Integrity Supports USAID Partners Charter in South Sudan

As part of the five-year South Sudan Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Support (MELS) project, Integrity recently supported USAID and 14 of its newest implementing partners to sign a coordination charter. The aim was to maximize the positive benefits for communities receiving USAID development and humanitarian assistance by “pursuing thoughtful and efficient coordination in service of our beneficiaries through collective impact.”

With many donors and nongovernmental organizations providing assistance in South Sudan, proactive coordination is essential to ensure the effective use of resources. The charter says that  under USAID’s strategic framework for South Sudan and “through strategic and meaningful coordination, we can achieve greater impact than any one partner can achieve alone.” The agreement also provides the flexibility needed in foreign assistance, acknowledging that “some sectors can engage in longer-term planning, but others do not have the same luxury, as in humanitarian assistance, when lives are on the line.” The objectives of the charter include partnering with beneficiaries to build ownership and sustainability, and capitalizing on partners’ core competencies, existing interventions, and physical locations.