John delivers a health talk with community members, whose back face the camera, in Larkeyta County, Liberia on best practices to mitigate the spread of malaria..

Sustainable Progress Through Small Projects

40 years of USAID and the Peace Corps partnering to catalyze locally led development

In January 1983, USAID and the Peace Corps launched a joint initiative to support grassroots, locally led development projects: the Small Project Assistance Program (SPA). The collaboration harnesses the unique capabilities of both agencies, combining the Peace Corps’ deep connections with remote communities — often outside the reach of traditional development assistance — with USAID’s funding and technical expertise. The longest-running partnership between our two agencies, the small-scale projects of SPA have reached nearly 30 million community members in more than 115 countries.

A group perform a coastal resource assessment in the ocean off the coast of the Philippines' Luzon Island.

It’s community centered; it’s demand driven. It is not based on what the funder wants, but what the community needs.
— Sheila Chan, Peace Corps Philippines Small Grants Coordinator.

To celebrate the anniversary of the Small Project Assistance Program, Peace Corps staff and their community leader partners in Liberia, the Philippines, and Mexico shared their experiences with us.

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