History
History of the Global Development Alliance
At the start of the new Millennium, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) identified an important trend in development funding: the private sector accounted for more than 80 percent of investment in the developing world. The trend marked a reversal from 40 years earlier when public assistance provided for the vast majority of development aid. Suddenly, the field of development assistance was exploding with a vast array of new actors. Recognizing this change, USAID presented the Global Development Alliance approach to partnerships as a new way to implement foreign assistance.
In 2001, a team of leading thinkers in USAID developed the Global Development Alliance concept for public- private partnerships. Then Administrator-elect Andrew Natsios endorsed the partnership model immediately. "The first appeal of this," said Natsios, "was to link the development of civil society and private institutions, profit-making and nonprofit, in the United States with those that were emerging in the developing world." Sworn in as Administrator on May 1, 2001, Natsios prioritized the Global Development Alliance initiative. Ten days later, then Secretary of State Colin Powell introduced the Global Development Alliance as "a new strategic orientation for USAID."
Under Powell and Natsios, USAID forged ahead with a new Business Model for the 21st Century: aligning public resources with private capital, expertise and networks to deepen development impact. USAID Career Foreign Service Officer Holly Wise was appointed head of the fledgling Global Development Alliance Secretariat. Under her leadership, USAID built upon its long history of working in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGO's), foundations, and international organizations to expand and deepen its relationship with private sector companies - ties which were previously under-valued.
Building upon the new realities of development assistance and direct investment in emerging economies, the Global Development Alliance model of public-private alliances welcomed private sector partners as full collaborators in the implementation, design, and funding of development projects. No longer the majority stakeholder in the alliances it forged, USAID's approach united the skills and resources of both the public and private sectors and applied them to achieve outcomes that no one actor could realize on its own.
Soon, USAID began to adopt the partnership model more broadly. Around the globe, USAID developed significant partnerships with local and global organizations to address issues as varied as environmental protection, small and medium enterprise development, and education and youth unemployment. Over the past decade, the Global Development Alliance approach has proven itself enormously successful with more than 1,000 alliances formed with over 3,000 distinct partners, leveraging billions in combined public-private sector resources.*
Global Partnerships Today
Today, the Global Partnerships (GP) Division in the Office of Innovation and Development Alliances (IDEA), has elevated partnerships from the realm of charitable contributions and private philanthropy to instead focus on the core business interests of private firms and their long-term corporate social responsibility goals. By engaging around overlapping business and development interests with traditional NGO and host government partners, the Global Development Alliance model is contributing to long-term, sustainable economic and social growth in developing countries.
Additionally, GP is creating more strategic partnerships through Global Framework agreements. These Frameworks with key private sector partners leverage combined assets with greater efficiency and effectiveness for selected development activities. For example, after several years of working in partnership on 16 separate projects, USAID created a Global Framework agreement with Microsoft Corporation in 2007. Strategically, this agreement is also joined by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Together, through our combined resources, we are advancing conjoined activities globally in six key areas: health, education, capacity-building, youth empowerment, environmental sustainability, and disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Shortly after its signing, the Global Framework successfully implemented a project with the USAID Mission in Indonesia promoting innovation in small and medium enterprises. The partners also have several joint activities spanning Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
* Partner contributions are estimates provided to USAID by its partners and may include contributions by various partners including the private sector, non-governmental organizations, foreign governments and other organizations. Estimated contributions include cash and in-kind resources. In-kind resources estimates may have been valued by non-USAID partner organizations. Partner contribution estimates are not audited.
