News: Anna Slother Becomes President of Chemonics’ USG Operations

Chemonics is proud to announce that Anna Slother has been promoted to President of Chemonics’ U.S. Government (USG) Operations, overseeing a portfolio devoted to the company’s U.S. Government-funded development projects. In this new role, Anna will oversee more than 5,000 employees around the globe, managing more than 100 projects in 96 countries across 15 technical…

Filling in the Gaps: Generating Evidence through Applied Research Investments

There has been a notable shift across all USAID offices and the broader U.S. federal government towards a heightened emphasis on data collection, evidence generation, applied research, and learning, and the trend is evident in a series of regulatory and guidance documents. USAID’s 2022-2026 Agency Learning Agenda, along with USAID’s 45 sector-specific evidence and learning…

Case Study: Local Definitions and Metrics of Inclusion for Financial Institutions in Colombia

This case study explores how financial institutions define, measure, and track financial and social inclusion and identify what proactive activities they are undertaking to be more financially and socially inclusive. We interviewed 17 key informants from four Colombian financial institutions that participated in the USAID/Colombia Rural Finance Initiative project implemented by Chemonics. The financial institutions…

How a Global Video Challenge Inspires Collaboration and Learning

By relying on paper records, Nepal’s health supply chain faced a challenge in ensuring essential medicines were reaching all of its population, including those in remote or hard-to-reach areas. To remedy this, our USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project worked alongside the Government of Nepal to co-develop an online database…

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: Sustainable Ranchers in the Savannas

The savannas of Arauca and Casanare are rich in biodiversity but also very fragile. Preserving this ecosystem is vital for the capture of carbon to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Cattle ranching families in the region are leading important conservation efforts that not only preserve their communities’ cultures but also protect the environment…

Shifting the Migration Narrative: From Fragility to Resiliency and (Re)Integration

Migration from Central America remains on the rise, amidst dynamic human mobility patterns with complex and evolving demographic profiles. The growing waves of return and transit migration, with migrants fleeing dire living conditions in other countries in the Hemisphere (such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, or Haiti), are creating new pockets of fragility for Central America. Insecurity,…

News: Chemonics Project Selected as 2023 CLA Case Competition Winner

USAID recently announced the winners of their annual Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Case Competition that assessed how USAID projects put CLA into practice for better development programming. The USAID/Colombia Venezuela Response and Integration (VRI) activity, implemented by Chemonics, was selected as one of the winners. Since 2016, migration from Venezuela has grown steadily, with…

Development Works Here with Dana Tilson

We’re thrilled to welcome Dana Tilson! Dana is the Global Project Director for the Chemonics-led Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project and a public health professional with more than two decades of experience. In this short interview, Dana shares more about her background, her views on engaging the private sector to improve health services, and…

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: Piangueras in the Pacific Coast

In Colombia’s Pacific Coast, Afro-Colombian communities in Bahía Málaga are working to conserve their mangroves and forests through sustainable conservation practices and selling carbon credits to offset the harmful impacts of deforestation and forest degradation. Los Guardianes del Carbono de Colombia: Piangueras en la Costa Pacífica En la costa pacífica de Colombia, las comunidades afrocolombianas…

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: The Misak in the Páramos

Páramos, high-altitude Andean grassland ecosystems located in South America, are rich, biodiverse ecosystems that are critical sources for fresh water and carbon storage. In Colombia, the indigenous Misak community that inhabit the Páramo de las Ánimas are strengthening their centuries-old ties to nature by prioritizing sustainable ways to protect, conserve, and restore grassland ecosystems. Los…

Meeting the Moment: Local Changemakers Lead in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

Local ownership, especially in fragile, conflict-affected, and non-permissive environments, is critical. So how can development donors and implementing partners bolster partner-driven strategies for sustainable development and meaningful change? Participants included both local and D.C.-based NGOs, community-based organizations, thought leaders, research and policy institutes, local governments, advocacy groups, and implementing partners who have moved the needle in the…

Best Practices for Centering Indigenous Peoples in Development Projects

Engaging Indigenous Peoples is essential to driving forward locally led development, ensuring international development projects respond to and align with Indigenous Peoples’ self-determined goals and needs, and deepening projects’ impact and sustainability. This engagement is encoded in USAID’s Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PRO-IP), but the question remains: How can Indigenous Peoples’…