CIDC Now

April 13, 2023

April is going to be one of our busiest months – please keep an eye out for announcements in PSC Daily and our Events Page. For those not joining us at PSC’s Annual Conference at the Greenbrier next week, on April 20, we have our monthly CIDC meeting with officials from USAID’s M/OAA. They asked to meet with us to hear from CIDC members regarding their recently released Acquisition and Assistance Implementation Plan and sent PSC a series of questions to help frame the discussion for next. Thanks to feedback from Abt Associates, Chemonics, Creative Associates, DAI, and Nathan, PSC was able to submit a dozen pages of comments and suggestions.

 

Immediately following our April CIDC meeting, our DEIA tri-chairs will host a meeting of our Working Group.

 

We have a great turnout for our 4th CIDC on the Hill with 15 members signed up for our April 25th event in Rayburn House Office Building where we will meet with Members of Congress and their staffs to discuss the important work CIDC companies are doing around the globe. More information below.

 

In late March, we issued another in our series of thought leadership papers on USAID’s Localization efforts – focusing on the 2030 goal to have half of USAID programming with local partners in the lead. CIDC members provided real-world localization successes and challenges that formed key input in the paper’s annex. More information below. Speaking of papers, USAID issued its Policy Framework: Driving Progress Beyond Programs at a widely attended and broadcast event hosted by Administrator Power and her senior leadership team. You can view the event here and read the framework here.

 

Our “From the Field” stories this month highlight the work by Creative Associates to reduce the ever-mounting volume of plastic through recycling programs in West Africa. DAI reports on their transparency and anti-corruption programs in Colombia. Please contact me to help us get the word out about the great work CIDC members are doing to make the world a better place.

 

Paul Foldi

Vice President, International Development Affairs

Professional Services Council

Next Up 

When:

Thursday, April 20; from 12 – 1 p.m.

Speaker:  
USAID Officials from the office of Acquisition & Assistance

Where:

In person at PSC or online – Please click on the link below to log in to your PSC account and register via PSC’s Events Page.

Thanks to our sponsor:

From the Field

Coliba SARL collects and recycles plastic waste in Abidjan to create tons of plastic flakes for a variety of uses, including packaging that is suitable for contact with food. (Photo credit: Coliba SARL)

Trade Hub Grant Takes Aim at Plastic Pollution

USAID co-investment grant to Coliba SARL will help reduce plastic pollution, create jobs in Abidjan

 

By Fatima Datt, Communication Specialist, West Africa Trade & Investment Hub

 

Reducing plastic pollution, recycling plastic waste for industrial use, and creating hundreds of jobs in Côte d’Ivoire are the goals of a USAID-funded grant from the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) to COLIBA Africa, a company with a unique business model helping to create value from waste. Through a co-investment partnership with the USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (managed by Creative Associates), Coliba Africa is implementing activities to help reduce plastic pollution, recycle plastic waste for industrial use, and create hundreds of jobs in Côte d’Ivoire.

Francisco Palmieri, Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Bogota (center, white shirt, next to USAID Mission Director Anu Rajaraman) traveled with the PfT team to Buenaventura to learn from youth organizations about the challenges of the city’s development plan regarding corruption, transparency, and participation. (photo by USAID Partners for Transparency)

Mobilizing All Colombians in the Fight Against Corruption

By Fernando Segura, Technical Director of the Colombia PfT Activity 

 

Implemented by DAI, USAID’s Partners for Transparency (PfT) are Transparencia por Colombia (a chapter of Transparency International); Foro Nacional por Colombia, a nongovernmental group promoting citizen participation; the School of Government of the University of the Andes; and La Silla Vacía, an investigative journalism site.

PSC Matters

CIDC DEIA Working Group Meeting – April 20; 1pm

Please join our tri-chairs Indira Ahluwalia from Palladium, Shiro Gnanaselvam from Social Impact, and Bobby Jefferson from DAI as we discuss the latest USG and company developments in DEIA. This meeting will immediately follow our CIDC General Membership meeting.

Localization – Walking the Talk

In late March, we released the third in our series of thought leadership papers addressing issues related to USAID’s push for greater localization.  Thanks to our three authors TetraTech/MSI’s Larry Cooley, DAI’s Jean Gilson and Palladium’s Indira Ahluwalia – this edition focuses on the 2030 target of 50 percent of programming will place local communities in the lead to co-design a project, set priorities, drive implementation, and/or evaluate the impact of its programs.  Half of the ten-page report is comprised of an annex documenting feedback by the broader CIDC community to reflect current successes and challenges in furthering localization on the ground.

Congress Matters

CIDC on the Hill Returns – April 25

Following a COVID-hiatus, on Tuesday, April 25, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET. we will re-start our CIDC on the Hill events. This is an exceptional opportunity to interact directly with both members of Congress and their staffs to highlight the importance and impact of U.S. foreign assistance. Thanks to the following members who have signed up: 
Abt Associates, Amentum, Chemonics, Creative Associates, DAI, Democracy International, DT Global, Ecodit, IDG, Nathan, Nickol Global, Palladium, Social Impact, TetraTech, URC