The New Alliance Assessment Framework

How can USAID most effectively develop strategic alliances with the private sector that maximize both development impact and business value?  To answer that question, USAID turned to SSG to develop the Alliance Assessment Framework as a tool for Missions to identify high value opportunities in which partnering has the greatest effect. 

Together with USAID and Harvard Business School, SSG conducted pilot assessments in Russia, Uganda and Bangladesh in December and January to test the Framework.  Each assessment identified a range of potential partnerships in which key business challenges such as workforce development, product development, market expansion, corruption, employee and community health, and environmental impact mitigation intersected with USAID’s core strategic objectives.  In each alliance opportunity presented, businesses would address core business concerns while USAID Missions could harness significant new resources including technology, expertise, market access, and funding towards increasing impact in achieving targeted objectives across all Mission portfolio development objectives.   Going forward, each Mission plans to use assessment finding in developing strategies for incorporating alliances into their strategic plans.

The Alliance Assessment Framework can assist USAID Missions in building strategic alliances through four primary functions:

• The identification and prioritization of business sectors.
• The selection of potential private sector partners
• The definition and prioritization of strategic alliance opportunities
• Specific guidance to USAID Mission staff on building those alliances

Missions can use the Framework as a standalone tool in which alliance potential is determined in all development sectors or as an embedded component within development sector assessments.

At its core, the Assessment process helps determine where resources from the private sector can enable USAID to achieve results it could not achieve on its own.  The Assessment is a means for Mission management to make informed decisions regarding hwo and where it should invest scarce resources in building private sector alliances.