After a decade of executing public-private partnerships, USAID has a new outlook on engaging the private sector, said Chris Jurgens, head of the agency’s global partnerships division.
In an interview with Devex Impact associate editor Andrea Useem on the sidelines of the BCLC global conference, Jurgens said that while partnerships were once seen as innovative ends in themselves, the agency now focuses on partnerships that align with its own priorities and strategic initiatives.
“I think it’s important for companies to understand how a donor’s core development strategies and programs are developed,” he said. “And I think we can do a better job to be more transparent to the private sector to say, ‘These are the specific things we’re focused on, and to partner with you, there needs to be an alignment with those core strategies.’”
Jurgens also described what professional skills are necessary to make partnerships work and how the partnerships landscape will change in the coming decade.
See also
Part one of our conversation: USAID’s Chris Jurgens: ‘Private sector is a core partner’
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