Delivering on the Administration's Global Development Strategy

President Obama’s global development strategy, released in September 2010, supports IGD’s conviction that the private sector is integral to achieving sustainable development outcomes and emphasizes broad-based economic growth as the key to building markets and reducing poverty. In an environment of tight budget constraints, a top priority for IGD is monitoring the implementation of U.S. development policies to make certain our limited foreign assistance dollars are utilized efficiently to leverage the resources and expertise of the private sector to advance U.S. development priorities.

Integrating business-led solutions into the design and implementation of U.S. development assistance programs can expand the reach and impact of U.S. government investments and help ensure that government spending is cost-effective. Throughout the year, IGD will host a series of high-level events bringing together administration and congressional leaders with representatives from the private sector. IGD will also bring together companies and government officials active in key development sectors, such as agriculture, ICT and infrastructure, to discuss the policy environment, investment constraints and potential areas of partnership.

Over the past year and a half, IGD has been working with agribusinesses in the U.S., Europe and Africa to better align public and private investments to advance African agriculture. IGD is working closely with Feed the Future, the administration’s global agriculture initiative, connecting companies with the initiative and providing valuable business input as Feed the Future is implemented. One example of IGD’s AgInvest work is to connect Feed the Future’s programs with an effort launched this January in Davos by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that promotes public and private investment in a high-potential growth corridor in Tanzania. IGD will promote this Tanzania Investment Blueprint with our Frontier 100 CEOs in Africa and other agribusinesses in the U.S. as a model to leverage public and private investments. IGD is also providing on-going recommendations to Feed the Future from U.S. and African business leaders, with the dual goal of helping shape the program's implementation and forging a better working relationship with the U.S. government.

IGD is pleased to announce that Jeri Jensen has joined our D.C. office as the Senior Director for Policy. Jeri will lead IGD’s efforts to engage business in helping shape global development policies that foster sustainable economic growth in poor countries and facilitate private sector investment in USG development priorities. Jeri has over 20 years of experience working on global development and trade issues, most recently as Managing Director for Private Sector Initiatives at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where she was responsible for helping MCC countries leverage their compacts with the private sector, attract complementary investment, connect beneficiaries to global markets and strengthen MCC engagement with other USG initiatives.

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