Public-Private Partnership Case Studies
Successful international exchanges and training activities conceived, managed, and executed as partnerships can serve as useful models for government departments and agencies seeking to implement or expand their international activities. A number of public and private sector entities identified themselves as best practice organizations in the IAWG’s partnership surveys. Click the links below to view the full text of the case studies for each of these organizations.
U.S. Department of Commerce: Special American Business Internship Training (SABIT) Program
The SABIT program supports the restructuring of economies in the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (NIS) through U.S. business internships. Not only has the SABIT program brought federal and nongovernmental partners together to develop and implement the award-winning program but, more importantly, has provided training to over 1,750 NIS executives, forging hundreds of partnerships between American and NIS businesses, including joint ventures, distributorships, and collaborative research. In turn, these relationships have generated over $165 million in revenue for U.S. and NIS businesses.
U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service: Cochran Fellowship Program
The Cochran Program provides short-term training on U.S. economic policies for agriculturalists from 47 middle-income countries of the world. The program has helped to resolve certain trade disputes, decrease some non-tariff trade barriers, and foster collaboration between the public and private sectors of the United States and the participating countries. Benefits of partnering include cost savings to the program, relevance of training to increased trade linkages, networking opportunities for Fellows, and networking opportunities for U.S. agribusinesses.
U.S. Department of the Interior, International Volunteer-in-Parks Program of the National Park Service
Each year about 150 foreign management professionals, teachers, and students volunteer for short-term training in America’s national parks. The program has enormous benefits for the volunteers and for the National Park Service. International volunteers help the U.S. national parks complete projects that would otherwise be left undone and, in the process, learn how to better protect the parks in their own countries.
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
The Endowment encourages individuals and organizations to help support NEH-sponsored projects. An offer of NEH matching funds requires a grantee to secure gift funds from third parties before federal funds are awarded. By offering potential donors the opportunity to double the impact of their gifts, matching grants are intended to stimulate private support for projects in the humanities.
The Center for Civic Education
Through a variety of partnerships with the federal government and other entities including 28 U.S. states, the nonprofit Center has been instrumental in the exchange of over 2.9 million students, educators, and leaders. It also has provided technical assistance and mini-grants to support the development and improvement of civic education in over 30 foreign countries.
Peace Corps-AOL Time Warner: Peace Packs Program
The Peace Packs Program seeks to help bridge the “digital divide” by enabling communities in developing countries to connect to the world of information, learning, and opportunity by means of technology. With the support of the AOL Time Warner Foundation, Peace Corps administrators can provide to Peace Corps Volunteers – and their host communities – basic information technology tools in places where computer access is limited and use of technology minimal. In addition, the $1 million commitment by the AOL Time Warner Foundation has been nearly matched by in-kind support from the Volunteers’ host community organizations and other nongovernmental donors in the form of cash, labor, equipment, supplies, and facilities.
Peace Corps-U.S. Agency for International Development: HIV/AIDS Prevention and Mitigation Initiative
Peace Corps’ HIV/AIDS projects are enhanced through a partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and two nongovernmental organizations – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Through the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Mitigation Initiative, Peace Corps aims to strengthen the capacity of local populations to combat the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in Africa and other regions of the world. Peace Corps believes this project will have a profound effect upon the AIDS crisis in the future as increasing numbers of Volunteers, health care workers, counselors, and community leaders become more knowledgeable about the disease.
USAID Health Care Partnership
USAID and the American International Health Alliance (AIHA), in accordance with the Tajikistan Ministry of Health, sponsored and implemented two community-based partnership programs to improve the delivery and execution of health care practices in Tajikistan. USAID provided funding, AIHA coordinated the program implementation, and the Boulder (Colorado) Community Hospital donated money, in-kind contributions, and humanitarian assistance. The partnership involved participants from medical facilities in Tajikistan and the Boulder Community Hospital.