PEPSE PIVOT: On-the-Job Training in PSE Best Practices

Key Results

• PIVOT worked with 36 field staff from six Africa Missions in Ghana, Kenya/East Africa, Madagascar, Southern Africa, Uganda, and Rwanda in its pilot year.
• PIVOT provided support to increase participants’ knowledge and skills in private sector engagement (PSE), collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA), and leadership.
• We helped organize four five-day, in-person Cohort sessions in Accra, Ghana; Baltimore, MD; Nairobi, Kenya; and Washington, DC. Each Cohort is made up of cross-sectoral teams from Africa Missions. During these interactive and engaging sessions, facilitators and trainers guided Mission field staff through key principles, case studies, and training exercises for PSE. Our facilitators encourage peer-to-peer learning within the Cohort as well as hands-on exercises to practice key leadership, CLA, and PSE skills.
• We established bimonthly Cohort calls and webinars, Affinity Groups (i.e., groups organized by sector backstop or functional role), and regular in-person meetings between Cohort members to inspire peer learning and collaboration. These platforms enable experiential learning and strengthen connections between USAID/Washington and participating Mission staff.
• We supported the creation of cross-functional Change Teams within Missions to foster team-based learning and action.
• Together with LEARN, we supported a Learning Review to capture promising practices, lessons learned, and evidence of change from the PIVOT Cohort program in its pilot year. Key findings revealed that the PIVOT Cohort program increased the PSE skills and confidence of participants and spurred significant cultural and operational change for PSE within participating Missions.