In a significant stride towards advancing locally led development initiatives, Administrator Samantha Power of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and CEO Peter Laugharn of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation have sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today.
The MOU serves as a pivotal framework for collaboration between USAID and the Hilton Foundation, aiming to harness their respective strengths in championing locally led efforts across various domains. This partnership will focus on areas of mutual interest, including early childhood development, youth empowerment, disaster response and humanitarian aid, safe water systems, and engagement with faith-based and community organisations.
Both entities are poised to leverage their influential platforms, networks, and outreach capabilities to mobilize U.S.-based and global philanthropic organisations, civil society actors, and other stakeholders.
Together, they seek to prioritize and amplify the role of local leadership in driving development and humanitarian initiatives forward. Additionally, the partnership will undertake joint efforts to bolster the evidence base surrounding locally led development strategies.
USAID’s commitment to fostering locally led development underscores the agency’s recognition of the pivotal role that local leadership and ownership play in achieving sustainable outcomes in both development and humanitarian assistance endeavors.
Notably, the Hilton Foundation played a key role in rallying support for the Donor Statement on Supporting Locally Led Development, endorsed by 15 foundations during the UN General Assembly in September 2023.
This collaboration between USAID and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation signals a concerted effort to elevate and empower local leadership, marking a significant milestone in the pursuit of sustainable development and humanitarian assistance worldwide.
