How USAID/Guatemala Used Facilitation to Launch a Culture of CLA

This is the story of how USAID/Guatemala developed its Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) using facilitation as the key to foster a culture of collaboration and learning throughout the Mission. This participatory approach set the ground for further collaboration between the technical sectors during the next phase of CDCS implementation.

At the onset of CDCS development, the Mission went through many changes internally due to an Assistance Review process that froze funding and forced a quick adaptation of activities. Other changes in the diplomatic priorities from the United States (U.S.) government required the Mission to pivot most programming to address the causes of irregular migration to the U.S. from Guatemala, especially from young men.

The CLA approach the Mission used promoted organizational effectiveness and learning while also producing a more comprehensive strategy to respond to the internal and external demands from different stakeholders.