Global – Women in Development (WID)

Promoting rural economic development opportunities for women

The goal of the Women in Development (WID) Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) is to promote greater integration and institutionalization of the perspective of both men and women in all USAID programs in order to more effectively achieve development goals. The WID IQC offers assistance to USAID Missions and other operating units in dissemination of best practices; identifying and sharing emerging development issues with differential impacts on women and men globally; and creating programs and activities to address new and emerging issues.

As part of a consortium lead by Development & Training Services, Inc. (dTS), ACDI/VOCA promotes gender mainstreaming by providing USAID with short- and long-term technical services and training, research and analysis, communications and outreach (including conferences and workshops) and grant solicitation, negotiation, award and post-award grant administration. ACDI/VOCA’s role within the consortium is to promote rural economic development opportunities for women.

ACDI/VOCA has proven our ability to perform required tasks of the WID IQC through our previous experience in empowering farmers and other entrepreneurs – both men and women – to succeed in the global economy. ACDI/VOCA’s Environmental Protection and Economic Development (EPED) project in Uganda interjected gender roles analysis into enterprise development trainings conducted in various districts. In July 2001, USAID’s Women in Development Technical Assistance program (WIDTECH) provided ACDI/VOCA with a grant to study the gender dimensions of our EPED Project in Uganda. Our Women’s Economic Empowerment Projects (WEE) in the Ukraine and in Belarus provided training and other services to female entrepreneurs in order to help them to better manage their businesses. Gender has also played a significant role in the Cooperative Development Program, the Reinforce Business for Rural Development (RENDER) program in Mozambique, the Kenya Maize Development Program and the Smallholder Empowerment & Economic Growth through Agribusiness & Association Development (SEEGAAD) in Tanzania.