Localization Framework

Our goal is to support Guatemalans in building a society where local actors are empowered and possess the resources and capacity they need to design and lead efforts to improve their own communities and tackle priority development challenges.  

USAID/Guatemala continues to deepen localization as a fundamental operational and guiding principle by working with local and international actors, including government, non-governmental, private-sector, civil society, communities, and indigenous and non-indigenous organizations, groups, and leaders. 

This work will advance sustainable and equitable economic growth, improve governance, reduce incentives and opportunities for corruption, protect human rights, improve citizen security, and combat sexual and gender-based violence. These efforts will also advance the Strategy to Address the Root Causes of Migration in Central America and deliver on USAID’s overarching vision to foster greater engagement with local organizations and communities, especially in Central America. To improve the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, the strategy focuses on local and community relations to ensure knowledge and awareness building among partners and community groups about the different forms of local governance. 

As a means toward achieving inclusive development in Guatemala, we will further the localization of our development work to empowered, capable, and diverse organizations and people. This is in alignment with our Country Development and Cooperation Strategy goal working towards “a Guatemala where Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth are connected to opportunities that enable them to achieve prosperous, secure, and dignified lives at home in Guatemala.”

WHAT IS DIFFERENT FOR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS?

The concept of localized development is not new to USAID or our partners, and we have sought to advance localization objectives for decades. Along the way, we have learned much about localization - successful and unsuccessful approaches and models, and various constraints which have challenged us in achieving sustained development outcomes. A central lesson we have learned is that successfully advancing  locally-led development requires that USAID commit to fundamental principles and actions that will set our teams up for success in achieving our localization goals.  USAID/Guatemala commits to the following:

• Improved Outreach and Communication. Through expanding use and support of local and indigenous communication channels, USAID/Guatemala will tailor communications to reach new organizations and actors with information on USAID programs and partnership opportunities.
• Expanded Opportunities to Engage with USAID/Guatemala. USAID/Guatemala will seek new opportunities for local actors to work with USAID, such as through new funding opportunities, and participation in the design of new activities and strategies. USAID will also create new channels to receive feedback from local actors on our programs and approaches. USAID will explore ways to use our convening power, endorsement, social and political capital to facilitate resource mobilization from other local actors in Guatemala in the private, governmental, and other sectors, as well as international actors.
• Increased Flexibility, Adaptation, and Innovation. Increasing the types of opportunities to engage with USAID, and expanding and diversifying partners, will require new mechanisms and methods of partnering. USAID/Guatemala will explore and pursue innovative ways to support the work of local actors, such as piloting new funding mechanisms, pursuing catalytic matching funds, expanding institutional strengthening including mentorship/coaching/internships, convening groups to connect local partners with other resources and revenue (such as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation), and leveraging in-kind resources.
• Shared Commitment to Risk Management. Local actors, as partners with USAID, share the inherent risks of development work and should expect to work with USAID to manage and mitigate those risks. This may require local organizations to build, adapt and adopt skills, tools, processes, and behaviors that meet U.S. government requirements for funding. USAID will provide local actors with the resources, guidance, and assistance needed to build successful partnerships.

ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER USG AND USAID STRATEGIES

The USAID/Localization Framework complements other USG and USAID strategies including the USAID/Guatemala 2020-2025 Country Strategy (CDCS), USAID/Guatemala Indigenous Peoples Engagement Strategy, USAID Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Principles, and USG strategies to Address the Root Causes of Migration in Central America, and for Collaborative Migration Management, among others.

STRATEGIC APPROACH

USAID/Guatemala is committed to advancing development localization by supporting local actors to be at the forefront of their own development, by making strategic investments across three pillars that will guide our work:

• Advancing Local Leadership of Guatemala's Development Agenda. We will champion the work of local actors to establish and advance Guatemala's development agenda, and partner in areas of mutual interest and shared value.
• Expanding and Diversifying Engagement. We will expand and diversify engagement opportunities with local organizations by innovating, adapting, and supporting partnership models to better align with the needs of different organizations and shared development goals.
• Strengthening Capacity for Localization. We will work to expand USAID's and local actors' capacity to work as partners in designing, mobilizing resources for, implementing, and evaluating development programs.

THREE STRATEGIC PILLARS OF THE USAID/GUATEMALA LOCALIZATION FRAMEWORK

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

USAID/Guatemala’s work to advance localization will be guided by the following principles:

• Facilitation - Using USAID’s convening power to bring together local and international actors, facilitating identification of opportunities for coordination and collaboration between actors
• Inclusion - Being intentional and strategic in engaging all types of actors in the localization strategy, by reaching beyond existing and known partners and developing new mechanisms and approaches to expand engagement of all persons in the localization of development efforts.
• Learning and Adaptation - Promoting learning among partners in the mission’s localization efforts, and USAID’s overarching learning agenda.  Learning from new partners about alternative and new methods for advancing development.
• Working directly with local actors to address challenges. USAID will change how it supports local actors to address development challenges. This may include adaptations to how we deliver technical assistance, introduction of new models to provide capacity development assistance, and modified requirements related to capacity development support in awards to local organizations.
• Integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) principles. USAID will actively seek out partnerships with non-traditional local partners that represent Guatemala’s diverse population, to bridge the divides and reduce the inequality that persists across the country intentionally and proactively. USAID will assess the barriers that underserved populations such as Indigenous People, women, and youth face in engaging in processes and decisions that impact their lives and communities, and actively work with these populations to reduce their barriers and promote their inclusion in USAID’s development localization efforts.
• Working with international partners to adopt and promote localization practices. USAID will also change how we ask international partners to work with local organizations. This may include local engagement in merit review criteria for solicitations and adjusting the substantial involvement of awards concerning the relationship between large traditional partners and sub-partners, including how they engage with local partners, give them voice, and include them meaningfully in activity design.

PRIMARY IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS OF THE LOCALIZATION STRATEGY

USAD/Guatemala will use a multi-pronged approach to invest in local organizations through:

1. Increased and improved direct engagement between USAID and local actors in the design, planning, and implementation of USAID programs. USAID will increase direct engagement with local actors in developing, planning, and implementing strategies, alliances, activities, and other development programs. This may include forming advisory committees of local actors’ representative of USAID’s target populations; increased use of co-creation processes to design new strategies and activities; engaging local actors in periodic USAID portfolio reviews; and other strategy stocktaking and learning activities.  USAID will ensure participation in these types of engagements is compensated if/as appropriate.
2. Integration of “local” components into new and existing activities.  USAID will champion the integration of localization priorities, requirements, and initiatives into new and existing development programs such as integration of participant feedback mechanisms,[1] co-creation processes in sub-grants and sub-contracts, proactively engaging stakeholders, and participants in work planning of activities/awards, forming local advisory committees, and integrating processes in awards to transition selected activities to local partners.  
3. Contracting directly with local organizations. USAID will increase the number of direct awards to local actors through fixed amount agreements (FAA), co-creation processes, annual program statements (APS), and transition awards, among other mechanisms (i.e., Global Development Alliance awards, seed grants for a localization innovation lab, Incentive Fund, hiring consultants to provide technical assistance, etc.).
4. Delivering capacity development assistance to local actors. USAID will deliver capacity development assistance that is the “best fit” for local actors - tailored to align with organizational and sector needs, local context, and USAID and partner priorities. This may include USAID/Guatemala staff and teams delivering assistance through training, mentoring, and technical assistance; design and procurement of new capacity development support for local organizations; and integrating local capacity development components and interventions into new and existing awards.
5. Supporting local leadership of development agendas. USAID will use our convening power and provide technical and financial assistance to support local actors in bringing together local and international, public- and private-sector actors to develop, mobilize resources for, and oversee implementation of development programs in line with their own development priorities.  This may include supporting local actors in the development of country, municipality, community, and/ or sector level strategies and development plans, design, resource mobilization, and implementation of new programs and projects, or development of new partnerships, alliances, platforms, and funding mechanisms into which other domestic and international actors may contribute, co-invest, align with, and partner around.