by DAI. [SEGIR Macro II IQC]

http://www.fiscalreform.net/

Philippines - Water Revolving Fund (PWRF)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2006-June 2013

Reshaping how water and sanitation infrastructure is financed

The Government of the Philippines committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015. To meet the goals for water and sanitation, the Philippines must provide an additional 14–15 million people with access to safe water and sanitation services. The PWRF supports the Government of the Philippines’ ambitious plan to reshape how water and sanitation infrastructure is financed. The program uses innovative financing tools to support new infrastructure investment and strengthen water and financial sector institutions to improve access to and delivery of safe water and sanitation services to millions of people. The program focuses on three specific areas:

Mobilizing more financing for water and sanitation infrastructure. Expanding water and sanitation services to reach an additional 14 to 15 million people means new investments totaling about $2.8 billion over the next 10 years. Existing national government and donor programs can cover a third of this need. The PWRF is leveraging concessional Official Development Assistance with market-based private capital to provide utilities with long-term affordable financing.

Expanding the number of viable water and sanitation infrastructure projects. The dearth of viable water projects is a significant constraint. The PWRF is initially financing projects identified in a demand study financed by the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation. The program is also promoting better long-range planning by utilities and helping the government establish a project development facility to address the financing issue.

Strengthening water and financial sector policies and institutional capabilities. Sustaining investments in water and sanitation services to expand systems and reach the unserved will require a wide range of policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms. The PWRF is using a transaction approach that focuses on pushing real projects to financial closure to highlight other reforms that require immediate attention to improve the enabling environment for private sector investment in water and sanitation infrastructure. [Water II IQC]

Afghanistan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Activity (ASMED)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2006 - October 2011

Increasing opportunities for trade, employment, and investment

ASMED, which began in late 2006, is a three-year small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development assistance program. DAI is providing technical assistance and financial support to the SME sector and the organizations that support SMEs throughout Afghanistan. ASMED’s activities will have national reach—headquartered in Kabul, there are also two regional offices in Herat and Nangarhar, and two partner offices in Helmand and Badakshan.

With an overarching goal to increase opportunities for trade, employment, and investment in Afghanistan, ASMED focuses on five main economic development activities:

Gathering, analyzing, and disseminating Afghanistan market information;

Developing strong business services providers;

Strengthening and increasing the numbers of business associations;

Creating public-private sector alliances; and

Building the capacity of an Afghan private sector workforce.

Some specific examples of these activities are already taking place. For example, one of the challenges facing business associations is that they lack input in the future of the business regulatory environment. DAI’s ASMED team is working to build a strong advocacy capacity among business associations.

SMEs themselves often find it difficult to identify investors to help grow their businesses. ASMED will assist SMEs in identifying foreign companies wanting to invest in the Afghanistan economy and then forming alliances with these firms.

Finally, there is a recognized need in Afghanistan to build the private sector skill capacity of recent university graduates and young professionals. ASMED implemented internship programs with Nangarhar University in Jalalabad and Kabul University in Kabul. Upon completion of a two-month business training course, 120 interns were matched with well-established, successful organizations and business people throughout the country. The program allowed participants to learn requisite skills and then take that knowledge to businesses, organizations, and government agencies throughout the country.

To view a pair of videos on ASMED's innovative programming in private sector development, click here and here.

USAID Afghanistan Web Site

http://www.asmed.af

Afghanistan Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
October 2006–April 2011

Increasing stability by building public confidence in the Afghan government

LGCD assesses community needs and implements local stability initiatives, and maintains these initiatives through Afghan-led community development programs. In doing so, LGCD works in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), local communities and their leaders, and U.S. Government partners at the provincial and district levels.

Programs are funded through various mechanisms, from community stabilization grants—typically under $10,000—to larger procurements designed to rehabilitate community infrastructure or provide cash for local labor.

Our assessments identify local causes of instability and provide analysis to help design of cost-effective interventions. Examples include agriculture and irrigation assessments, tribal mapping, opinion polls, and institutional capacity assessments.

As the GIRoA reestablishes, or establishes for the first time, its local presence, initiatives are launched to help communities recover from conflict by improving basic life support. Examples include restoring essential goods and services, including providing food and shelter; repairing and equipping schools and health facilities; and undertaking labor-intensive basic infrastructure repair using local workers.

To maintain progress, Afghan leaders and stakeholders focus on community development activities that address local priority grievances, identifying, conceptualizing, implementing, managing, and monitoring the projects. Examples include renovating district government infrastructure, executing basic irrigation projects, refurbishing shops and bazaars, building farm-to-market gravel roads, and providing services that address basic hygiene.

All activities aim to assist the GIRoA in maintaining stability. To this end, in addition to helping design projects, government officials show their support and ownership by participating in public events such as opening ceremonies.

LGCD operates in 23 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Work in each province is managed by a Provincial Stabilization Director, who in turn reports to one of six Regional Directors. Each Regional Director oversees LGCD activities from one of six regional offices.

Programs are implemented in close coordination with USAID Field Program Officers assigned to Afghanistan’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). Since these PRTs include representatives of the U.S. military and Department of State, LGCD keep each informed of its activities through briefings and dissemination of program materials. We also draw on nongovernmental organizations in our decision making.

Afghanistan LGCD Success Stories

Baghi Seraj Park Opening Mehtarlam Before and After Sheikh Mesri Road Rehabilitation Before and After New School Improves Education Services in Remote Goshta Provincial Governors Face the Nation Road Project Links Community, Builds Peace

USAID Afghanistan Web Site

Angola - Fiscal Reform Project

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2009

Improving fiscal accounts, transparency, and fiscal planning and discipline

In the peace following three decades of civil war, Angola, faced the formidable challenge of building basic infrastructure, establishing social services, and addressing widespread poverty. If properly managed, oil wealth—already accounting for 40 percent of gross domestic product and 80 percent of government revenues—had the potential to drive Angola’s social and economic recovery. In 2005, the economy grew 18 percent, fueled by increased oil production and rising prices on the world market. With oil prices at record levels and oil production estimated to double in the next several years, the Government of the Republic of Angola had to consider how to make wise use of the revenues this windfall afforded it.

AFRP was based on DAI’s earlier work performed under the Fiscal Reform in Support of Trade Liberalization project, which designed the Fiscal Programming Unit (FPU) in the Ministry of Finance and initiated its inauguration. DAI’s AFRP team assisted the FPU to improve fiscal accounts, transparency, and fiscal planning and discipline.

The team helped the FPU recruit, train, and retain qualified professionals; worked with FPU staff to ensure that fiscal data are recorded in such a way that financial reports can be produced on both cash and accrual bases; and helped to devise a schedule that linked the revenue, expenditure, and financing operations of agencies with the government’s chart of accounts. Part of DAI’s work with the Ministry of Finance included the development and installation of a Medium Term Fiscal Framework, which was key to development of the country’s economic goals and economic stability.

Indonesia - Agribusiness Market and Support Activity (AMARTA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2006–September 2009

Helping Indonesian agribusiness evolve to meet the challenges of the global economy

Indonesian agribusiness is changing for the better, pursuing new supply chain models (such as hypermarkets), products, and business structures. Yet Indonesian agribusiness must become even more dynamic to keep pace with the rapid transformation of agribusiness globally. At issue is not merely the ability of Indonesian products to compete in export markets, but the ability of Indonesian agribusinesses to hold their own against foreign competition in the domestic market.

DAI’s approach focuses on improving productivity and quality, the keys to upgrading agribusiness value chains in Indonesia. High productivity and quality are essential in each link of the value chain, beginning with production: without high-quality primary food and fiber products at the start, no amount of downstream effort and expense will create a high-quality end product. To stimulate productivity throughout a value chain, the DAI team seeks out “demanding customers”—forward-looking retailers, suppliers, and other intermediaries willing to pay a premium for quality—and transmits price signals to every firm and farm in the value chain as an incentive to upgrade production and improve quality. AMARTA also intervenes to ensure that enterprises have the inputs, financing, technical know-how, information, and incentives they need to respond to market demand.

The eight value chains with which the DAI team works are models for other agribusinesses of how productivity and quality can be improved and what the benefits to an enterprise will be. DAI therefore is implementing an ambitious public outreach, awareness, and education program that uses university curricula, national and regional conferences, alliances of agribusiness enterprises, training, and media campaigns.

http://www.amarta.net

Namibia Regional Trade Project (NRTP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Building the capacity and competitiveness of historically disadvantaged firms

NRTP’s objective was to build the capacity and competitiveness of historically disadvantaged Namibian firms in the small and medium sector to enable them to trade and establish linkages with firms in Namibia, the Southern African Development Community region (for example, Angola, Zambia, and South Africa), and the United States.

The program, implemented in collaboration with the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was meant to be operational for 24 months but was extended to 30 months with no additional budget.

NRTP had five primary components:

Build the capacity and competitiveness of historically disadvantaged Namibian firms;

Support historically disadvantaged Namibian firms in exploiting franchising opportunities;

Implement a business matchmaking service;

Implement a marketing service; and

Assist historically disadvantaged Namibian firms to access financing.

Bangladesh - Katalyst Impact Assessment

Client: U.K. Department for International Development
June 2005-December 2009

Assessing the impact of a developing service markets program

DAI is carrying out a longitunal impact assessment of the multi-donor-funded Developing Business Service Markets (DBSM) Katalyst Programme. The assessment, which analyzes the program’s poverty reduction impacts and its effects on women, began with a baseline survey and qualitative assessment of treatment and control areas.

Project staff are researching two primary topics: Pro-Poor Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh: The Role of Business Service Market Development, and Business Service Market Development and Women’s Roles in Business. The papers will be presented at a final workshop in Dhaka.

Serbia - Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [subcontractor to The Urban Institute]
September 2005-September 2010

Improving Serbia's business environment

Under subcontract to the Urban Institute, DAI works to improve the environment for local economic development in Serbia. The project operates at both the local and national levels to promote policies and practices that will create jobs, new businesses, investment, and public-private partnerships.

Initially, MEGA’s work is focused on 10 large Serbian municipalities; an additional 10 to 14 will be added with a focus on assistance related to attracting foreign direct investment.

MEGA builds upon the work of DAI’s Serbia Local Government Reform Program, which trained 24,000 municipal personnel, introduced the concept of public budget hearings for the first time ever in Serbia, and established innovative Business Improvement Districts and one-stop shops for all citizen needs.

Equatorial Guinea - Technical Support Program to the Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (TSP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
August 2006–October 2009

Building the capacity of the Government of Equatorial Guinea to manage a social services funding mechanism to address the needs of its citizens

The recent surge in gross domestic product in Equatorial Guinea has yet to translate into visible improvements in infrastructure development and the provision of public services. Most Equatoguineans continue to live in poverty, to lack education, and to suffer from poor health. Although the financial resources to resolve these challenges are available, there is currently no adequate mechanism to disburse them and, because of insufficient education and professional training, there are too few skilled professionals to thoughtfully design programs, execute activities, and manage projects.

To overcome these problems, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo decreed the establishment of the Social Needs Fund (SNF) to ensure equitable distribution of resources and improved services for Equatoguineans. Through the USAID Technical Support Project, DAI assists the Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to achieve its goal by improving efficiency, transparency, and accountability in social planning and investments.

DAI provides experts to advise on the design and operation of the SNF, a transition mechanism that increases ministerial capacity and that functions as a catalyst to improve public service delivery. The team also implements a carefully designed and integrated capacity-building program for the Ministries of Health, Education, Women’s Affairs, and Fishing, Environment, and Sanitation—as well as assistance to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Public Investment—to support the SNF and lay the groundwork for sustained improvements in civil service capacity and knowledge, intergovernmental coordination, and service delivery. [BRDG IQC]

Macedonia - Municipal Management of Macedonian Schools Program (MMMS)

Client: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Project Completed (2007)

Building local capacity for education governance

The Republic of Macedonia has made decentralization and the promotion of democratic local governance a principal part of its commitment to restore, revitalize, and expand democratic practices.

The goal of MMMS was to provide technical assistance and training to local governments to improve their ability to undertake their new responsibilities in the area of school management. In implementing MMMS, DAI pursued a two-track strategy with components that mutually reinforced each other. The first component provided local governments and, to a lesser extent, school directors, school boards, and school inspectors with the training they needed to execute their new responsibilities and to work together to improve their schools. The second component provided ZELS (the association of units of local self-government in Macedonia) with a combination of expert advice and analytical support so that local governments effectively worked with the national government to improve the education system and disseminate best practices across a decentralizing education system.

The program was organized in two stages. The first stage focused on providing direct technical assistance to eight municipalities and on developing best practice models of local education management. This stage ended in February 2007. The second stage, begun in March 2007, focused on providing intensive training on the implementation of these best practices to the wider local government community. Throughout the life of the program, MMMS supported ZELS to improve the regulatory regime governing the sector and to improve the association’s capacity to provide policy advice to its members.

Haiti - Support to Haiti's Microfinance, Small and Medium Enterprises Sector (Haiti MSME)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development [AMAP MF IQC]
Project Completed (2009)

Strengthening and expanding outreach of sustainable and dynamic microfinance in Haiti

Haiti MSME's activities encourage the improvement of livelihoods and the creation of employment through broader access to financial services. It leverages prior USAID project successes to reach a target population that includes both potential generators of income and livelihoods (such as rural and agricultural micro and SMEs and market-oriented enterprises) and the poor and vulnerable populations (for example, out-of-school youth, HIV/AIDS-affected populations, women, and rural populations).

DAI staff encourage the development of innovative financial services to the target population through its project intermediaries, which include microfinance and other financial institutions, financial service associations, and producer groups and associations, among others. Haiti MSME activities jump-start product development initiatives, eliminate regulatory constraints, and solidify microfinance and other financial institutions' capacity. The goal is to enable the target population to access financial services to help them weather economic shocks, respond to market opportunities, and invest in business growth. Haiti MSME draws on an integrated set of tools:

Performance Innovation Fund (PIF). This $1.2 million grant fund helps Haitian institutions develop innovative products adapted to Haitian needs and improve their capacity to manage increased product and client diversification.

Development Credit Authority (DCA) Guarantees. A type of structured financial solution to encourage financial institutions to meet the financial needs of MSMEs by mitigating some of their risk. Participating institutions also receive tailored technical assistance.

Capacity-Building Training and Technical Assistance. Haiti MSME assists those financial institutions best positioned to expand the delivery of financial services to MSMEs. Haiti MSME pairs local technical experts with international technical experts as a way of transferring knowledge.

Market Information Activities. Haiti's financial institutions lack access to reliable market information, which impedes their ability to exploit business opportunities. Often, they are reluctant to develop new products and expand product offerings to new types of clients. Demanders of financial services also lack critical market information: what services are available, from whom, where, and at what terms. Haiti MSME addresses this market information constraint by conducting an annual microfinance census that presents and analyzes industry trends, sharing institutional performance information for core institutions on a quarterly basis, compiling a directory on microfinance institutions' product and service offerings; and disseminating geographical information system maps to graphically illustrate the availability and distribution of financial services.

Haiti MSME Newsletter

Issue 5 (July - September 2008)
Issue 4 (April - June 2008)
Issue 3 (January - March 2008)
Issue 2 (October - December 2007)
Issue 1 (October 2006 - September 2007)

Haiti MSME Success Stories

USAID/Haiti and Sogesol Invest in Economic and Political Stability
ACME and USAID/Haiti Celebrate 10 Years of Success in Microfinance
First National Federation of Credit Cooperatives
National Association of Microfinance Institutions in Haiti (ANIMH) Launches its Training Center
Reaching Out ï¿½ Rural and Agricultural Finance in Haiti
USAID Builds Local Capacity in Haiti
USAID/Haiti and Fonkoze ï¿½ Serving the Rural Poor with Innovative Financial Solutions
AIC and Fonkoze Invest in the Microinsurance Sector
USAID/Haiti Reinforces Rural Microfinance Institutions

Note from the Field

Reaching the Rural Poor with Microfinance

http://www.microlinks.org/haitimsme

Liberia - Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG-Liberia)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Supporting activities that contribute to Liberia’s democratic transition

Since 1979, chronic instability has plagued Liberia. Peace was restored in late 2003 when warring factions signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement and in January 2006, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated, marking the end of the transition to peace and the restoration of democratic self-rule. The DAI team worked with the new government to increase legitimacy, strengthen public sector management, and promote implementation of policy and institutional reforms. In addition, DAI built concrete and positive communications channels and relationships between the citizens and their state institutions.

With the goals of strengthening the newly formed government’s ability to govern effectively and respond to the public’s needs, broadening civil society’s participation in the political process, and consolidating regional stability, DAI employed quick impact grant and technical assistance mechanisms. During the one-year program, DAI administered approximately 100 grants to Liberian nongovernmental organizations and mobilized Liberian, West African, European, and North American expertise to assist the government and civil society to build sustainable institutions—inside and outside of government—to continue Liberia’s undertaking of fostering democratic governance, social reconciliation, and economic opportunities for its citizens.

BRDG Success Story

Debate Camp Builds Students’ Power to Persuade

Indonesia - Community-Based Avian Influenza Control (CBAIC) Project

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
August 2006 - June 2010

Towards sustainable bird flu risk reduction

Indonesia accounts for the most confirmed human H5N1 avian influenza (AI) cases and deaths in the world. At the epicenter of the AI epizootic since soon after its reported emergence in poultry in early 2004, Indonesia has been aware of its need to expand its surveillance and response capabilities. Since its inception in August 2006, CBAIC has worked with the Government of Indonesia and local partners to do just that. CBAIC has expanded community-level capacity in animal and human surveillance and response to more than 27,000 different villages across the western half of the country.

Highlights

CBAIC trained and certified 80 master trainers, who, in turn, trained 1753 volunteer subdistrict AI coordinators and 25,210 village AI coordinators in more than 124 districts across nine provinces in western Indonesia. This was accomplished through close collaboration with two local partners: Indonesian Red Cross and Muhammadiyah, whose existing community-based networks and resources facilitated training and dissemination of key messages to reduce the risk of AI transmission between animals and humans.

CBAIC designed and implemented an integrated program of behavior change communications initiatives, to support the surveillance and response program. Initiatives included edu-taining community events in high risk areas, production and distribution of a variety of print materials, and a hard-hitting nationwide mass media campaign (see link below to "Intensive Mass Media Campaign Reinforces Community-level Risk Reduction Messages").

The CBAIC commercial poultry private sector partnership (PSP) program has directly reached more than 250 commercial poultry farms in western Java Island with key biosecurity and flock management training to improve disease control and farm production.

CBAIC designed and implemented intensive community mobilization activities in West Java province. These efforts include creating village AI teams, partnering with local markets, and training local public health cadres to increase hygiene and sanitation to reduce disease risk. By the end of 2009, these initiatives, along with supporting communication activities such as community variety shows, directly reached 11,270 people in more than 1000 villages.

Current Work

Sustainable risk reduction continues to be the objective of the project, which ends in June 2010. As mentioned above, the geographic focus is western Java Island, where nearly seventy percent of all confirmed human and animal AI cases in Indonesia have been recorded. To ensure efficiency and to leverage the reach of the diversity of AI control initiatives in Indonesia, CBAIC continues to collaborate with USAID AI partners including FAO, WHO, ILRI, the Ministry of Agriculture AI Campaign Management Unit (CMU), the Ministry of Health, and local government officials.

CBAIC initiatives include a community mobilization program to reduce the risk of AI transmission in West Java province, a commercial poultry PSP to develop and test biosecurity advisory services models, and an integrated behavior change mass media campaign as follow-on to two previous campaigns. Combined, these activities are well aimed to further reduce the risk of AI transmission to animals and humans, and, ultimately, to reduce the risk of pandemic influenza developing from deadly bird flu.

Program and Activity Highlights

Intensive Mass Media Campaign Reinforces Community-level Risk Reduction Messages

CBAIC provides technical direction in the design and execution of the Indonesian government's first national multisectoral workshop on National Pandemic Preparedness Plans.

CBAIC supports Indonesian scouts as change agents to reduce risky behaviors

Success Stories

Community Combats Avian Influenza with Homework, Ingenuity

Community Spurred To Action by Educational Mass Media Campaign

CBAIC in the News

Community-Based Avian Influenza Control Project featured in Jakarta Post

The Avian Influenza Roundup
A quarterly collection of Indonesian avian influenza information.

February 2010 (English)
February 2010 (Bahasa Indonesia)

September 2009 (English)

April 2009 (English)
April 2009 (Bahasa Indonesia)

January 2009 (English)
January 2009 (Bahasa Indonesia)

October 2008 (English)
October 2008 (Bahasa Indonesia)

July 2008 (English)
July 2008 (Bahasa Indonesia)

April 2008 (English)
April 2008 (Bahasa Indonesia)

January 2008 (English)
January 2008 (Bahasa Indonesia)

Further Information

Click here and here to view the English and Indonesian versions of the CBAIC project description booklet or write to CBAIC@dai.com for more information

The CBAIC program summary on the Communication Initiative Network

Click here to view the 2010 CBAIC commercial poultry PSP flyer (English)

Click here to view the 2010 CBAIC commercial poultry PSP flyer (Bahasa Indonesia)

Click here to view the 2009 CBAIC commercial poultry PSP flyer (English)

Click here to view the 2009 CBAIC commercial poultry PSP flyer (Bahasa Indonesia)

Sudan - Transition Initiative

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Strengthening Sudanese capacity to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement

DAI supported and managed small grant activities that aimed to strengthen Sudan’s transition to democratic and civilian rule and supported the understanding and implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of January 2005. In North Sudan the project attempted to broaden popular engagement with the CPA, which included developing an understanding of human rights, building the capacity to monitor and seek redress for abuses, and broadening access to information through support of the independent media.

In Darfur, the project supported a range of civil society partners working to protect civilians displaced by the conflict, especially women and girls subjected to sex and gender-based violence. Since May 2006, project staff supported understanding and implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement via the African Union and local partners. Because of U.S. Government sanctions on Sudan, the project was prohibited from working directly with government partners in North Sudan.

In the 10 states of the Government of South Sudan and two of the three Transitional Areas, DAI aimed to enhance public confidence in the CPA and the new government. The project provided direct support to regional, state-, and county-level administration in the form of office-in-a-box kits and through reconstruction and rehabilitation of essential social infrastructure (hospitals, schools, roads) and the development of water and sanitation services in key urban centers to accommodate the increased post-war demand created by returning internally displaced persons and refugees.

The Sudan Transition Initiative supported the practical implementation of the CPA in alignment with the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives’ six country objectives for Sudan:
Support emerging civil authorities;
Provide opportunities for peaceful dialogue among communities;
Promote engagement of civil society in support of the peace process;
Increase availability of quality, independent information;
Protect vulnerable populations in Darfur; and
Provide essential services for returning populations.

Serbia -- Preparedness, Planning and Economic Security Program (PPES)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
May 2006–May 2011

Strengthening local planning and crisis preparedness and response capabilities and improving the economic security of vulnerable groups

USAID’s Strategic Objective 2.11 addresses conditions that might undermine the potential for a functioning marketing democracy and increase the risk of future civil conflict or political instability. PPES is a major part of this Strategic Objective.

DAI is implementing the program in selected vulnerable areas of Serbia in three phases with two main components: 1) supporting emergency preparedness planning in municipalities most at risk for crisis, and establishing the means for rapid response in the event of crises, including conflict; and 2) reducing the risk of conflict by improving economic security and addressing social conditions that breed discontent. By focusing on a carefully chosen group of highly vulnerable municipalities, PPES will contribute to reducing economic insecurity and political instability and to the ongoing planning initiatives of the Stability Pact and the broader, longer-term Euro-Atlantic integration. [ICRP IQC]

Philippines - Private-Sector Financing for Water and Sanitation in the Philippines

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Enhancing financing of water and wastewater infrastructure

DAI is helping the Government of the Philippines and key stakeholders design a revolving fund for the financing of water and wastewater infrastructure. The project is a collaborative undertaking of USAID and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which have agreed to jointly support the Millennium Development Goal targets for water and sanitation in four countries, including the Philippines. The revolving fund, based in part on the U.S. state revolving fund models, offers the Philippine government the opportunity to leverage loans from bilateral and multilateral donors, starting with JBIC funds, with domestic financing from private financial institutions to lower the cost and extend maturity of loans to water service providers. Key elements of our program involve helping the government assess and assign institutional responsibilities for managing the fund, mitigating risks to private financing institutions, and determining how to blend donor and private-sector capital to meet the financing and repayment requirements of long-term infrastructure investments. This project is directed by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from USAID, JBIC, the Philippine Department of Finance and National Economic Development Authority, and the Bankers Association of the Philippines. In addition, the project works with a diverse array of stakeholders including local governments, water utilities, nongovernmental organizations, private financial institutions, and the government development banks.

Worldwide - Short-Term Technical Assistance In Biotechnology

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2005–September 2010

Building governments’ capacity to make informed decisions in assessing and regulating biotechnology

Despite the potential benefits of biotechnology, few technologies throughout history have caused as much controversy. Its application has raised concerns about safety to human health and the environment, as well as issues of technology access and equity and potential impact on politics and trade.

DAI and its team members provide technical assistance primarily to developing-country governments to help them make informed decisions and to draft national biosafety frameworks in line with their international obligations. The DAI team provides technical assistance to build the capacity of local institutions to make decisions on issues specifically relating to cotton, food aid, trade, and biosafety, and the regulation of biotechnology. The team works with USAID, government counterparts, and other stakeholders to design and deliver cutting-edge conferences, study tours, and policy briefs and to field international experts for short-term technical assignments.[RAISE PLUS IQC]

West Bank and Gaza - Strengthening the Accountability and Transparency of the Legislative Process (BAYAN)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Working to create a stable system of self-governance

The strength of democracy in Palestine depends heavily on the ability of its citizens and their representative organizations to evaluate the performance of their elected officials, to gain the capacity and will to participate effectively in the legislative process, and to have sufficient timely information to perform these crucial citizen responsibilities of oversight and advocacy.

The BAYAN project-nicknamed for an Arabic word-worked closely with leading Palestinian civil society organizations (CSOs) to build their capacity to conduct legislative oversight, information analysis, and dissemination and advocacy campaigns.

BAYAN also supported the establishment of a nonpartisan legislative development unit that provided needed resources and sustainable support to the broader legislative community, including CSOs, to gain the needed training and expertise to fulfill their role in the legislative process. BAYAN’s approach emphasized responding to the initiative and needs of the Palestinian civil society community and supporting practical and sustainable projects that address issues facing Palestinians now and in the future.

Worldwide - Global Care Initiatives Planning

Client: Abbott Laboratories
Project Completed (2005)

Working with the private sector to support HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, and training

DAI is assisting Abbott Laboratories to develop a five-year strategy for its Global Care Initiatives (GCI) program, which supports HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, and training efforts in India, Romania, Malawi, and Tanzania. DAI is working with the GCI team to establish its 2006–2010 program strategy and goals, plan new activities, and adjust existing programs to fit the new strategy.

Nigeria - Restructured Economic Framework for Openness, Reform and Macroeconomic Stability (REFORMS)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2005– August 2009

Removing obstacles that hinder the ability of Nigeria’s non-oil economy to grow and compete in an increasingly global marketplace

With its return to democracy, Nigeria has moved to the forefront of the African renaissance; now it must lead by example in the economic and social spheres. Over the past few years, Nigerian authorities have taken major steps to create a strategic framework for the federal budget, guide line ministries in charge of delivering services, and open federal procurement to competition. DAI is building on that success by deepening budget reform, expanding it to selected states, preparing key institutions in government and civil society to play an effective role, and supporting policy reform to make it easier for private enterprise—primarily small and medium-sized enterprises—to respond to new opportunities and challenges.

The REFORMS program aims to improve the policy environment and address major impediments to economic growth in Nigeria. Program components include: 1) budgetary process and procurement oversight; 2) capacity building for Government of Nigeria institutions and civil society organizations involved in these policy process; and 3) implementation of policy reforms in key sectors.

REFORMS is designed to support the government’s National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) goals: wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction, and value reorientation. The NEEDS policy reform goals will address the following key obstacles: poverty and inequality, weak public sectors, poor economic management, and an unfavorable environment for broad-based, private sector-led economic growth.

Indonesia - SENADA (Indonesia Competitiveness Program)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (GSA MOBIS IQC)
September 2005–August 2009

Assisting Indonesia to generate jobs and income by improving the business and investment climates and promoting key industry value chains’ competitiveness, productivity, and access to domestic and world markets

SENADA is a four-year project financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Begun in September 2005, the objective of SENADA is to generate growth, jobs, and income by increasing the competitiveness of Indonesia’s labor-intensive manufacturing industries, including footwear, furniture, garments, auto parts, and information and communications technology (ICT).

DAI is working to achieve SENADA’s objective with two interrelated components: industry value chain strengthening (IVCS) and enterprise improvement (EI).

IVCS– SENADA has carefully examined and documented the nature and mechanics of the relationships between actors in select industry value chains. With the active participation of a wide variety of value chain actors, SENADA’s IVCS component has facilitated the prioritization of critical systemic constraints and opportunities within value chains and is designing and implementing activities to improve the way these industries function.

Having a thorough understanding of the actors and dynamics throughout a value chain—from input suppliers through final retail customers—is critical to bringing about growth and change. SENADA’s IVCS approach focuses on enterprises while incorporating the institutions and services integral to selected industries. National, provincial, and local governments; universities; financial, business service, and technology providers; and other supporting institutions are engaged stakeholders working side-by-side with SENADA and Indonesian enterprises to improve productivity.

EI – The EI component of SENADA delivers technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in SENADA’s selected industry value chains. Recognizing that firm-level improvements can drive larger industry growth, SENADA focuses on the core producers within value chains. As individual firms improve productivity, supporting firms and institutions must rise to the challenge of strengthening the entire value chain.

SENADA identifies firms with high potential and commitment to growth and provides these firms with strategic planning support and specialized technical assistance in the areas of finance, production, quality improvement, and marketing.

West Bank and Gaza - Palestinian Enterprise Development (PED)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2008

Stimulating economic growth, improving employment opportunities, increasing access to markets, and expanding Palestinian exports

PED represented a critical phase of USAID’s investment to support a viable market economy in Palestine. The project came at a sensitive time in the peace process, when USAID’s continuing leadership within the donor and Palestinian communities was required to catalyze positive change in a difficult environment. PED focused on strengthening democratic and market economy institutions, thereby maintaining positive momentum in the private sector and in key economic ministries so that the Palestinian economy can compete in the global market.

After the installation of a Hamas-led government in March 2006, the scope of the project was modified to provide a flexible humanitarian mechanism capable of fulfilling critical consumption needs and sustaining employment in the private sector.

PED had five components:

1. Improving the Business Operating Environment: DAI provided business support services (such as financial management, marketing, production, overhead control, legal); provided limited technical assistance and small grants to business institutions/associations that are able to deliver services to small and medium-sized enterprises; facilitated access to finance
(microfinance/bank finance); and established an apprenticeship program.

2. Supporting the Growth of Competitive Industry Clusters: PED provided targeted firm-level technical assistance for select firms in key productive and service sectors (such as food processing and healthcare) that fulfill critical domestic consumption needs. Tasks included supporting the agribusiness and pharmaceutical clusters and assisting clusters that support other consumption needs.

3. Energy Sector Policy Reform: DAI was contracted to conduct policy analysis and develop reform measures as they relate to legal and institutional reform, industry structure and ownership, and tariff and regulatory structure to help the Palestinian Authority improve management efficiencies in the energy sector.

4. Design and Manage a PED Grant Fund: DAI implemented a $3.5 million grant fund to support PED objectives.

5. Private Sector Monitoring and Assessment: DAI compiled data on industries and firms throughout the West Bank and Gaza to provide USAID with real-time information on the state of the private sector. This component was added to the contract in August 2006.

PED in the News
Aid Programs Show U.S. Commitment to Palestinians

Democratic Republic of Congo - Building Recovery and Democratic Governance to Advance and Consolidate the DRC Transition Program (BRDG-ACT)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Improving citizen understanding, trust, participation, and ownership in their government

Following a seven-year civil war that took a tremendous toll on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—economically, socially, and politically—the country was on a path toward recovery. BRDG-ACT provided expertise that established effective and legitimate governance. The DAI team assisted in advancing the DRC’s transition process until its successful conclusion with the installation of an elected, unified, legitimate government in 2006 and 2007, and then worked to consolidate and build democratic governance during the post-transition period.

To achieve these objectives, DAI provided expert long-term and short-term consulting and technical assistance, training services, applied research, workshops, conference organization and hosting, logistical support, and purchase of commodities. BRDG-ACT also awarded and administered grants to support nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in activities to advance the peace and transition process and democratic governance through institutional development and civic engagement.

BRDG-ACT’s activities included the following:

Providing technical assistance to Parliament to help draft legislation and amendments.
Providing public hearing training for national parliamentary staff members, provincial assembly members, and NGOs.
Providing technical assistance to help develop an independent Magistrature.
Providing technical, logistical, and material support to the Independent Electoral Commission; the Political, Administrative and Justice Committee of the National Assembly; the Permanent Commission for the Reform of Congolese Law; and the entity responsible for implementing ex-combatant reintegration.
Funding media efforts to responsibly analyze and publicize the reform agenda of the DRC’s newly elected government.
Improving transparency and accountability in government through facilitation of public budget hearings at the national and local levels.
Providing strategic planning assistance to NGOs and NGO networks.
Providing financial and technical support for anti-corruption commissions.

Burundi - Post Conflict Transition Assistance Program (PCTAP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Supporting post-conflict transition through the creation of effective government/civil society partnerships

PCTAP was established to provide assistance to the new Burundi post-transition national government and civil society organizations. International support to Burundi is underpinned by the thus far steady implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement of August 2000 and focuses on consolidating gains since the landmark 2005 elections were concluded.

The PCTAP program sought to increase the ability of the post-transitional government to develop policies and deliver essential services in a transparent, inclusive, and conflict-sensitive manner. In addition, DAI worked with civil society organizations to promote peace and reconciliation activities on a grassroots level.

The program had four primary components:

Increasing the capacity of newly-elected government officials at the province, commune, and colline levels to govern in an effective and transparent manner.
Promoting a constructive relationship between elected government officials and civil society through an improved understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities.
Increasing the capacity of the national government and civil society to plan and implement national-level policies and build capacity in areas critical to successful post-conflict transition.
Increasing civil society to promote peace and reconciliation at the local level.

Cambodia - Strengthening Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Cambodia (Cambodia MSMEs)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (AMAP BDS IQC)
Project Completed 2008

Fostering an enabling environment that permits value chains to function more efficiently and productively

The Cambodia MSMEs project employs a market-driven, grassroots strategy aimed at alleviating poverty and fostering economic growth in eastern Cambodia. The project works in selected value chains in some of the country’s poorest provinces: Kratie, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, and Svay Rieng. The project works in several value chains, including aquaculture, pig raising, tile manufacturing, and agricultural equipment manufacturing.

The project aims to upgrade MSMEs and the value chains in which they operate by building relationships between value chain actors, improving producers’ technical skills, helping MSMEs access markets and credit, and assisting MSMEs to find ways to improve the provincial business environment. Exemplary activities include helping MSMEs to form interest groups to identify, discuss, and solve common problems; linking small producers with private sector input suppliers who provide embedded training and technical services; encouraging local education institutions to provide practical business skills training; promoting MSME cross-provincial and regional tours to expose them to potential new markets and business partners; facilitating MSME access to finance by helping entrepreneurs identify and qualify for loans from microfinance institutions; and setting up public-private dialogue to improve MSME advocacy and promote positive changes in the provincial regulatory environment.

http://www.cambodiamsme.org

Worldwide - LICUS Grant Proposal Review

Client: World Bank
Project Completed (2006)

Reviewing grant proposals for potential World Bank support

The Low Income Countries Under Stress (LICUS) Initiative supports World Bank engagement in countries at the bottom of the Bank’s performance spectrum—countries lack the governmental administrative and social service delivery structures to meet their citizens’ basic needs. Given the increased volume of proposals to the LICUS trust fund, and to meet the need for a more vigorous proposal review process, DAI has been asked to assess each proposal’s consistency with World Bank policies and country strategy documents; the overall quality, appropriateness, and feasibility of the proposed grant activities; the soundness of proposed institutional and implementation arrangements; the adequacy of the proposed funding level and detailed budgets; and other factors. DAI provides a report on each proposal, along with recommendations for possible changes or improvements to the proposed activities.

El Salvador - Tax Policy and Administration Reform (TPAR)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
August 2005 - April 2010

Modernizing Salvadoran tax administration to provide an efficient, transparent, and predictable tax system

The Salvadorian tax administration has lost its credibility among taxpayers. Although the Ministry of Finance has made efforts to increase voluntary compliance and tax collection and to reduce tax evasion and avoidance through structural reforms, it has not achieved its goal because of a series of problems related to administration, laws, and information systems. DAI is working with USAID and the Salvadoran government to build the capacity and systems required to achieve the Ministry of Finance's ambitious revenue targets; establish the impartial, transparent, and rigorous procedures necessary to reduce tax evasion; and create the analytical abilities necessary for the Directorate General of Internal Revenue to gauge the fiscal impact of current law and proposed reforms and to serve as an ongoing source of expert advice to senior policy makers. At the conclusion of the project, the Government of El Salvador will be able to rely upon a thoroughly modern and comprehensive tax system, endowed with the permanent institutional capacities to accurately project, vigorously collect, and impartially analyze the size and composition of critically needed government revenues. [SEGIR Macro II IQC]

Morocco - Improving the Business Climate in Morocco

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2005–September 2009

Facilitating private-sector growth through sound and transparent governance

Over the past decade, Morocco has made great strides in modernizing its economy and business environment. Regulatory reform has been driven by Morocco’s membership in the World Trade Organization, the Association Agreement with the European Union, free trade agreements with other countries in the region, and the recent negotiation of a free trade agreement with the United States. Yet Morocco lags in terms of its underlying competitiveness structures, placing 8th among 12 Arab countries (as rated by the World Economic Forum), or 102nd out of 155 countries ranked by the World Bank in Doing Business in 2006.

The project’s mandate is to assist the government’s efforts to forge a legal and regulatory framework and build the institutions necessary to promote the growth of competitive businesses and accelerate the pace of job creation. The project takes a systematic approach to the implementation of regulatory reform to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s economy, build the regulatory and judicial systems and capabilities needed, improve the workings of the financial system, and remedy features of the tax system that keep many businesses from competing openly in the formal sector.

In the regulatory policy reform arena, DAI staff focus on establishment of a system of monitoring business climate and business perceptions at the national and regional levels; support for enhanced regulatory transparency; assistance in the development of improved investment promotion policies; support for transparency in establishing and accessing technical regulations and standards; and development of an action plan for more effective investment promotion policies.

The DAI team also supports judicial reform, including bankruptcy law reform; training and assistance for (mandatory) continuing legal education; support for the implementation of trademark opposition; strengthening of administrative systems in commercial courts; and expansion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

Finally, the project supports development of a private credit bureau for bank checks and trade bills, modernization of registry systems for movable collateral, and improved access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. [SEGIR Macro II IQC]

Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Program (PLSP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2005–May 2010

Enhancing the parliamentary processes through improved representation, lawmaking, oversight, and management.

Through the PLSP, DAI works with national and provincial legislatures to strengthen parliamentary institutions and processes. The program’s focus is on improving the capacity of the legislatures in their representation, law making, oversight/accountability, and infrastructure/management activities.

Program activities in each of the legislatures are focused around these four general technical areas:

Representation – Assisting Pakistani legislatures to provide information to the public and receive input from citizens during the legislative process.

Issues addressed include media coverage of Parliament, public hearings, parliamentary websites, dissemination of legislative records, and parliamentary public relations strategies.

Law Making – Assisting Pakistani legislatures, including members and staff, to improve the structures and mechanisms by which legislation is analyzed, debated, and passed.

Issues addressed include committee structures, library and research, legislative drafting, and development of a Parliamentary Institute for Legislative Service (PILS)—a cornerstone of PLSP—that will provide training to legislature members and staff and research and informational support to members.

Oversight/Accountability – Assisting Pakistani legislatures to oversee government operations, particularly in the area of budget formulation and implementation.

Issues addressed include question period, budget process and scrutiny, public auditing.

Management /Infrastructure – Assisting Pakistani legislatures to improve the day-to-day management and operation of the legislative processes.

Issues addressed include strategic service delivery, systems development and management, hardware and software improvements, and archiving and legislative records management.

PLSP Success Stories

Pakistan’s Parliamentarians Get Ready to Serve Their Country

A Star in the Making in Pakistan's Civil Service

Timor-Leste - Private Sector Development / Dezenvolve Setor Privadu (DSP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
July 2005–July 2010

Accelerating economic growth through improved value chains

After enduring 25 years of occupation and conflict, Timor-Leste emerged as the world’s newest country in May 2002 and has made progress in rehabilitating its economy and building the key elements of a democratic political system. Timor-Leste still faces a multitude of challenges—the economy is stagnating, physical infrastructure has yet to be rebuilt, institutions are nascent, and the legal framework for private-sector growth is still in the making.

The DSP project aims to increase employment and incomes through private sector growth. Project staff work with enterprises, farmers, financial and commercial services providers, government, and donors. They utilize value chain analysis to identify interventions within subsectors that show potential. This process also highlights key crosscutting services and enabling environment reforms that must be addressed for overall development and growth of the private sector.

DSP’s work is organized into four core program areas: agribusiness, financial services, commercial services, and the business enabling environment. The goal is to support economic growth and promote market efficiencies for agribusinesses, commercial enterprises, financial institutions, and the governmental entities that affect businesses. The project:

Supports expanded marketing of improved agricultural products by working with producer organizations to increase output, production efficiency, and quality, and by linking those organizations to buyers.

Supports private sector growth by increasing access to technical and business services essential for efficient enterprise operation.

Provides technical assistance to financial institutions to help expand access to credit, savings, and other financial services throughout Timor-Leste.

Facilitates business growth by helping to improve the country’s commercial and legal framework, making it more conducive to business formation and efficient operation.

DSP Success Story

Building Up Businesses in Timor-Leste

Zambia - Market Access, Trade, and Enabling Policies Program (MATEP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
April 2005–April 2010

Promoting Zambia's promising exports

Moving away from its dependence on copper, Zambia has been focusing on nontraditional exports for some years. Government policies and reforms to open up the agricultural sector for direct foreign investment, eliminate foreign exchange controls, and simplify tax and tariff policies were significant in stimulating export growth, but exports can expand more rapidly and, thus, boost incomes in rural Zambia.

MATEP is designed to increase Zambia’s exports of agricultural and natural resource products into regional and international markets. The program is initially focusing on tourism and eight value chains: horticulture, paprika, honey, coffee, livestock, cotton, maize, and cassava. Exports of these eight, plus tourism, offer the greatest potential for growth over the project horizon, as well as for impact on Zambia’s economy and population. MATEP will assist stakeholders in other value chains in responding to opportunities as they arise.

Through MATEP, DAI works with the private sector to improve market access, with the public sector to remove policy and regulatory barriers to exporters, and with the financial sector to increase access to capital. The team is assisting the Zambian government and the Zambia National Tourism Board in the marketing of Zambia as an international tourist destination. In turn, the high quality demanded by international tourists will encourage Zambian agricultural suppliers to improve grades and standards for food and other products.

Collaborators on this project include DAI’s African network company, ECIAfrica, and the Zambia Agricultural Technical Assistance Center, Ltd. (ZATAC), the Zambian center of excellence in agribusiness services and financial intermediation. DAI assisted in establishing ZATAC through a previous USAID-funded project.

Azerbaijan - Public Investment Policy Project (PIPP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Working with government and civil society to ensure responsible use of national income derived from oil and gas exports

Azerbaijan is enjoying a windfall from oil exports. Upon conservative assumptions ($18/oil barrel), Azerbaijan was envisaged to earn about $800 million per year during 2003–2008 and more than $5 billion per year beginning in 2008 (at a current oil price of $64/barrel). Oil production is expected to peak around 2011 and then plateau for a few years, and decline in 2024 to about one-quarter of the peak level. Beginning 2008 Azerbaijan planned to export natural gas as well.

To manage the rapid-but-controlled expansion of public capital spending over the next 10 years, the Government of Azerbaijan needed to strengthen its institutional and technical capacity in the areas of long-term planning, budget formulation, and project development and management. The core objective of PIPP was to help strengthen Azerbaijan’s institutional and technical capacity in the areas of long- and medium-term national and sector development planning; capital budgeting and public investment programming; project preparation, appraisal, and monitoring and evaluation; and extensive training programs to support these activities. [SEGIR Macro II IQC]

USAID Success Stories

Civil Service Employees Receive Public Investment Training

USAID Boosts Azerbaijan’s Economic Research Capacity

Afghanistan - Alternative Development Program/Eastern Region (ADP/E)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2009)

Fostering long-term alternatives to poppy cultivation for Afghanistan's farmers and rural entrepreneurs

In 2004, the eastern provinces of Afghanistan cultivated approximately one-third of Afghanistan's poppy. Nangarhar alone had 28,000 hectares—a 44 percent increase in area from 2003, and more than 70 percent of the households were involved, double the national average. In 2005, after a strong enforcement campaign by the governor, the poppy-growing area was reduced by 90 percent.

The farmers in these areas plant poppy because they can make more money growing poppy than they can by growing any of the many alternative crops available to them. As UN surveys have indicated, the threat of eradication is the only serious deterrent to their planting decision. The pressure is on to deliver alternative livelihoods to follow up the interdiction and make the reduction permanent and sustainable.

ADP/E is one part of a multi-pillar strategy, a balanced approach of incentives and disincentives; that includes public information, eradication, interdiction, prosecution, and alternative livelihoods. ADP/E's goal is to accelerate broad-based, sustainable regional economic development in the Eastern Region. The project has two objectives: 1) to help accelerate licit economic growth and business activity, and 2) to help provide an immediate alternative source of income to poor households whose livelihoods depend, directly or indirectly, on the opium economy.

Project activities are under way in Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, and Nuristan with the participation and collaboration of local communities and shuras, provincial government, businesses, and ministry officials. These are aimed at increasing the competitiveness and diversity of regional businesses, both agricultural and non-agricultural; improving access to markets, inputs, and business services; rehabilitating productive infrastructure; building public and private sector capacity to function in a competitive and transparent economy; and specifically addressing the particular needs of populations that are heavily reliant on the poppy economy (mainly women and the landless).

ADP/E Success Stories

To watch a 10-minute video on some of the infrastructure work ADP/E has done, click here.

Afghan Farmers Producing Under Contract

Afghan Produce Enters World Markets

Afghan Women at the Center of Value Chain for Fresh Vegetables

Agricultural Trade Fair Brings Opportunity to Afghanistan

Bringing Vulnerable Women into the Workforce

Building a Strong Horticulture Industry

Eastern Region Restores Product Pride

Evidence That Money Grows on Trees

Jumpstarting Trade in Eastern Afghanistan

Preparing Afghan Veterinarians to Deal With Avian Influenza

Rural Women Take the Reins

Winning the Battle of Economic Growth

USAID Afghanistan Web Site

http://www.alper-af.com/

Worldwide - Support for the Social Investment of Abbott Laboratories

Client: Abbott Laboratories
Project Completed (2005)

Supporting Abbott’s programs for people in developing countries living with HIV/AIDS

A leading global healthcare corporation, Abbott Laboratories believes strongly in global citizenship—funding and implementing community health and development projects across the world. DAI’s expertise in international development and grants management supports Abbott Labs’ Step Forward Program for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS, helping Step Forward improve care and innovate treatment for children in Romania, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, and India. This support includes developing scopes of work, work planning, monitoring and evaluation, and program development and strategy; helping Abbott realize its potential as a pioneer and leader in this field.

Indonesia - Environmental Services Program (ESP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
December 2004–March 2010

Creating a “blue thread” to link environmental and public health

ESP works with the Indonesian government and civil society to promote better health through improved water resources management and expanded access to clean water and sanitation services. Program staff work in the provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, North Sumatra, East Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, West Java, and Jakarta, reaching more than half of Indonesia’s 220 million people.

ESP takes a “ridge to reefs” approach to link water resources management with improved health, creating a “blue thread” with water as an integrating theme to connect environmental health with public health. Driven largely by provincial-level integrated initiatives, the program supports four main technical components:

Watershed Management and Biodiversity Conservation works with upstream stakeholders to stabilize and improve the supply of raw water to downstream urban populations. ESP promotes a landscape approach to improved land stewardship that integrates conservation of natural forests with high biodiversity value, restoration and rehabilitation of degraded forests and critical land, and sustainable utilization of agricultural land. Enabling conditions for improved land stewardship include policy support for land tenure necessary for responsible community-based forest management and payment for environmental services.

Environmental Services Delivery contributes to improving the delivery of clean water, sanitation, and solid waste management services to key urban and peri-urban areas. ESP works closely with municipal water companies and other relevant stakeholders to increase access to improved water sources, emphasizing the urban poor; with local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and community groups on city-wide and community-based sanitation systems; and with community groups and NGOs on solid waste planning and management.

Environmental Services Finance strives to leverage much-needed medium- and long-term public and private sector financing to stimulate investment in clean water production and distribution as well as sewerage system development. An additional focus is on development of financing options to reward upper-watershed communities for activities that help conserve a stable supply of raw water for their downstream neighbors.

Strategic Communications for Behavior Change includes both public advocacy and behavior change communications. ESP works with local media networks to build awareness of and discourse about key water, environment, and health issues through regular multimedia campaigns. Health and hygiene behavior change works with community groups and school systems on hygiene issues, especially hand washing with soap, to reduce the prevalence of diarrhea.

Zambia - Copperbelt Global Development Alliance (GDA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Strengthening partnerships and raising incomes among agricultural producers and buyers

Of Zambia’s nine provinces, the Copperbelt has fallen from the richest to the poorest. With the collapse of copper production in the 1980s, the region’s residents must find alternative forms of employment and income. Many sought employment in agriculture, but farmers frequently struggle to earn an adequate income. By working with both the farmers who produce crops and the agribusinesses that buy them, this project worked to raise incomes and strengthen the relationship between buyers and sellers. Project staff promoted and replicated smallholder outgrower schemes in four program sites around the Copperbelt region. Of the 2,000 farmers that participated in the project, 120 produced coffee, intercropped with paprika and fresh vegetables; 100 partnered with a private agribusiness, Stravendale Farm, to grow vegetables for the domestic Zambian marketplace; and the remaining smallholders grew paprika for the large paprika processor, Cheetah Zambia. All of the business partners and farmers incorporated ethical best practices, which promoted a transparent system of exchange.

Haiti - Hurricane Jeanne Reconstruction Program (HJRP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Recovering livelihoods for those severely affected by Hurricane Jeanne

The floods that ravaged Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004 had their origins in the upper watersheds of major river systems that empty at Gonaives and Port de Paix. The effects of intensive rainfall in these watersheds were aggravated by the degraded conditions of their surrounding hillsides. In addition to killing thousands, the flooding water draining off the hillsides damaged thousands of hectares of irrigated lands and put the livelihoods of thousands of households in jeopardy. This project tackled the immediate challenges faced by affected residents by restarting agricultural production, and began to address the roots of the problem by stabilizing the upper watersheds. In the lower parts of the watershed, the project helped water users associations replace equipment and strengthen their organizational capacity in order to restart and fortify irrigation enterprises. In the upper watershed, the project team assisted farmers in stabilizing hillsides and increased productivity. In both cases HJRP built on existing organizational structures so that assistance will have long-term benefits. Project activities included, but were not limited to, the Trois Rivières and its tributaries in the Port de Paix region, and the Quinte River and its tributaries.

Egypt - Lifting Incomes from the Environment Program for Water Resources Management (LIFE WRM)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2008

Developing local capacities to manage water resources efficiently and sustainably

To improve efficiency and increase economic returns for farmers, the Government of Egypt is transferring water management responsibilities from Cairo to the local level. LIFE WRM provides assistance, training, small grants, and commodities to support the decentralization of water management decision making and increase participation in decision making among rural inhabitants. Activities focus on four irrigation directorates in two priority geographical areas: Zifta and West Sharkiya in the Middle Delta, and Qena and Aswan in Upper Egypt. USAID expects that decentralization and greater stakeholder participation will lead to more civic responsibility for the maintenance of water conveyance infrastructure and better management of liquid and solid wastes. The project will achieve these objectives by improving the technical and management capabilities of water users and by developing sustainable Branch Canal Water User Associations and Integrated Water Management Districts. [EPIQ II IQC]

Iraq - Marshlands Restoration Project

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2005)

Working with communities to restore the marsh environment and protect the inhabitants’ way of life

In southern Iraq, the Ma’dan, or Marsh Arabs, had used the area’s 15,000 to 20,000 square kilometers of marshlands to sustain their families and way of life for 5,000 years. Today, as a result of extensive marsh drainage and the construction of 32 dams under the Saddam Hussein regime, only 10 percent of the marshes remain. DAI is studying the area and implementing pilot projects to restore the region and make it environmentally sustainable and economically profitable for marsh dwellers. Project staff are working to improve the management of existing and newly reflooded marshlands. They are also exploring options for expanding restoration activities; developing, and reaching a broad international consensus on, a long-term comprehensive rehabilitation strategy; and assisting marsh dwellers by developing viable economic opportunities and fair social institutions.

IMRP Success Story

Date Palm Nurseries Bring Hope to Iraq’s Marshdwellers

http://www.iraqmarshes.org

Ethiopia - Urban Agriculture Program for HIV-Affected Women (UAPHAW)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Complete 2008

Boosting incomes and improving vitality among women confronting the AIDS pandemic

Statistics released by the Ethiopian government at the beginning of 2005 showed that the HIV prevalence rate in urban areas reached a plateau. Some 900,000 people had died from AIDS-related illnesses since 1986 and that figure will double by 2008 if current trends continue, according to government predictions. Life expectancy had been cut by five years to 46 because of HIV and there are an estimated 379,341 orphans resulting directly from AIDS-related mortality. There is a pressing need to increase the number of HIV/AIDS-affected persons with access to HIV/AIDS support services in areas of prevention, care, and treatment and in areas that focus specifically on the nutritional status and income-generation abilities of AIDS-affected households.

Women remain particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of biological factors and because social and cultural institutions generally accept sexual violence, which increases infection rates. Women also bear the greater burden in the household for care of the sick and dying; girls are often the first to be pulled out of school when the financial impacts of HIV/AIDS are felt by the household; and widows face immense challenges in providing for their families due to their limited access to capita, inputs, capacity building, and markets.

UAPHAW was designed to address these concerns. The objectives of the project were to:

Improve the nutritional status of HIV/AIDS-affected families:
Improve the income levels of these families through sales of surplus garden crops; and
Improve the skills and alternative livelihood possibilities of HIV-affected women and orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).

The project provided assistance in the establishment of low-cost, low-labor-intensive household nutrition gardens using simple microdrip irrigation technology to low-income HIV/AIDS-infected and -affected women and OVCs. In its first phase, the program was implemented in Addis Ababa and Bahir Bar; 4,882 HIV-infected and -affected women and OVCs established gardens, and 20,000 people benefited from them. In the second phase, the program expanded its scope and geographic coverage to assist 6,118 women and OVCs, benefiting about 25,000 people.

These gardens are particularly relevant to these target groups because they require half the water of conventional bucket water methods and half the labor, enabling the young and the elderly to participate. Combined with appropriate training, organization, and market linkages, these urban gardening systems generate food for household consumption as well as surplus for income generation. [AMAP BDS IQC]

Worldwide - Assessment of the Pro-Growth Focus of U.S. Government Economic Policies and Assistance Programs (SEGIR – PGA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2005)

Evaluating U.S. government policies’ and programs’ support for economic growth in developing countries

Sustainable and equitable economic growth is one of the primary goals of international development. Growth in income raises standards of living and enables people to invest in themselves, in their children’s education, in preventive health care, and in their farms and businesses. This USAID-funded assessment classifies individual U.S. programs and policies according to their pro-growth focus and the size of their impact on the growth of developing and transitional countries. The assessment also provides recommendations for improving the pro-growth focus and impact of various programs, including, when possible, determining how to enhance indirect benefits and mitigate conflicts. Much of the assessment is qualitative, although quantitative studies are also used.

West Bank and Gaza - Palestine Information and Communication Technology Incubator (PICTI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Developing domestic capacity to deliver financial and business development services

One consequence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is sometimes overlooked is its effect on the economy and economic opportunities for Palestinians. Yet, the expansion of economic opportunity can be viewed as one avenue for easing the crisis in the region. To this end, DAI is supporting the Palestinian Information and Communication Technology Incubator, a for-profit, sustainable institution that is owned and managed by Palestinian professionals and will serve Palestinian companies. The incubator relies on local consultants to deliver services that facilitate the creation of a Palestinian consulting and financial services industry that will support the growth of information, communication, and technology enterprises. With a professional staff based in Ramallah, the incubator has advanced conference and telecommunications infrastructure. Screening criteria such as best growth potential and ability to attract private investment are used to determine entry firms. A business development unit provides business development services and mentors to the firms. The incubator continuously tests the market for new ideas and entrepreneurs. In addition, it builds public recognition, acceptance, and understanding of, as well as support for, the role information technology will play in the growth of the Palestinian economy. This project is being implemented by DAI staff based at DAI’s Middle East operating company, DAI Palestine.

Mexico - Access to Rural Finance for Microenterprises (Acceso a las Finanzas Rurales para la Microempresa) (AFIRMA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
September 2004–September 2009

Increasing economic opportunity through expansion of financial services to low-income entrepreneurs in rural areas

Mexican rural microentrepreneurs and households have been hard hit by both systemic and idiosyncratic shocks, such as the inherent volatility associated with agricultural production and the economic crisis of the mid-1990s. Restricted access to financial services has worsened the impact of these shocks by limiting access to safe deposit and remittance services, for example.

AFIRMA is designed to help build an inclusive, sustainable microfinance sector in Mexico as a means to increase access to a range of financial services and contribute to local economic development. It promotes the expansion of financial services to underserved and rural markets by providing targeted technical assistance, training, and grants to financial institutions. The project’s objective is to expand retail operations of financial services companies serving these markets, especially remittances services. In addition, DAI is working to build the capacity of key government agencies that support the industry and to improve the legal, regulatory, and supervisory framework in Mexico through regulatory reform and policy dialogue. [AMAP MF IQC]

http://www.microlinks.org/afirma

Macedonia - Make Decentralization Work Project (MDW)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Building capacity of local governments while supporting Macedonia’s decentralization and democratization

Decentralization is an important component of lasting democratic development in countries such as Macedonia that are accustomed to a centralized autocracy.

This project—formerly known as Make Decentralization Work (MDW)—was intended to raise the capacity of municipal governments to assume new powers under the decentralization that commenced July 1, 2005. Most of the work was at the local level, including direct, small-group or one-on-one technical advice. The project also invested in information technology hardware and software for municipal offices to support finance/budget, tax administration, and urban planning functions.

DAI team members worked with key ministries of the central government, including finance, education, transportation, and local self-government, to advise on and assisted with development of a workable legislative and regulatory framework for decentralization.

The project also provided technical and financial support to the Association of Local Governments (ZELS) and the Association of Providers of Communal Services (ADKOM).

MDW Success Story

Mayor's Initiative Doubles Tax Base in Macedonian City

USAID Decentralization Project (2004–2007): More Effective and Accountable Local Government
Click here to review the report in Macedonian, English, and Albanian.
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http://dai.com.mk/

Lebanon Water Policy Project (LWPP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2008

Bringing together government, business, and civil society to restructure Lebanon’s water sector

Under the Lebanon Water Policy Program (LWPP), DAI provides assistance at both the national and regional levels by supporting the Ministry of Energy and Water and the Water Establishments in Lebanon. DAI guides Lebanese ministry and water establishments’ officials through the complicated process of identifying and implementing sustainable financing and privatization techniques. DAI’s team exposes key stakeholders to a range of privatization approaches, working with them to identify those most appropriate for Lebanon through seminars, study tours, and working groups. More than 200 participants from different Lebanese institutions—such as the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Ministry of Finance, 21 water authorities, and five professional associations—have participated in these activities.

Resistance to change, especially with the introduction of new concepts and techniques in the water establishments, was a major obstacle for the DAI team. LWPP was able to overcome this resistance through continuous communication with the beneficiaries, including training sessions and workshops showing the importance of the project’s work and its direct positive impact on employees’ daily operations. The team developed documentation and reference material in Arabic for the beneficiaries, increasing the project’s credibility and contributing to ensuring the sustainability of the work.

To avoid overlapping and duplication of efforts, the DAI team organizes outreach programs to expose its work and the results and is in close coordination with other projects, funded by other donors, to make the best use of available funds. The work conducted by LWPP—particularly the data collection and the development of databases—is of great importance to the water sector as Lebanon prepares to undertake major reconstruction programs.

Indonesia - Support for Peaceful Democratization (SPD)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Distributing grants to civil society organizations that strengthen Indonesia’s emerging democracy

Indonesia has experienced tremendous political, economic and social change since the end of authoritarian rule in 1998. The country now enjoys one of Asia’s most pluralist and critical media, and has held internationally accepted general elections in 1999 and 2004. The transition from authoritarianism to democracy has not been free of serious complications and setbacks, however. One of the most disturbing effects of the breakdown of repressive state control has been the eruption of communal and separatist violence in many areas of the archipelago. Bottled-up and nurtured by decades of authoritarian rule, tensions between religious, ethnic and other social groups have come to the surface and plagued Indonesia since 1998.

The USAID Support for Peaceful Democratization Program (SPD) was a three-year program implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) under the Support Which Implements Fast Transition II (SWIFT II) IQC. This program assisted local organizations in their work to address violent conflict across Indonesia. While a range of conflicts affect every society, SPD aimed to address violent conflicts between groups with incompatible interests regarding the distribution of resources, control of power and participation in political decision making, identity, status, or values. SPD support was rapid and flexible, addressing urgent needs and overarching causes of conflict. SPD actively encouraged the involvement of women throughout the project cycle.

The overall goal of SPD was to develop a sustainable institutional capacity for building peace and resolving conflict throughout Indonesia. Using participatory processes, SPD strives to achieve this goal through activities in five thematic areas that aimed to support and strengthen civil society and public institutions:

Training to enhance understanding about and facilitate analysis of the underlying causes and consequences of local conflicts and technical capacity to implement conflict resolution approaches;
Skills development for initiatives aiming to establish democratically controlled, impartial and professional security forces;
Building peace and resolving conflicts through sustainable livelihoods initiatives in conflict-affected areas;
Capacity building through direct involvement in the drafting and monitoring of the implementation of relevant legislation in vulnerable and conflict-affected areas; and
Emergency assistance for persons directly affected by violent conflict. [SWIFT II IQC]

Georgia - Support to the New Government of Georgia (SNG)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2005)

Advising senior policy makers in the new government to develop a functional and transparent policy formulation process

Following attempts to manipulate the November 2003 legislative elections, protests erupted in many areas of this country. Two months later, Georgia’s citizens voted overwhelmingly to replace the sitting president with Mikheil Saakashvili. DAI is assisting this new government’s national policy makers and supporting a U.S. Government Senior Advisor working with the Offices of the President and Prime Minister. Together, they are developing an effective policy formulation process in the executive branch, centered on democratic reform, greater public debate, and accountability in government. [SPIR IQC]

Timor-Leste - Small Grants Program (SGP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2008

Helping a new nation establish self-governance and promote economic growth

The Timor-Leste Small Grants Program supported communities, organizations, and government in their efforts to build a stable, economically robust, democratic country through USAID’s strategic objectives: expanding economic growth, supporting good governance, and improving the health of Timor-Leste’s people. With focused grant making and management, DAI helped build capacity in Timor-Leste’s young government and its nongovernmental community by providing selected communities, organizations, and government offices with vital services and supplies, such as training and equipment.

SGP’s grant-making efforts focused on USAID’s strategic objectives, while specifically ensuring that women and special groups received equal access to grant benefits. DAI strove for equitable geographic distribution of small grant assistance while incorporating key environmental issues. The program relied on its strategic vision and an integrated approach to adapt to the social and political dynamics of Timor-Leste’s post-conflict development and assist in identifying, testing, and opening up new focus areas for USAID. Our carefully planned grant awards generated new opportunities for USAID’s long-term investment in several areas, including microfinance and land tenure. At the same time, we worked extensively with all three branches of Timor-Leste’s new government as well as with local government offices in all 13 of the country’s districts and many subdistricts.

A key component of the program’s effectiveness was DAI’s participatory process—working closely with grantees throughout the proposal development process, reviewing proposals, and sharing proposal information with USAID’s strategic objectives teams. [SWIFT II IQC]

SGP Success Stories

Candlenuts Fuel Economic Growth in Timor-Leste
Building Up Businesses in Timor-Leste

http://timor-leste.usaid.gov/SG.htm

Central Asia - Agriculture Capacity Building (AgFin+)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Linking farmers to markets in three former Soviet republics

This project generates household income for farmers in the three former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Agricultural support is badly needed in each of these countries: in Tajikistan, the poorest of the republics, 67 percent of the work force is employed in agriculture, yet only 6.6 percent of the country’s land is arable; in mountainous Kyrgyzstan, agriculture accounts for more than a third of gross domestic product and more than half of the work force; and in Uzbekistan, more than 60 percent of the country’s residents live in densely populated rural areas. In each of these countries, AgFin+ will link targeted groups of farmers to specific markets, then help them overcome the obstacles to delivering products in those markets and capturing a return for their efforts.

Brazil - Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Program

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Expanding employment opportunities and supporting small business growth in Northeastern Brazil

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) make important economic contributions to the Brazilian economy, representing 20 percent of the total gross domestic product nationwide. However, although the MSE sector accounts for a large part of Brazilian businesses, it contributes a minimal percentage to Brazil’s exports, only 3 percent.

The USAID/Brazil Micro and Small Enterprise Trade-Led Growth Program was a pilot project, aimed at enhancing job and income creation through trade-led growth of MSEs.

The program focused on eight interventions: development of four clusters (açaí in Pará, cashew nuts in Ceará, honey in Piauí, and swimwear in Bahia) and four enabling environment initiatives (monitoring and evaluation methodology, trade finance enhancement, regulatory improvement, and a communication strategy to disseminate the results and lessons learned) For each cluster, DAI staff conducted a sector competitiveness evaluation and implemented trade-led strategy, leveraged existing cooperatives and associations of small producers to be competitive in a sustainable manner. [AMAP MF IQC]

Armenia Legislative Strengthening Program Phase II (ALSP II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Improving the capacity and responsiveness of Armenia’s National Assembly

As a former Soviet Republic, Armenia's legislative body is relatively young, but it has already made great progress and is eager to build a solid democratic tradition. As a subcontractor to Development Associates, DAI supported ALSP II to strengthen the National Assembly of Armenia. Following on the project’s successful first stage, Phase II focused on revising the constitution, strengthening legislative committees, and creating avenues for further civil society input into policy making.

ALSP Success Story

Using the Web, Armenians Expand Their Democracy

Zimbabwe - Linkages for the Economic Advancement of the Disadvantaged (LEAD)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Empowering those most in need to emerge from poverty through increased access to opportunities

DAI staff are alleviating poverty for the most disadvantaged members of Zimbabwean society through economically empowering activities such as the creation of Business Opportunity Centers that provide information and training to youths, legal assistance in writing wills for HIV/AIDS-affected households, increased outreach of financial services to rural areas, and farmer association development. The project focused on microfinance and business development. DAI staff worked with local nongovernmental organizations and private companies to expand their life-enhancing and life-saving services to help the most vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe, such as orphans affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In August 2002, DAI launched the Legal Services Voucher Program to mitigate the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on poor households. The program included five discrete voucher products covering wills, guardianship, opposed guardianship, maintenance claims, and property transfer. At the end of the first year of the pilot, DAI distributed 2,062 vouchers for legal services, of which 1,057 were redeemed. This was the first time a USAID-funded project explicitly used financial institutions and business services providers to mitigate the effects of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

LEAD Success Story

Simple Irrigation Kits Yield Life-Changing Results

Worldwide - Rural Financial Market Development

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Expanding USAID's capabilities to extend financial services to farmers and rural entrepreneurs

This project provides services on promoting rural and agricultural finance, and supports research and information dissemination to advise USAID missions and other staff on recent innovations in rural and agricultural finance, including leveraging value chain relationships to leverage financial institution lending, and project development work on weather-based indexed insurance in Peru and collateral registries in Colombia. The project’s main components involve agricultural finance, savings and deposit mobilization, remittances and money transfer, legal and regulatory environment, and risk management strategies.

A major product of the project has been the development (in conjunction with other contractors under the AMAP contract) and delivery of a Rural and Agricultural Finance Workshop. Originally targeted to USAID cognizant technical officers to support the design and development of new long-term projects, the workshop has also been adapted to be a platform for a single-country strategic planning discussion. Other major activities include the Rural and Agricultural Finance Initiative (RAFI) Notes on approaches and interventions to expand rural and agricultural finance. These were also undertaken in cooperation with the AMAP contract. [BASIS IQC]

Worldwide - Assistance for Trade Capacity Building in Relation to the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (RAISE SPS)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Analyzing food safety issues in developing-country agribusiness and addressing the threat of avian influenza

Agricultural health and food safety are important to developing countries for many reasons. Apart from their obvious health benefits, sanitary conditions during field, processing, and shipping operations—and the international standards associated with these conditions—enable agricultural and processed foods to be exported to developed-country markets. Agricultural products crossing borders must also adhere to internationally accepted phytosanitary (plant health) standards, so that the risk associated with the possible transport of agricultural pests and diseases is minimized for the importing country. When developing-country governments and agencies request assistance related to these sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, this program allows USAID and implementing agencies to respond.

Under this task order, DAI undertakes technical research studies, conducts regional and subregional reviews, evaluates previous USAID- and other donor-funded SPS assistance programs, and carries out country-specific diagnostic studies of SPS issues. Of special interest are the relationship between SPS standards set by the private sector and those set by the public sector and the way the standards affect the participation of small farmers in domestic and international supply chains.

In 2005, the SPS mandate was expanded to support interventions to reduce and contain animal-to-animal and animal-to-human outbreaks of avian influenza (AI). Under this program, DAI has worked in more than a dozen countries, completing numerous rapid-response assignments including tabletop simulations; training state and private veterinarians in preventing, testing for, and diagnosing AI; developing electronic, print, and mass media messages; and delivering behavior change communication and training-of-trainers workshops on decontaminating AI-infected areas, rapid diagnostic testing, packaging and international shipping of AI samples, and the use of commodities such as personal protective equipment.

The primary components of RAISE SPS include:

Global Research Studies: What common SPS issues affect developing countries?

Regional Analytical Reports: What are regional trends related to SPS requirements?

Country Diagnostic Reports: How can individual countries achieve SPS compliance?

Project Evaluations: What are SPS activity lessons learned?

Project Designs: What investments should a mission make in response to SPS requirements?

National Assessments and Follow-Up In-Country Training: Is the National AI Preparedness Plan adequate? Are animal and human health specialists properly trained should an AI outbreak occur?

Worldwide - Fiscal Reform in Support of Trade Liberalization

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Providing technical leadership for USAID worldwide in fiscal reform, especially in support of trade liberalization

Fiscal Reform in Support of Trade Liberalization provided technical leadership and support to USAID and its overseas missions concerning all aspects of fiscal reform, including the fiscal aspects of trade liberalization. Based in Washington, D.C., the project researched fiscal issues in developing and transition countries; trained USAID officers in the fundamentals of fiscal policy and management; promoted knowledge sharing through workshops, seminars, conferences, and brown bags; and reached out to engage the wider public finance “community of practice.” The project also provided technical assistance to USAID field missions in fiscal reform and the fiscal aspects of trade liberalization. In addition, the project provided assistance in intergovernmental fiscal relations in India, tax and expenditure policy and administration in Guatemala, designing a fiscal system in Sudan, modeling the impact of trade liberalization on government revenues in Vietnam, and designing and starting up a fiscal programming office in the Ministry of Finance of Angola. In addition, the project’s fiscal reform website provides an accessible platform for publishing project research, posting relevant literature, and presenting information on the project’s field activities and public events. [SEGIR EP IQC]

http://www.fiscalreform.net

Worldwide - Financial Services Knowledge Generation (AMAP-FSKG)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed 2008

Conducting research on innovative practices in microfinance

For more than two decades, DAI has been USAID’s partner in microenterprise development and microenterprise research, and has been involved in all of the debates about how to provide high-quality, sustainable financial services to low-income, informal sector businesses. As the debates and research continue, DAI and its partners continue to push the research frontier, identifying innovative, efficient, and cost-effective ways to extend financial services to poor and geographically remote clients. The new research and knowledge will increase the capacity of donors and USAID missions to design and strengthen the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of microfinance projects. DAI undertakes research in the following topic areas: rural and agricultural finance, commercial banks in microfinance, HIV/AIDS, remittances, financial standards, microfinance networks, housing, risk-based supervision, credit bureaus, the Development Credit Authority, and private debt placements, among others. Research is disseminated through reports, technical notes, conferences, training, and technical consultancies. For example, project staff are disseminating a training course on HIV/AIDS and microfinance that helps institutions think about how to mitigate the disease’s impact on their bottom line and on staff. The course encourages institutions to think strategically about HIV/AIDS and implement changes that might include product refinement for clients affected by HIV/AIDS or a workplace program for staff. FSKG will finance four training sessions and continue to investigate how institutions use the training to implement program changes around HIV/AIDS. Further HIV/AIDS research focuses on new product development, specifically financial products that address the needs of communities and households affected by the pandemic. All program activities feed into a collaborative USAID knowledge management system focused on USAID staff, practitioners, other donors, and governments. [AMAP MF IQC]

Worldwide - Development Credit Authority (DCA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Designing and analyzing the next generation of DCA Credit Enhancements and communicating the important role of the DCA to increase its use and impact in international development

USAID’s Development Credit Authority provides flexible credit enhancement tools to encourage sustainable private sector investment in creditworthy growth sectors currently underserved by formal financial institutions. The DCA allowed USAID missions to partially guarantee loans or debt instruments issued by private sector lenders to sub-sovereign borrowers (private companies and municipalities). Successful DCA deals ensured sustainable credit relationships between local, underserved businesses and commercial financial institutions. The DCA—catalyzing finance and facilitating new financial institution relationships—promoted a sustainable private sector approach to economic development and growth.

DAI worked with USAID’s Office of Development Credit (ODC) to design and analyze new DCA deals and to communicate clearly the DCA’s strengths and functions so that it became a regular component of mission programming. DAI addressed the ODC’s next generation of activities, expanded upon the office’s successes and facilitated the increased use of the DCA abroad. [SEGIR FS IQC]

http://www.segir-fs.com

Worldwide - Business Development Services Knowledge & Practice (AMAP-BDS-K&P)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Determining best practices among USAID's business development services projects

Spanning various regions of the world and development conditions, the role of microenterprise in economic development is strengthening. In this task order project, DAI is identifying the evolution and practices of value chain and private sector development projects so that microenterprises can generate sustainable income for the families of microentrepreneurs.

DAI is executing six major components of the total BDS-K&P award: leading the impact and market assessment components and contributing papers on micro and small enterprise (MSE) growth, the effect of globalization on MSEs, MSEs in agribusiness value chains, and ways to mitigate the effect of HIV/AIDS on productive households. [AMAP BDS IQC]

Vietnam - Support for Trade Acceleration Project (STAR II)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Phase I: Completed 2006; Phase II: September 2006 - September 2009

Reforming economic and trade laws to pave the way for a healthy trade relationship with the United States

In December 2001, the governments of the United States and Vietnam signed a historic bilateral free trade agreement that promised to strengthen economic and political ties between the two countries. USAID-funded STAR (September 2001–December 2006)—the first major USAID technical assistance contract in economic growth implemented in Vietnam since 1975— worked to support the Government of Vietnam to implement the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and begin reforms needed for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Five years later, and 12 years after the country first applied for membership, Vietnam is expected to accede to the WTO in January 2007.

Following on the enormous successes of STAR I, STAR II focuses on supporting the development of institutional and administrative systems needed to implement the massive legal and regulatory changes that have been promulgated over the last five years in the areas of trade in goods and services, commercial dispute settlement, intellectual property rights protection, development of foreign direct investment, and transparency and the right to appeal. These reforms are partnered with extensive educational programs that include training for officials, lawyers, judges, and business leaders; revision of university curriculums and capacity development; and media-based public education campaigns.

Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Supporting Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and compete internationally

VNCI is an economic growth project designed to increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam through 1) improved economic governance, particularly at the provincial level, through the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and key policy research analysis; 2) demonstration and catalytic work in four industries (information and communications technology, dragon fruit, home furnishings, and banking, which also addressed SME access to credit) to remove key constraints to international competitiveness; and 3) improved access to financing for SMEs. VNCI has also engaged industry to identify policy and regulatory constraints to competitiveness and conduct research, analysis, and advocacy on its behalf. VNCI’s industry-specific work concluded in September 2006.

In years 4 and 5, building off the success and impact of the PCI, VNCI focuses on improving economic governance at the provincial level and creating national linkages between local economic governance and national policies and their implementation. Specifically, working with provinces, VNCI is 1) providing a more systematic understanding and benchmarking of provincial economic governance; 2) providing the opportunity for the voice of the domestic private sector to enter the policy debate at national and provincial levels; and 3) providing provinces with specific knowledge and technical support to implement concrete reforms.

To create national linkages, VNCI is establishing regular national-local dialogues to identify policies and regulations (or the lack thereof) that impair the ability of provinces to create a business-enabling environment, as well as the competitiveness of local businesses. These constraints will be identified and possible solutions formulated via the regular dialogues, leading to changes in national policy and regulations. In addition to the regular national-local dialogues, VNCI will develop and publish a National Competitiveness Assessment that will provide a picture of the main factors that affect Vietnam’s competitiveness vis-à-vis its regional neighbors, focusing on the post-World Trade Organization environment.

VNCI Success Story

Vietnamese Handicrafts Enter the Global Marketplace

http://www.vnci.org

Ukraine - Support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development (BIZPRO/Ukraine)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2006)

Working with businesses to improve their skills and with government officials to strengthen the economic foundation for growth

The purpose of BIZPRO is to assist Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine to achieve economic growth through micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise development initiatives.

BIZPRO has been operating in Ukraine since 2000. Its goal is to help enterprises compete in foreign and domestic markets by working at the enterprise, sector, and policy/legal levels.

BIZPRO is forming advocacy coalitions of innovative and knowledgeable business groups in Ukraine to lobby national leaders to eliminate needless bureaucracy and reform outdated regulations to foster a free-market environment and increase economic opportunities for entrepreneurs. BIZPRO contributes to the economic development of Ukraine by providing assistance that improves the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to operate and compete in local and international markets. The program in Ukraine is focused on two tasks: 1) market development support, and 2) fostering a business and regulatory environment that enables SMEs to succeed.

In terms of market development support, BIZPRO works to improve the ability of Ukrainian SMEs to grow and compete in local, regional, and international markets and to develop business linkages and improve the industry-specific skills that SMEs require to grow (based around multiple industrial subsectors). BIZPRO also works with business service providers to improve SME operations and increase SME efficiency through the development and delivery of industry-specific skills to SME beneficiaries. BIZPRO’s partners in this endeavor include local business and industrial associations; the business service providers that conduct subsector market assessments, develop stronger business linkages, and deliver sector-specific knowledge and skills; and other donor-funded programs that work in the area of SME development.

BIZPRO strengthens the SME-enabling environment by helping the public and private sectors in selected municipalities formulate and implement balanced and predictable regulations that improve their business environment. BIZPRO also assists the private and public sectors to develop and implement the one-stop shop concept, primarily in the area of the issuing of permits, which constitutes a major obstacle to business development in Ukraine.

http://www.bizpro.org.ua

Ukraine - Agricultural Marketing Program (U-AMP)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Developing linkages across the food production supply chain

With its fertile black soil, Ukraine accounted for more than one-fourth of the entire former Soviet Union’s food production. Likewise, today, more than a decade after gaining its independence and despite its strong industrial base, the country relies on agriculture for roughly a quarter of its gross domestic product and employment. To build the capacity of this important component in the Ukrainian economy, DAI implemented a demand-driven strategy to form strong and lasting commercial linkages between Ukrainian processors, wholesalers, and producers of agricultural goods, especially high-value fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Through U-AMP, DAI provided agricultural marketing, agribusiness consulting, nongovernmental organization strengthening, and small and medium-sized enterprise development through long-term staff made up of Ukrainian citizens and U.S.-based short-term consultants. Programming focused on helping farmers meet the quality standards required by the emerging supermarket industry as well as helped them gain access to inputs, credit, contracting arrangements, and legal support.

Uganda - Productive Resource Investments for Managing the Environment — Western Region (PRIME/WEST)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2008)

Developing community-based, sustainable natural resource management

The Albertine Rift is an incredibly important region for global conservation, harboring more species of vertebrates than any other region on the African continent. It shelters more than half of continental Africa’s bird species and nearly 40 percent of its mammal species. There are more endemic mammals, birds, and amphibians found in the Rift than at any other site in continental Africa. However, the problems of high population density, few alternative economic opportunities, and weak natural resources governance are becoming acute and threaten biodiversity assets by causing deforestation, unsustainable forest management, and habitat loss. Unless these problems are addressed, continued over-harvesting of natural resources will further erode biodiversity assets, reduce productivity of the natural resource base, and reduce the potential economic returns to communities.

With the goal of reducing threats to biodiversity in the Uganda portion of the Rift, while sustainably and equitably integrating the region’s economy and people into the global economy, DAI PRIME/West staff used three approaches that systematically aimed to bring biodiversity conservation/natural resource management and economic development together into a practical and sustainable model. These approaches included landscape analysis, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), and competitiveness.

The impact of PRIME/West lay not in the soundness or application of these individual approaches but in their creative combinations that yielded sustainable solutions in participation with local partners. Thus, landscape principles drove the analyses and informed program participants on the productive potential—both economic and ecological—of the land. The CBNRM approach provided communities with use-rights of the natural resources concerned, along with the ability to decide when and how to use those resources. The competitiveness approach turned economic and environmentally sustainable solutions and secure tenure and use rights into action within the private sector.

Tanzania - Private Enterprise Support Activities (PESA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development
Project Completed (2007)

Promoting private sector development throughout Tanzania

In the forefront of its activities, PESA promoted the development of producer associations and their memberships in 11 districts within a six-region zone of Tanzania that included 30 percent of the country’s population and territory.

By September 2006, the DAI team had provided technical assistance to 170 associations, more than 90 of them newly formed, with a combined membership of 24,000. Twelve critical mass producer subprojects with eight agricultural commodities form the base. The project operated on an integrated subsector development basis, strengthening producer associations as the foundation stone to sustainable development in governance, business, and technical capacity development. The team facilitated access to capital and linkages to markets. To widen impact, project staff promoted district-level all-stakeholder alliances that embraced both direct economic/commercial and crosscutting issues, such as HIV/AIDS mitigation, youth unemployment, gender imbalance, and environmental balance. They also worked to improve select policy constraints, for example, in cashew tax and the standardization of weights and measures. Project staff worked with selected government agencies to promote public–private dialogue and disseminate market information over the radio and internet.

The PESA team recognized the impact of HIV/AIDS early in the project and responded by integrating HIV/AIDS programming into its activities and leveraged outreach in rural areas to deliver a training program that integrated bio-intensive sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention, and positive living training. The program was well received by communities, many of which had received no training on HIV/AIDS and had little information on the disease.

PESA has assisted 24,000 core farmers to understand and practice market economy dynamics and tactics. Additionally, because of a failed central cooperative system, farmers first needed technical training in basic farming and seed selection to meet market demands and then graduate to post-harvest improvements. Project staff trained farmers to help them find new markets, plant new varieties, and organize themselves into associations. A majority of project-supported micro and small enterprises were trained and linked to savings and credit associations to buy inputs and implements. The team also formed public-private alliances at the district level to democratize and devolve governance and to resolve policy issues. [RAISE IQC]

PESA Success Stories

Building a Market Economy from the Ground Up

Connecting Farmers to Markets in Tanzania

Tanzania - Management Consulting to the National Microfinance Bank

Client: World Bank/Government of Tanzania
Project Completed (2005)

Improving management and extending services to make the Tanzania National Microfinance Bank profitable

DAI began working in August 1999 to transform the National Microfinance Bank (NMB), a troubled state-owned savings bank in one of the world’s poorest countries, into a profitable commercial bank providing a full range of services to poor and middle-income customers. DAI’s management team has focused on growing the Bank's revenue base while instituting operational improvements to create a foundation for institutional strength. With technical assistance financed by the World Bank and the Government of Tanzania, NMB’s management was restructured, new products were developed, all levels of staff were trained and retrained, and new information technology and management information systems were implemented. DAI’s comprehensive re-engineering of the Bank has spread improved management, customer service, and product offerings throughout the Bank’s branch network. Today, NMB provides micro, salaried worker, personal, and pension loans, deposit, remittance, and payment services to 131,000 clients through 108 branch locations countrywide, and maintains an outstanding loan portfolio of 61.3 billion Tanzanian shillings (approximately US$61 million). DAI continues to manage the Bank while building staff capacity, guiding the expansion of microfinance products, and designing and rolling out new products, including agricultural credit and small and medium-sized enterprise loans. To complement traditional staff development programs, DAI is working with the African Medical and Research Foundation to implement a workplace HIV/AIDS program. The program includes a review of staff benefits (including health insurance, leave, and death benefits) and health expenditures, a knowledge survey of staff on their understanding of HIV/AIDS, a two-day prevention education program for all staff, and the development of a peer educator program.

Sri Lanka - Transition Initiatives Program (SLTI)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
August 2004 - September 2009

Promoting reconciliation and peaceful coexistence

SLTIï¿½s goal is to build support for the peace process among Sri Lankaï¿½s citizens and increase collaboration among diverse groups to set and address priority needs at the local level. DAI designs and supports grant-funded initiatives that promote good governance, improve local government service delivery, strengthen civil society, create public space for open dialogue, and increase competitiveness and access to economic opportunities in conflict-vulnerable and tsunami- and conflict-affected communities.

Through its offices in Colombo, Trincomalee, Ampara, Matara, and Batticaloa, SLTI has fundedï¿½as of January 2009ï¿½600 grants worth $30 million. SLTI partners and grantees include local government entities, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations and, to a lesser extent, international nongovernmental organizations, chambers of commerce, trader and farmer associations, student groups, and the media. Some of these partners would not necessarily meet the financial or institutional requirements of other international donors; DAI engages with them in activities that build constituencies for a lasting peace while ensuring compliance with USAID regulations by using an in-kind funding mechanism.

SLTI was at the forefront of USAIDï¿½s immediate emergency response in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami. In the ensuing months, the project contributed to the tsunami recovery and the return to normalcy in its targeted communities through programs in community infrastructure, livelihoods, and information dissemination totaling $15 million.

These programs include a $715,743 infrastructure project financed in equal parts by USAID and Hellenic Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece. This DAI program to rehabilitate the Anuradhapura Junction Market in Trincomalee was the first ever partnership between the two donors.

In July 2008, SLTI received funding from the U.S. Department of Defenseï¿½s Overseas Humanitarian Disaster and Civic Aid (OHDACA) appropriation, through the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), to support the return of persons displaced by conflict to their Eastern Province communities of origin. DAI is rehabilitating schools, health facilities, and other public infrastructure to meet critical needs in these newly resettled areas. Projects were identified in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers based on needs identified by relevant government authorities and international agencies, and vetted through an inclusive participatory community consultation process. These infrastructure projects aim to generate high levels of community participation and ownership, and also to engage the local and regional government authorities.

The programï¿½s goal- and conflict-sensitive approach to peace building has remained consistent throughout the life of SLTI, although the strategy and design of grant programs constantly adapts to meet the changing political landscape and realities in the field.

SLTI is the follow-on program to BPI, which was implemented from February 2003 to July 2004 and funded 190 grants worth $3.6 million.

OTI Success Stories

After the Tsunami, Sri Lankans Band Together to Clean Up Their City

DAI Energizes the Dairy Sector in Eastern Sri Lanka

In Trincomalee, a New Terminus Offers a New Beginning

New Schools, Hospital Lay Foundation for Community Recovery in Sri Lanka