CPCS awarded 5-year PDIA contract by MCC to support emerging economies
Millenium Challenge Corporation appoints CPCS as lead facilitator to guide various country officials in identifying solutions to local economic problems, using the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach.
- PDIA is a Harvard University “learning by doing” problem-solving method.
- CPCS to kick off PDIA facilitation services in 2023, in Lesotho.
- CPCS has implemented 20+ MCC contracts to date.
October 2023 – The MCC gives another mandate to CPCS to unlock economic potential, and this time, in up to 13 countries. The focus is helping key decision-makers resolve their most pressing issues through the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach. Ultimately, the goal is reducing poverty.
- This mandate is part of a 5-year economic analysis blanket purchase agreement that CPCS has with the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
- CPCS is tasked with supporting local leaders in the development of strategies that are based on solid economic reasoning and are operational for practical application.
The MCC, a US foreign aid agency, intends to use the PDIA process to guide local decision makers in designing and implementing investment programs in Lesotho, and future programs in Togo, Mauritania, the Gambia, and Senegal, among others.
Kristen Hartpence, CPCS Head of US International Advisory:
“PDIA puts the power to make changes in the hands of the people who live in these countries, and that is more likely to create positive, lasting changes.”
- “CPCS excels at this complex, on-the-field work. We have the experience and experts to help countries think through issues from various angles.”
Local solutions, national impact
The PDIA approach emphasizes local ownership and focuses on breaking down big problems into smaller root causes that everyday people can grasp more easily. In this case, PDIA allows communities to design and implement practical solutions suited to their country’s binding constraints to economic growth, and it’s been shown to create more effective and lasting changes.
In return, that local root cause problem-solving provides the MCC rich information for developing a Compact program that will target the issues that have the highest chance of addressing the constraint.
- To date, more than 5000 individuals across 90 developing countries have used the PDIA method for this purpose.
Strategic partner to the MCC
The MCC has entrusted CPCS with important projects, including political economic analysis for the first regional Compact between Benin and Niger.
Others were for Compact and Threshold programs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, the Gambia, Ghana, Nepal, Niger, Kosovo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.
CPCS has decades of on-the-field experience navigating and addressing intricate and politically delicate issues encountered by developing nations. The effectiveness of any endeavor hinges not only on providing practical suggestions but also on the deep comprehension of local decision makers who will endorse the recommended policy interventions.
What sets CPCS apart is our commitment to solutions that are country-driven, rooted in their local realities.
For more information and inquiries: communications@cpcs.ca
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