Overview
PSE Support was contracted by the USAID/Peru to assist in integrating USAID’s PSE strategy across the Mission’s bilateral and regional activities. The Mission required support across a variety of areas related to PSE - including partnership development, access to finance, management of private sector data, and more - all of which seek to cultivate a culture of trust and cooperation between the private sector, federal and local administrative governments, civil society, and USAID in Peru.
Challenges
PSE Support undertook this project aware of and sensitive to the potential impact of private sector partnerships on indigenous communities in Peru. Both PSE Support and the Mission acknowledged the importance of indigenous peoples, communities, and businesses in the context of building trust and relationships in Peru, and further involving the private sector in addressing key development objectives and needs throughout the country. WBD’s team proactively considered indigenous issues when designing and implementing support activities.
Solutions
The project consisted of three key components, which aimed to expand the Mission PSE capacity and technical expertise.
- Partnerships Database for Relationship Management: Like most of the operating units throughout USAID, Peru Mission staff did not have access to a centralized database to track engagement and partnerships with the private sector. This lack of such a system was leading to issues related to continuity in maintaining relationships with the private sector, efficient and thorough access to key PSE and partnerships data, and duplication of effort on the part of Mission staff. It also resulted in identical datasets being created at varying times, resulting in lost time and inefficiency across the Mission. Recognizing the need for better coordination in partnership management, PSE Support developed a customized central repository that provided the requisite space for Peru to collect, organize, sort, and export its data on relationships with the private sector on a regular basis. Specifically, the database provided key information about private sector entities including, but not limited to primary point(s) of contact, industry/sector, stage of engagement, and active status of each respective company. This partnership data management tool – because it was developed from scratch by WBD – can also be further build-out or revised on an ad hoc basis, allowing for enhanced flexibility at the Mission when it comes to the types of private sector entities they choose to engage with and the information they seek to capture.
- PSE Toolkit: To assist in fostering PSE technical competency, PSE Support curated a toolkit to serve as a digital library of private sector engagement resources that Mission staff can easily access and reference, as well as share with other relevant stakeholders. The toolkit serves as an invaluable repository of knowledge related to PSE theory and practical approaches for implementing effective private sector engagement in the field. This includes key communications tools and examples, as well as proven interventions that are replicable and scalable in new markets. WBD continually works with USAID/Peru to understand the needs and knowledge gaps at the Mission as it relates to PSE, in order to continue strengthening the toolkit and related resources.
- Information Sharing: Recognizing the value of informational exchange as it related to PSE expertise and knowledge among activity managers, PSE Support organized interactive educational sessions to discuss proven PSE strategies, approaches, and tactics in Peru and beyond. Beginning with Mission-wide group sessions, these roundtables and brown bags hosted instructors and interactive discussions that provided a venue for Mission staff to engage directly with new or innovative PSE approaches, ask questions, and test their PSE capacity and know-how. From there, WBD pivoted to facilitating customized sessions with individual staffers that support the Mission’s range of PSE activities, as well as involving, importantly, implementing partners in these sessions to strengthen their capacity as well. Individualized sessions provided the invaluable opportunity for staff to learn from their peers and engage PSE content in a more in-depth, hands-on manner. Critically, PSE Support was able to replicate and deliver real-world scenarios and role playing exercises with PSE staff in the Mission and focus on developing capacity by challenging individuals to cultivate practical engagement and relationship management skills that can be leveraged when interacting with the private sector and collaborating to address specific development challenges.