Projects

Strengthening Regional Intergovernmental Organization Systems in East Africa

Kaizen developed continuous capacity and performance improvements in intergovernmental organizations to support economic growth, stability, and integration in East Africa.

USAID has long been a steady and reliable partner in Africa’s economic integration efforts. For nearly two decades, the Agency has provided support to regional intergovernmental organizations (RIGOs), including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in Lusaka, Zambia; the East African Community (EAC) in Arusha, Tanzania; and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Djibouti City, Djibouti.

			Highlights		

							Improved RIGOs’ Organizational Performance Index scores in efficiency and effectiveness
Implemented 100 percent of management capacity performance solutions
Completed more than 5,000 hours of financial management-related training
Improved strategic planning and analysis competency by 15 percent
						

The midterm review of the Regional Intergovernmental Organization System Strengthening Activity support endorsed the relevance of the various initiatives undertaken by the RIGOs and made significant recommendations on the route for the digital transformation journey.

Participant, COMESA, following March 2022 virtual event

The aim of the RIGO system-strengthening activities was to achieve demonstrable, evidence-based improvement in the organizational systems of COMESA, EAC, and IGAD. The program also sought a measurable increase in their efficiency and sustainability, which makes them more likely to achieve self-sufficiency and drive their core mandate of African economic organization.

Kaizen supported USAID in strengthening the RIGOs with a focus on priority areas such as strategic planning, financial management, performance management, donor coordination, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Combining human and institutional capacity development expertise with extensive regional and RIGO-specific knowledge, Kaizen institutionalized continuous capacity and performance improvement within the RIGOs.