The increasing interconnectedness of complex international challenges and our increasing reliance on each other around the globe has placed international development high on the agenda of innovation and change. IPI has a rich history of assisting governments, multi-lateral donors, foundations, international aid agencies and local communities in their efforts to develop and strengthen local organizations in a wide range of sectors. These include education, health care, peace building, organizational capacity building and the environment.

Our collaborative approach to innovation and change starts from the premise that there is something of value in all organizations, systems and communities. Engaging all stakeholders, we build on that value to achieve success. We know and understand the key issues facing international development agencies: leadership development, the ability to collaborate, the need to scale up and move from an isolated best practice to broad-based success. We can assist in all these areas—and do it quickly.

Contact us now to find out how.

Some of our clients in this sector include:

Academy for Educational Development Badur English Boarding School (Nepal) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CARE Catholic Relief Services Chemonics CRDA  EcoLogic Development Fund Modern School (India) PACT, Inc. Phillipine Development Assistance Program Project Concern Int’l  Save the Children  UNFPA United Nations Development Programme US Agency for International Development WHO

Read our success stories or learn about other areas in which we’ve worked: 

• corporations 
• non-profit organizations
• educational institutions 
• health-care groups
• government
• international development agencies
• faith-based organizations

EcoLogic Development Fund

Challenge
Develop a strategic plan for the EcoLogic Development Fund.

Solution
IPI supported the EcoLogic Development Fund in the design and facilitation of a collaborative, strength-based strategic planning effort that brought together headquarter and field staff, board members and community partners from the U.S. and Central America.

Results
The result was a five-year strategic plan for implementing the charity’s goals of improving local capacity building, resource management, water conservation and carbon reduction in Central America. 

Guyana Democratic Consolidation and Conflict Resolution Project

Challenge
The Guyana Democratic Consolidation and Conflict Resolution Program (GDCCRP) wanted to increase inter-agency collaboration, participative governance and community development in Guyana, South America, in the wake of the nation’s historically violent presidential elections.

Solution
Services included large-group facilitation and training to over 360 civic leaders, government officers, activists, tribal council members, Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) members, Amerindian village members and interested citizens from across the country. IPI worked closely with the GDCCRP planning team to ensure all planning and training interventions were tailored for the diverse cultures involved, while integrating localized capacity building that would ensure project success beyond the scope of the contract.

Results
Against incredible odds—centuries of colonial domination, inter-ethnic clashes and deeply rooted skepticism of the country’s ability to sustain a free and fair elections process still in its infancy—a new kind of conversation was initiated. This discussion continues to emerge across Guyana, inspiring an array of positive results.

Jakarta International School

Challenge
Jakarta International School was at a crossroads in its development. It was a strong school, but there was a pervasive sense that its golden days were behind it; this fear of decline was starting to breed distrust and unrest in the school. The board’s task was to set a vision that would re-energize the school by focusing on the future values and skills their students would need. The level of negativity was such, however, that leaders believed creating the new vision for the school in isolation would neither ignite nor resonate with the community. Their challenge, then, was to find a way to engage skeptical stakeholders to build an authentic vision together.

Solution
Resources and distance coaching/training were provided to key team members who disseminated this information and facilitated sessions with their team. Data-collection methods were established and communications with stakeholder groups began. About 30 people were expected to attend the strategic-planning retreat, leaving organizers stunned when more than 140 people registered for the event.

Using Appreciative Inquiry, which builds on the positive core of the organization and community, consultants facilitated a large-scale, two-day retreat for a wide range of stakeholders including students, teachers, support staff, senior administrators, alumni and ambassadors. Together they dreamed and painted a provocative, enticing future that will take them to the next level of excellence.
 
Results
Since the initiation of this planning process, the school has developed a policy where student learning is now at the center of all decision-making. This has included revisions to the curriculum, new and updated resources, and the redesign of teacher-training programs. Funding has been provided for research purposes, buildings have been refurbished and the Supervision and Evaluation System has been revised. (The system establishes student performance/growth/progress measures as part of the evaluation process.) Student measurements consistent with the school’s vision are being developed that will drive collaborative, continuous-improvement decisions and the strategic allocation of resources.

GEM Initiative/United States Agency for International Development

Challenge
Build excellence in leadership in non-governmental  international-development organizations, government ministries and private-sector entities around the world and enable them to live up to their potential as creative forces of positive change. 

Solution
The Global Excellence in Management Initiative (GEM), was a program of the Weatherhead School of Management of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1994-2001.

Using GEM, an AI-based approach that includes state-of the art organizational effectiveness, leadership and change solutions, IPI consultants worked with over 70 non-governmental  international development organizations (NGOs), government ministries and private-sector entities to affect change. This approach was a major shift away from the dominant development paradigm embedded in traditional problem-solving and helped unleash possibilities for human cooperation that supported breakthroughs in the development of organizational strategies, renewal and cooperation. 

Results
The use of Appreciative Inquiry as an approach to capacity building of non-governmental organizations demonstrated that the process of organizational learning, strategic planning and leadership, and partnership development can be accelerated. By focusing on the “best of what is” and valuing the assets resident in each individual, community or organization, GEM participants found themselves much better equipped to break the cycle of dependency inherent in traditional approaches to relief and development and move more effectively toward the future they desire.

Evaluations of the learning process employed in GEM programs concluded that the innovative program design stimulated a learning environment that inspired, sharpened and accelerated strategic learning, planning and teamwork among NGO, government and private sector leaders.  The AI  approach employed throughout GEM programs proved to be as effective at the grassroots level with local communities, as well as with NGO leaders and government ministers.  Program participants have reported that not only have they gained effective tools for leading positive change, but they have been transformed in the way they view the potential for growth and change in the world, their communities and their families.