Members of the Village Conservation Group in Bangladesh meeting to discuss their conservation goals

USAID IPAC

“The Journey to Self-Reliance begins with Locally Led Development.”
– Former Administrator Mark Green

VISION

USAID’s Office of Local Sustainability (E3/LS) leads the Agency’s work on locally led development. Partnering directly with local leaders, networks, and institutions better enables and empowers communities to respond to complex development challenges with smarter, more resilient, and home-grown solutions.

MISSION

E3/LS aligns its work with that of the entire Agency - and the broader development community - to inform flexible programming and operations that prioritize locally led development. 

E3/LS’ client-centered approach is helping USAID Missions to: leverage local capacities and resources; engage with local systems in ways that build upon and strengthen local leadership, capacity, and self-reliance; and be inclusive of marginalized populations.

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PRINCIPLES OF LOCALLY LED DEVELOPMENT

• Listen to Local Actors
• Understand Local Systems
• Be Patient
• Support Local Leadership
• Experiment, Learn, and Share

Read more about E3/LS’ Locally Led Development Principles.

PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

E3/LS works in the following ways (and with the following entities) to advance locally led development:

• Local Works, the Office’s flagship program for USAID Missions, enhances USAID’s ability to empower local actors to take the lead in identifying and addressing development challenges by supporting Missions with flexible resources that allow them to innovate and experiment.
• The Cooperative Development Program (CDP) harnesses U.S. cooperatives and cooperative development expertise to advance locally led development objectives.
• The Small Project Assistance Program (SPA), a partnership with the U.S. Peace Corps, supports grassroots community development.
• The Co-Created Research Initiatives, a partnership with four consortia, are generating evidence and learning to inform the way the Agency and the broader development community thinks about and operationalizes locally led development.
• E3/LS Unsolicited Solutions for Locally Led Development supports meritorious unsolicited proposals and applications that advance locally led development. Proposals and applications are accepted on a rolling basis and may seek to work with any USAID Mission/Operating Unit.
• The Locally Led Development Annual Program Statement (APS) supports a wide range of flexible, innovative, and experimental approaches to encourage locally led development. At this link, please see the tab titled “Related Documents” to see if a current opportunity exists for your specific country and sector.
• The Broad Agency Announcement for Locally Led Development Innovation (BAA) supports co-created research initiatives to catalyze locally led development in developing countries. At this link, please see the tab titled “Related Documents” to see if a current opportunity exists for your specific country and sector.

AREAS OF OPERATION

Learn more about where our programs operate via the LS Interactive Map

WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY

Local actors become self-reliant when they lead their own development.

Learn more about locally led development and partnership opportunities with E3/LS.

For more information, please contact E3/LS at localsustainability@usaid.gov