The Lab's Center for Digital Development builds alliances that capitalize on the expertise of new partners, maximize the return on USAID's investment, and ensure sustainability by supporting market-driven solutions. Since 2011, CDD has leveraged over $192 million from public and private partners on USAID investments. $45 million was used to catalyze the enabling environment for inclusive digital infrastructure and services—such as internet connectivity and digital payments—through multi-stakeholder alliances.

Better Than Cash Alliance

Shifting payments from cash to electronic has the potential to improve the livelihoods of billions by advancing financial inclusion while giving governments, the development community and the private sector a more efficient, transparent, and often safer means of disbursing payments. The Better Than Cash Alliance supports this transition by advocating for shifts of major payment streams from cash to electronic and by providing guidance and technical assistance on implementation of the transition. Founded by USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi, Ford Foundation, Mastercard, Omidyar Network, UNCDF, and Visa, the alliance also includes 13 development community partners and the governments of Malawi, Colombia, Afghanistan, Kenya, Peru, the Philippines, and Rwanda.

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)

CGAP

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is a global partnership of 34 leading organizations, including USAID, that seek to advance financial inclusion. CGAP develops innovative solutions through practical research and active engagement with financial service providers, policy makers, and funders to enable approaches at scale. Housed at the World Bank, CGAP combines a pragmatic approach to responsible market development with an evidence-based advocacy platform to increase access to the financial services the poor need to improve their lives.

YouthMappers University Consortium

YouthMappers is a global community of university students, faculty and scholars who create and use open geographic data in support of USAID development goals. Created through the USAID GeoCenter’s Mapping for Resilience University Consortium, YouthMappers founding partners are Texas Tech University, George Washington University, and West Virginia University. The program seeks to not just build maps, but to build mappers, supporting universities and colleges to offer meaningful global learning experiences, create geospatial data where it is needed most, build a socially engaged citizenry, enhance long-term scientific capacity around the world, and foster youth exchange and leadership.

 
Key Term: ‘Lab leverage’ is a program performance indicator for the U.S. Global Development Lab that captures commitments of funding and in-kind resources from a range of external non-USAID partners investing in shared development goals when working jointly with the Lab on a partnership, program or activity. The Lab’s leverage performance indicator includes: all cost-share contributions (from both public and private sector partners); all other contributions (from the private sector, the public sector, and other U.S. government agencies); and gifts (from foreign governments, private organizations, and individuals).