BGI Products
Disseminating Best Practices to Improve Enterprise Development Interventions
A primary objective of the Business Growth Initiative (BGI) project is to promote best practices in enterprise development, by extending previous work performed by USAID’s Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Bureau’s Economic Growth Office (EGAT/EG).
One of the core functions of the Business Growth Initiative (BGI) project is to provide assistance to USAID Bureaus and Missions. The objective of BGI is to encourage the use of best practices in enterprise development. BGI can provide technical assistance to support Bureaus and Missions in several ways:
Economic Growth Strategies. BGI can contribute to the development of economic growth strategies by conducting background research to assisting in writing the strategy. We conducted research, presented findings and participated in initial meetings for the Yemen Mission strategy.
Concept Development. BGI can field enterprise development specialists to assist in the development of concept papers. A thoughtfully prepared concept eases project design and implementation.
Designs. BGI can assist in designing project Scopes of Work related to enterprise development. This would include interviews and research to help focus the SOW and provide recommendation on project objectives, results indicators as well as project organizational structure. We have developed SOWs for the following Missions: Jordan, Ecuador and Armenia.
Evaluations. BGI can conduct an evaluation at the end of a project or for a mid-term evaluation for enterprise development-related economic growth projects. This can help highlight outputs and outcomes, and for mid-term reviews help projects re-focus to ensure project objectives are met. We have conducted project evaluations for Morocco and Montenegro.
Assessments. BGI can conduct an assessment of your enterprise environment to assist in the selection of appropriate interventions for projects, providing great background information for the preparation of a SOW. We have conducted assessments in Kosovo and Indonesia.
MEASURE. The BGI Enterprise Development Diagnostic tool provides key input into new project design, in addition to serving as a baseline for monitoring and evaluation purposes. We conducted our pilot MEASURE in Ethiopia and have conducted MEASURE in Armenia.
Pilot Demonstration Projects. BGI offers technical assistance to interested Missions in the design and implementation of PDPs. Most PDPs will be implemented within existing, larger projects.
Part of BGI's core practice is conducting research on a variety of topics related to enterprise development in order to expand the knowledge base of best practices and lessons learned in the international development field.
BGI publishes three types of publications: Research Reports, Technical Notes, and Notes from the Field.
Research Reports provide an in-depth examination of a topic in enterprise development. Based on original research, these papers provide detailed information and knowledge on best practices.
Technical Notes are short documents with essential information gleaned from research reports or other documents and activities on the lessons learned in enterprise development.
Notes from the Field provide detailed information and background on an individual project or an approach. NFTFs are strong accompaniment documents to technical briefs, but do not fully present an issue.
Trainings and Workshops
One of the fundamental goals of BGI is to spread its knowledge and findings of best practices in enterprise development. In order to accomplish this objective, BGI provides periodic trainings, workshops, and conferences on a wide variety of enterprise development topics in order to publicize our findings.
The BGI agenda to disseminate our methods for sharing best practices with wider audiences can be seen from the below descriptions of our events. Here, you will find information about our Daybreak Discovery series, as well as to our international workshops and conferences.
International Trainings and Workshops
Besides hosting events locally in the Washington D.C. area, BGI seeks to spread knowledge of best practices globally. BGI annually travels to a developing country to host an international workshop for USAID economic growth officers. These workshops aim to provide skills and tools in the various areas of enterprise development. BGI held an international event in Amman, Jordan in April 2009 and an Enterprise Development Training Course in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2010.
Driving Growth Through Innovation and Enterprise Development Conference
