Development Alternatives Incorporated
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DAI Global, LLC is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
development company with corporate offices in more than a dozen countries, including in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
, in the United States; London and Apsley, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom; Abuja and Lagos, in Nigeria; and Brussels, Vienna, and other European capitals. In 2015, it received of contract funding by
USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
to deliver development services; in 2014, it received £58.3 million from the U.K. Department for International Development for such services. DAI operates worldwide, with a particularly strong presence in
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
,
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
,
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, and the Asia-Pacific region. It has worked in 160 developing and transition countries in the areas of water and natural resources management, energy and climate change, governance and public sector management, private sector development and development finances, economics and trade, agriculture and
agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...
, crisis mitigation and stability operations, digital acceleration, and global health.


History

DAI was founded in 1970 as Development Alternatives, Inc., it is now legally renamed and formally registered as DAI Global, LLC, by Charles Franklin Sweet, Donald R. Mickelwait, and John M. Buck, who met at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Prior to enrolling in the M.P.A program at Harvard in 1969, Sweet had spent five years working in Vietnam for both International Voluntary Services and the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
. DAI's early work mostly consisted of analytical studies for government clients. In 1973, DAI won a contract to conduct a comparative study of 36 USAID projects in Latin America and Africa. Two years later, the company's study, Strategies for Small Farmer Development, established the concept of a "process approach" that enabled the pursuit of development objectives while allowing enough leeway to adapt to evolving conditions on the ground. The study consolidated DAI's reputation in the development community and led to further business. In 1980, DAI opened its first regional office in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1985, Jim Boomgard, current CEO, then a Ph.D. agricultural economist, played a key role in developing an approach to small business promotion in developing countries. He managed a multicountry study on the emerging field of microenterprise development, which led to DAI winning a major new worldwide contract: Growth and Equity through Micro-enterprise Investments and Institutions (GEMINI). At the start of the 1990s, DAI moved its headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Bethesda, Maryland. In 1995, DAI invested in London, UK-based Graham Bannock & Partners Ltd., which as the now wholly owned DAI Europe would go on to give DAI a presence as an implementing partner for the U.K.
Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...
, the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...
, and other European clients. In South Africa, DAI established Ebony Development Alternatives in 1994 as a joint venture with Ebony Financial Services, the first black accounting firm in South Africa. This company was renamed Ebony Consulting International and subsequently ECI''Africa''. Following the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan and DAI was chosen to lead a variety of development projects in the midst of the counterinsurgency. A Philadelphia Inquirer journalist who visited one of DAI's projects in 2010 described it as a "model of success". After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, DAI won a project to help provide effective governance in the country. Other projects in Iraq covering agriculture and the restoration of the Iraqi Marshlands were to follow. For his work on the later project, DAI's Peter Reiss was awarded the Lourdes Arizpe award by the
American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, ...
. The company established DAI Palestine in 2004. Following the Asian tsunami in December of that year DAI was recognized for its efforts in both Indonesia and Sri Lanka by then USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios in testimony before Congress: "In this environment, the international relief community, including USAID, the U.S. military, and other U.S. Government agencies, displayed remarkable ingenuity. Despite the great size and complexity of the response, flexibility became the rule of the day. A good example of this is the partnership between USAID and two of its partners, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Development Alternatives (DAI). Prior to the earthquake, humanitarian organizations were not permitted into Aceh province without express permission by the Government of Indonesia. Despite this restriction, IOM and DAI had managed to retain a strong relationship with provincial officials through a network of local staff in every district. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, USAID and other donors capitalized on these relationships by providing relief funding to IOM and DAI to immediately move relief commodities into Aceh from Medan on 80 trucks contracted by USAID/Indonesia."Congressional Testimony of Andrew S. Natsios, USAID Administrator, on US relief efforts to tsunami-affected countries Source: http://reliefweb.int/node/164652 In 2005 the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) became the sole owner of the company. The ESOP, a retirement plan in which all corporate employees are automatically enrolled, now represents hundreds of employees, none of whom owns more than 3 percent of the company. In 2006, DAI was named Government Contractor of the year in an annual award sponsored by Washington Technology magazine, the Professional Service Council, and GovCon. At the start of 2009, Boomgard succeeded Tony Barclay as DAI's new CEO and the company, launched new offices in Amman, Mexico City and Islamabad. The next year, Julian Lob-Levyt—formerly CEO of the GAVI Alliance—joined the firm to lead its international operations from the London office, DAI was named the #1 company in the state of Maryland, and the company celebrated its 40th birthday with a series of community events at its locations around the world, publishing a history of the company to mark the occasion. In his foreword to the book, Jim Boomgard looked ahead to the next chapter in DAI's history: "The next 10 years will determine whether we can make an American success story into a global success story. Over the next 10 years, we'll execute a new strategy designed to bring our strengths, our experience, and our commitment to a changing and in many ways expanding landscape of international development—a landscape that will see more development driven from the ground up, more decision making in countries that have traditionally been the recipients of donor assistance, and a more diverse and influential array of local actors in the development arena." In 2011, DAI was named a Devex Top 40 Development Innovator, one of only 10 consulting firms so honored globally. The award was based on a poll of 100,000 Devex members, who comprise the world's largest network of international development professionals.


Clients

Clients of DAI include development agencies, international lending institutions, private corporations and philanthropies, and governments. Among them:
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
,
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, U.K. Department for International Development,
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...
,
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
,
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
,
Millennium Challenge Corporation The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that h ...
, Australian Agency for International Development (
AusAid Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...
),
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
,
International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...
,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...
,
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
,
Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
, and various private companies and national governments.


Incidents

On September 26, 2010,
Linda Norgrove Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...
and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped in the Chawkay (aka Tsawkay, Sawkay) district of eastern Kunar Province. Ambushed by members of the Taliban on the main highway from
Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
to Asadabad, Norgrove and others were eventually taken into the Dewegal Valley within the Chowkai District by their captors. Eventually, a rescue attempt was carried out by
Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...
, from the
Naval Special Warfare Development Group The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
(also known as Navy SEAL Team 6), a unit used for high-risk counter-terrorist operations. Norgorve was wounded in the action, received emergency medical treatment and was evacuated by helicopter, but died from her injuries. In December 2009,
Alan Phillip Gross Alan Phillip Gross (born May 2, 1949) is a former United States government contractor employed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In December 2009 he was arrested in Cuba while working on a program funded under t ...
was detained by Cuban authorities after attempting to distribute
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
communications equipment. He was principal of a small business called JBDC, working as a subcontractor on a USAID project. The
Supreme Court of Cuba The People's Supreme Court ''(Tribunal Supremo Popular)'' is the highest body of judicial power in Cuba. It is elected by, and accountable to, the National Assembly of People's Power. The judiciary are independent from the executive branch, as al ...
sentenced Gross to 15 years of imprisonment despite diplomatic pressure from high level American officials. Gross was released in December 2014 at the same time as other prisoners were released on both sides (US and Cuba) and announcement of planned resumption of diplomatic relations.


See also

*
Death of Linda Norgrove On 26 September 2010, British aid worker Linda Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in the Kunar Province of eastern Afghanistan. She was working in the country as regional director for Development Alter ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Economic development organizations Companies based in Bethesda, Maryland