USAID works with over 4,000 organizations in more than 100 countries in support of its mission to end poverty and promote democratic societies. USAID’s current focus on localization—shifting funding and decision-making power to local actors to achieve its program objectives—is consistent with the Agency’s long-standing efforts to increase its engagement with local partners. According to Administrator Samantha Power, it is critical for USAID to engage with a wider range of partners to achieve an impact beyond the reach of any single development agency.
As of fiscal year (FY) 2017, more than 80 percent of USAID’s $17.2 billion in total obligations was directed to only 75 partners. While direct funding of local partners has been increasing, in FY 2022, it still accounted for only 10.2 percent, or $1.6 billion, of the Agency’s total budget.
In 2019, USAID launched the New Partnerships Initiative (NPI), which aimed to diversify USAID’s partner base by creating avenues for new and underutilized partners (NUPs)—organizations that have received less than $25 million in awards from USAID over the past 5 years—to work with the Agency through an updated approach to partnering and procurement.
OIG initiated this audit to determine the extent to which USAID (1) established guidance and faced any implementation challenges for NPI and (2) measured and communicated performance results for NPI. SEE FULL REPORT