Overview
USAID/Paraguay is committed to fully integrating private sector engagement (PSE) into its Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DG) programming and development portfolio. A successful DG initiative involves public, private, and civil sectors to spur system-wide identification of accountable institutions and processes that serve the needs and preferences of the Paraguayan public. Engaging with the private sector is therefore key to drive robust anti-corruption policies and practices.
Challenges
The USAID/Paraguay and the USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) contracted WBD through the firm’s Private Sector Engagement Support (PSE Support) to undertake a comprehensive Private Sector Landscape Assessment (PSLA) of Paraguayan democracy & governance institutions, ongoing collaboration, and prospective partnerships. This PSLA aimed to support the Mission in achieving its key DG development objectives and outcomes in the country: strengthening the rule of law, formalization of the economy, and engagement and oversight of civil society.
Solutions
Given that democracy & governance has not typically been viewed as a traditional sector in which PSE can play a role and strengthen outcomes, WBD employed a variety of innovative approaches to map key relationships, stakeholders, and gaps within Paraguay’s democracy & governance ecosystem. The PSLA ultimately had two key components.
- Ecosystem Mapping: PSE Support, working with local consultants, conducted in-depth research and stakeholder analysis that allowed the team to plot key shortcomings in Paraguay’s DG sector and map critical private sector relationships and prospective opportunities for collaboration that would strengthen the Mission’s strategic objectives in this crucial development sector – including the specific roles that public, private, and civil actors throughout the country could play in strengthening democracy & governance. This process involved identifying potential allies/champions in key national sectors directly related to or adjacent to democracy & governance in the country. The team then undertook a robust series of consultations with these champions and additional stakeholders across the public-private-civil spectrum to identify concerns about current DG structures in the country, gauge private sector willingness to collaborate with other stakeholders, and determine promising opportunities for formal partnerships or cross-industry coordination. WBD supplemented this comprehensive interview process with survey research that was able to further capture and crystallize a number of the prevailing DG challenges in the country and how the private sector, in particular, thinks about its role in addressing or working to respond to these issues. This mapping also aimed to identify associated risks with prospective partnerships and PSE strategies and offer steps for mitigation. WBD took measures to ensure that Mission staff were engaged in every step of the process and were aware of key developments and findings impacting USAID/Paraguay’s overarching development objectives.
- Identifying Potential Partners and Strategies: Following an effective Ecosystem Analysis and Mapping Brief, PSE Support is now working to identify individual private sector stakeholders and potential effective strategies for successful involvement of the private sector in achieving sustainable DG outcomes. This project component is ongoing, with a goal to present the list of potential partners along with a framework for strategic engagement by September 2021.