USAID MOMENTUM
Creating momentum for good with a record-setting co-creation event.
2019, Washington, DC
Topics: Public Sector / International Development / Co-creation & Facilitation
Challenge
When USAID’s Design Team initially contacted us, the scheduled date for the largest co-creation workshop ever conducted by USAID — 120 people representing more than 50 organizations over five days — was less than two months away.
Their goal was to develop a deeper shared understanding of the goals of MOMENTUM, a program that helps countries improve the health of mothers, children, and families. USAID also wanted the workshop to provide opportunities for organizations to collaborate and explore the formation of new consortia and partnerships that could fill gaps not covered by proposals that USAID had already received.
Approach
The reshift team rapidly designed a workshop plan, developed a proposal, and negotiated terms for the available budget within 10 days.
A diverse team of 13 facilitators from five countries ran four simultaneous co-creation workshops, each focused on a different funding round of the MOMENTUM Annual Program Statement (APS).
We led participants through a series of activities to unpack key results of the MOMENTUM program. Facilitators placed participants in small teams to ensure everyone could learn the capabilities of other people in their session and share ideas and knowledge.
Outcome
The result of this momentous week-long workshop event was the formation of several new partnerships, plus a greater overall understanding of the requirements of the MOMENTUM APS.
By engaging in all the sessions and learning from the participants' discussions, the USAID Design Team identified areas where they could improve the final Request for Applications (RFA). USAID also gained valuable information that helped them to update application evaluation criteria.
