Appendix 1_ Breakout Group Questions and Ideation_English.pdf

Central America Regional Support Services (CARSS) Industry Engagement Event Breakout Groups Questions & Ideation

November 17, 2022

Breakout Activity #1: Localization

Sarah Rose (Senior Advisor for Localization) was introduced as a keynote speaker. The main points of her presentation included:

● Localization is about connecting people to create more results and can look like:

○ Fostering locally-led development tied through each country's unique conditions

○ Creating space for local partners to have power and leadership over program design

○ Channeling a larger portion of funding to local partners

● By 2030, 50% of USAID programming will place local partners in the lead for programs.

These goals have staying power. Even though it takes time, it is worth doing;

● All people, including marginalized/underrepresented populations, should be involved in development plans and we need to reckon with some historical inequalities around development. This is gaining traction thanks to a global movement around DEIA.

● Control of funds is part of localization - but it’s also about how they’re being used;

● USAID’s localization framework aims to respond to local priorities, not donor requirements. This involves finding out what local partners are doing, what their priorities are, and co-creating objectives from there.

● USAID has a partner directory on workwithUSAID.org

After Sarah Rose’s presentation, participants individually answered the question:

Do you have questions about USAID understanding of localization?

The facilitator asked participants to answer that question in the Post-Its shared on the tables.

These were gathered and are recorded below:

https://www.usaid.gov/local-capacity-strengthening-policy https://www.workwithusaid.org/

● How to ensure that capacity building for CSOs is actually focused on their needs and not the donors?

● For CARSS, is there an expectation to have local partners for each sector in each country? If so, does that make consortiums too big to manage or give real partnership?

● How will the CARSS agile and flexible mechanism help fund local organizations in a more efficient and timely manner?

● Does USAID-LAC work with other agencies like USCIS to promote legal pathways to immigration and work with local immigration NGOs?

● How will USAID address the danger posed to local organizations by USAID “overhead”?

● USAID has many tools for assessing local partner capacity. How will this new plan to co-create capacity-strengthening plans align with the existing USAID tools?

● One challenge for local organizations is conducting USAID-relevant M&E. Is this an area of focus for capacity building?

● Will this opportunity include both local and locally established organizations in the localization priority?

● Does USAID's vision include a plan for sustained partnerships between international and local partners to allow for sufficient resources?

● What is the expectation of USAID about International NGOs’ role under localization strategy?

● There are also power relationships within the local system of organizations. How does

USAID build safeguards to navigate those relationships?

● How are the USAID policies going to be designed / adapted to local organizations if this will happen?

● Is localization a synonym for local impact?

● What is the relationship between PSE and Non-profit?

● Can a localization strategy consider transferring ownership from large businesses to local organizations during implementation?

● Which organizations are considered? Organizations registered in the country?

Organizations founded in the country? Organizations with only local actors?

● Where is the strategy starting?

● When will the TOR of the selection for international and local organizations be?

● In what specific ways does USAID envisage the role of US organizations to change as a consequence of localization?

● Localization should be about local people on the ground solving local challenges. We disagree on the need for shareholders of a subcontracted to be local. That undermines the ability to have global structures and economies of scale.

● What is USAID doing specifically to make it easier for local groups to work with them (admin + financial procedures, etc)?

● How is localization different from other USAID strategies, what is new?

● Is there a USAID policy or document about localization?

● Do you expect the balance between acquisition and assistance for local partners to change? How?

● How do you distinguish between work and prioritization for local partners and locally established partners?

● How can local organizations receive funding support to implement organizational strengthening and program development plans?

● What is the 2030 target? 2025?

● How is USAID preparing for increased oversight, guidance, and mentoring required for increased localization?

● How do local partners get added to the USAID website listing?

● How does USAID work with local partners to design new and innovative programs for agile and accelerated implementation?

● How does USAID define local organizations?

● Navigating USAID contracting is costly and challenging even for big firms. What is USAID doing to make this easier for local organizations to navigate?

● Is there a preference for involving more local firms?

● Role of higher education in localization?

● Local actors want to be part of the conversation. How does USAID facilitate these public and private local partnerships?

● Is there an expectation for the number of local partners?

● What are the benefits of being a US small business but also a local entity?

● Does localization include support to organizations to have NICRA, SAM, Unique entity

ID, etc. to become eligible to participate?

● Will localization strengthen the skills and tools for implementing local partners?

● Will localization include core funding for organizations? If so, what for?

● Are there any initiatives that USAID is considering in terms of streamlining communication with local communities?

● Does USAID have a way to ensure the utilization of local partners by the prime throughout the life of the project? Not just at the moment of the award reporting?

● Localization seems to result in Prime contractors teaming with local partners instead of

US small businesses.

● How can we support localization without limiting US small business participation?

● What are the opportunities for investment in the short and long terms that CARSS is willing to do in terms of localization?

● How do you envision co-creating with very local actors with pre-defined outputs?

● How does USAID distinguish between different policies or mechanisms of localization such as WPI for example?

● How is USAID increasing the capacity to manage local partners as direct recipients?

● Does USAID similarity value local grantees, subcontractors, or other types of local partnerships?

● Are there any best practices in localization that have been successfully implemented in other regions of the world?

● What are the areas prioritized by USAID El Salvador?

● How is local defined? Are international organizations with a local affiliate considered local?

● What role should local universities play in sustainable development of training programs?

● Is USAID flexible with local organizations' program implementation? How so?

● How is USAID managing relationships with local organizations for awards, to manage shocks that sometimes occur in the program cycle?

● For local partners, is USAID encouraging nonexclusivity to make sure there is equitable work success?

● How can you ensure you will work with local organizations that do not comply with all the requirements?

Breakout Activity #2: Feedback Session

After the questions were gathered, participants were asked to answer the following questions in small groups at their tables:

● What have been successful ways programs have shifted power to local actors and organizations in planning, implementation, and measuring results?

● What are new and different ways this could happen in programs?

The facilitator asked participants to share their key points of conversation to share with the USAID team. Each table added some Post Its to the flipcharts. A full record of takeaways is below:

● More resources for USAID officers to process local proposals faster

● Patience for local leadership to set the agendas

● Use www.mcc.gov methodology to empower communities

● Shifting power: contracts to create capacity among locals

● Make a certain % of the budget go to local businesses, make utilization of the local organization to be a result

● Longer lead times for inception. If the work plan is due in 3 or 4 days, it is extremely difficult to be both responsive and inclusive

● Local regulatory environment facilitation localization (i.e. microfinance industry)

● More support for new local partners to learn the ropes

● Ensure real co-creation processes at the proposal level

● Integrate capacity building within project funding

● Supporting project staff to create their consultant companies and provide sole sources contract during the life of the project

● Provide grants and fixed-price contracting and provide technical support to local organizations

● Support local organizations to better carry out their missions rather than make them mere extensions of the project

● Translating and localizing information is key

● Community planning facilitated by local NGOs

● Co-creation of solutions with an ecosystem of actors around a specific problem

● Training programs for local business on how to promote their services

● Using more GMC mechanisms allows local actors to then be able to bid on work directly with USAID

● Helping local partners who receive grants or direct funding with the component of managing the grant of business functions and language requirements

● Work with local entities to establish what is the correct metrics to measure results and sustainability, what is important to them

● The local partnerships have to have ownership in the design, planning, and implementation of the service

● Stop planning for the desktop but from the territory

● More time for proposals

● Partners need to be a part of the design process

● Identity the local needs in terms of services needed

● Have clear objectives and inputs

● Co-design, context analysis

● Do evidence research

● Flexibility is key

● Face the barriers that working with local organizations without strong governance

● Close accompaniment, best practices transfer, transparency

● Align USAID policies to local realities

● Support new mechanism of talent acquisition

● How to create real synergies?

● More involvement in design of programs necessities

● Duration of programs need to be adequate to achieve impact

● Understand how project outcomes and localization are related

● Engage the private sector in localization

● Create a group of local capacity-building specialists & connect them to grants

● Position local partners as equals and as agents of change

● Generate a change in the country and how to engage small businesses in this

● Actively mentor local organizations to help them to take on more of the work/implementation

● Translating and localizing information

● Partners being part of both the design & implementation

● Local leadership for setting agendas

● Ensure real co-creation processes at the proposal level