USAID Announces Partnership with the Skoll Foundation to Advance Locally Led Development and Key Development Priorities

As we work to connect and champion social entrepreneurs and innovators, Skoll Foundation is committed to amplifying the work of people with lived experience facing the issues they are solving.

This week, we are excited to share that we deepened our commitment to locally-led development by launching a new partnership with USAID. To learn more, read USAID’s press release announcing the partnership.

Today, Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen and Marla Blow, President and Chief Operations Officer of the Skoll Foundation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations that builds upon their commitments to locally led development and expands coordination to advance global health, address climate issues, and promote gender equality. 

The Skoll Foundation catalyzes transformational social change by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and innovators who together advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. USAID works in tandem with the Skoll Foundation in countries such as Brazil, where they aim to expand the abilities of local actors to execute projects that push forward climate action, biodiversity conservation, and thriving communities in the Brazilian Amazon. 

Over the past two years, USAID has been working to provide a quarter of its program funds directly to local partners by the end of fiscal year 2025, and, by 2030, ensure that at least half of its programming puts local communities in the lead to set priorities, design and implement projects, and define and measure development results. By empowering local actors and building local capacity, USAID and its partner organizations are able to achieve more sustainable development outcomes.