The Role of Multi-Sector Partnerships in the New Development Era

Edited video and audio will be available on this page shortly.

In a time of declining foreign assistance budgets, instead of retreating, how can international development stakeholders think more boldly, ambitiously, and practically – all at the same time? How can the U.S. build partnerships that leverage available funds for maximum efficiency and social impact? How can bilateral donors play a catalytic role for partnerships in which they are not the primary funder? These two discussions will bring together panelists with perspectives on these questions from the donor, military, private, and civil sectors.

1:00 PM - Public welcoming remarks from Dan Runde, Director, the Project on Prosperity and Development, William A. Schreyer Chair, CSIS

1:15 PM - The Power of Partnerships in Difficult Places

• Greg Huger, (moderator), Former Mission Director, USAID
• LTG Charles Cleveland, Commander (retired), U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC)
• Morgan Keay, CEO and Founder, Motive International
• Bill Guyton, Founder and Former President, World Cocoa Foundation
• Simon Lowes, Former Manager, Global Social Performance, Chevron

2:30 PM - Strange Bedfellows: Innovation, Social Impact, and Economic Realism

• Richard Crespin, (moderator), CEO, CollaborateUp
• Katherine Pickus, Vice President, Global Citizenship and Policy, Abbott
• Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Children
• Daniella Foster, Senior Director, Global Corporate Responsibility, Hilton
• Hugh Welsh, President and General Counsel, DSM North America 

This event will focus on the growing role of development partnerships in an era of declining budgets and declining ambition for official development assistance. CSIS will be joined by panel moderators Richard Crespin, the CEO of CollaborateUp, and Greg Huger, Owner of Ayrlie Partners and a former Mission Director at USAID.  Additional panelists will represent the donor, military, private, and civil sectors.  With such a diverse representation of interests and views, we will cover ways in which companies, the development sector, the private sector, and bilateral and multilateral donors can think creatively about future partnerships and relationships.  The private sector plays a catalytic role in emerging economies, but how can policy maximize efficiency and social impact while ensuring benefit for these industries?  

The public event will begin with a brief opening before two separate public panels.  These panels will be titled  “The Power of Partnerships in Difficult Places” and  “Strange Bedfellows: Innovation, Social Impact, and Economic Realism."

The first panel will cover how stakeholders in conflict, post-conflict, and fragile states build partnerships that promote security, create positive outcomes for citizens, and align with companies’ core business interests? How can the military and other key players on the ground be effective partners in these public-private partnerships? We will explore the opportunity to build further partnerships in regions such as South Asia and the Horn of Africa, which offer the possibility for private companies to collaborate with other actors on the ground to build new markets and promote economic opportunity. 

The second panel will discuss declining public budgets for international development and how the private and civil sectors can develop new models for development that embrace economic realism and practicality – focused on national and organizational self-interest without being selfish? What types of partnerships have worked, and what should be the focus for the future as we look to promote, facilitate, and encourage the power of partnership to create impact in developing countries? We will explore how “strange bedfellows” are coming together to leverage each other’s unique capabilities and resources for maximum impact. 

After a brief opening, the panels will deliver remarks, and hold a public conversation.  CSIS looks forward to hosting you here on Monday, May 1.