Written by: Linda Quamar

We are excited to share that EnCompass has been awarded the Generating Results within our Work and Thought Leadership (GROWTH) project—the follow-on to the USAID-funded Generate Results within Our Work (GROW) project! This two-year (2022–2024) activity will continue to strengthen the capacity of USAID’s Center for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG Center) staff to exchange information and resources via synchronous and asynchronous training programs, internal and external events, and individual and group leadership activities. Much like GROW, our main activities will include:

• Professional development and training delivery through re-designs of current offerings and design of new training programs appropriate for delivery to mixed (in-person, remote, hybrid) audiences.
• Design, organization, and facilitation of events including the U.S. Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal (PIDR) events, retreats, policy discussions, or convenings that vertically and horizontally link pro-democracy organizations, institutions, and governments as an explicit tactic of countering authoritarianism.
• Develop leadership skills through coaching and leadership skills development with our trusted partner, TLC Solutions, an LLC led by Erin Soto, an executive coach with over 30 years of global experience with democracy and USAID.

In addition, GROWTH will support technology-enhanced learning in virtual and hybrid environments across all activities; support communications with stakeholders; and provide evaluation services for training and leadership. GROWTH seeks to remain a trusted counterpart, a learning advisor, and a solid service provider to USAID.

GROWTH builds upon EnCompass’ four successful years implementing the Generate Results within Our Work (GROW) Activity from 2018 to 2022. The lessons learned and established under GROW will allow EnCompass to build on its long-standing partnership with USAID’s DRG Center and to maintain a high caliber of services in training development, leadership, convenings, and professional exchange.

What is new?  Under GROWTH, EnCompass will emphasize fit-for-purpose learning and support USAID’s DRG Center to truly expand its impact and thought leadership by using the full scope of services. For example, leveraging GROWTH’s skill-building capacity, a DRG-led initiative on localization could convene policy discussions with local leaders, design a podcast series, and launch eLearning exercises for USAID missions globally—all to help drive forward new U.S. government policies in a sustained, coordinated way.

As we transition from GROW to GROWTH, there is a lot to reflect on. Over the course of GROW, the project developed 8 new eLearning modules and conducted 71 trainings with over 1,200 participants, 41 webinars with nearly 4,000 participants, 58 retreats with more than 1,500 participants, 61 convenings with close to 5,500 participants, and 931 coaching sessions with 173 DRG Center staff. In addition, through one in-person and two virtual DRG conferences, we reached over 2,000 people from 91 countries. While these numbers speak volumes, EnCompass is most proud of the partnership, trust, and comradery gained with the U.S. government, through USAID, over the last four years and we are excited to build on this momentum through GROWTH.

The GROWTH team is honored to provide this additional support during an exceptionally difficult time for the DRG community. We know the challenges to democracy are more complex than ever, demanding new ideas, approaches, and resolve. In response, the GROWTH team is eager to provide learning exchange and capacity-strengthening opportunities for USAID DRG officers and Mission staff worldwide who will directly take what we provide and turn it into action. At this moment in time, the GROWTH team is privileged to work closely with our DRG Center counterparts as well as the broader DRG Cadre to meet these challenges and find new ways to expand your reach and thought leadership.

Photo by: USAID DRG Center