A Focus on Institutionalization, Integration, and Learning at the USAID Forward Experience Summit

For one week in mid-January, 110 representatives from 32 USAID Missions worldwide took time out of their busy schedules and converged in Bangkok, Thailand at the Asia Regional Training Center (ARTC) to participate in the USAID Forward Experience Summit. The objectives of the Summit were to:

• foster a robust dialogue around USAID Forward reforms and their implementation,
• distill lessons learned,
• build synergies and share best practices, and
• exchange new ideas and innovations. 

USAID Forward is a series of reforms put in place in 2010 as a response to a presidential mandate to elevate development. Altogether, these reforms “have formed the foundation of a new model for development; one that can represent the best of American ideals abroad, while advancing the security and prosperity of Americans at home.”

A Progress Report was released in March 2013 which highlighted the challenges and successes in implementing the reforms across the Agency. The reforms have ushered in a new way of collecting data and reporting on results across all areas of USAID’s work.  Key areas of progress include the use of evaluations, partnerships (especially public-private), local capacity building, and internal staff development.

As USAID Forward enters into its fourth year, the Agency is focusing on two main goals: (1) institutionalizing the reforms into Agency operations and (2) promoting learning across the Agency. Susan Reichle spoke to both of these goals on the first day of the Summit and praised the Summit as a way to promote learning and the cross fertilization of ideas and experience among USAID staff.

The structure of the Summit was shaped around the four main areas of USAID Forward: Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnership, Local Solutions, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Talent Management. While presentations were widely used, Summit organizers also employed other approaches and tools to keep attendees engaged in multiple ways while capturing learning in real-time. Technology played a big role in facilitating knowledge exchange among participants. Laptops were set up at each table, and participants were regularly asked to respond to targeted surveys (using Google forms), which provided immediate feedback to presenters for focused reflection and targeted Q&A. To read more about how Summit organizers used technology at the Summit, read about their experience in this Learning in Action piece.

At the end of the week, it was clear that the Summit largely accomplished what it had set out to do, especially in regards to fostering a dialogue around USAID Forward, sharing best practices, and encouraging peer-to-peer learning. Next steps include analyzing the enormous amount of feedback and ideas attained from Summit participants, pulling out major themes, and communicating this back to USAID Washington. Stay tuned for select resources and products from the Summit that will be available soon on Learning Lab!