Sustainable Progress Through Small Projects
40 years of USAID and the Peace Corps partnering to catalyze locally led development
In January 1983, USAID and the Peace Corps launched a joint initiative to support grassroots, locally led development projects. The collaboration harnesses the unique capabilities of both agencies, combining the Peace Corps’ deep connections with remote communities — often outside the reach of traditional development assistance — with USAID’s funding and technical expertise.
Now entering its 40th year, the Small Project Assistance Program, or SPA, represents the longest-running partnership between our two agencies. These small-scale projects, which have reached nearly 30 million community members in more than 115 countries, support community leaders to strengthen the capacity of their communities, so they can lead local solutions to their own development challenges.
“It’s community centered; it’s demand driven. It is not based on what the funder wants, but what the community needs.” — Sheila Chan, Peace Corps Philippines Small Grants Coordinator
To celebrate the anniversary of the Small Project Assistance Program, Peace Corps staff and their community leader partners in Liberia, the Philippines, and Mexico shared their experiences with us.
Collaborative Trainings for Community-Based Malaria Control
In Liberia, malaria remains a leading risk, but supporting local leaders to strengthen their own community health systems can help mitigate its impact.
John Anderson has lived in Liberia’s Larkayta township for over 30 years, where he supports his tight-knit community as a community health assistant. Through routine home visits and providing other health support, he earned his community’s trust and understands the challenges they face. John says he especially wants to help his community learn how to “protect themselves from malaria.”
In three counties, 185 health clinic workers, district government officers, and members of local health committees — including community health assistants like John — participated in trainings on community-based malaria control. Ministry of Health representatives and local Peace Corps staff facilitated the five trainings through the Small Project Assistance program, with support from the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.
“I learned about conflict-solving,” John explained. “I also learned about how to take care of our mosquito nets.”
Engaging community health workers like John to lead their communities’ malaria responses ensures that communities themselves define and understand malaria prevention on their own terms, leading to improved health outcomes long after the Small Project Assistance activity ends.
“When I talk to my people, they can listen to me,” John said. “I see life changing, gradually.”
After taking the training, John now leads community meetings, bringing together health workers and town chiefs to discuss how to best share malaria prevention practices with their own communities.
Locally Led Coastal Resource Management for a Sustainable Future
On the western coast of the Philippines’ Luzon island, the municipality of San Esteban may be small, but its rich coastal resources presented opportunities to diversify livelihoods through increased ecotourism — while strengthening marine protection.
“San Esteban is special because of its beautiful natural resources and kind people,” said Mark Anthony, the local government unit’s fishery coordinator and Small Project Assistance Program partner. “This is my birthplace; I was raised here.”
The Small Project Assistance Program has enabled Mark, along with other local leaders, to partner with USAID and the Peace Corps to enhance how San Esteban manages its coastal resources.
“Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment is an activity conducted by the local government unit together with the fisherfolk, Bantay Dagat (Sea Patrol), to assess the resources in the community, especially seagrass, mangroves, corals, and fish,” Mark said.
“Without community participation, sustainable coastal resource management will never be successful.” — Mark Anthony, fishery coordinator
Now, the local government unit of San Esteban manages a functioning marine sanctuary to protect their coastal habitat while developing as a burgeoning ecotourism destination.
Constructing Community Cisterns, Strengthening Social Ties
The only source of water in Cuatro Palos, a remote community enclosed in the Sierra Gordo mountain range of Mexico, required residents to travel 20 miles round trip across treacherous terrain to pump, then carry, water home. This area has been vulnerable to the effects of climate change; increasingly erratic rain and longer droughts mean the water source is unreliable and may even be dry when they arrive.
“It took a whole day to fetch the water, then the next day work on household activities,” said Guadelupe, a Cuatro Palos resident deeply involved with the Small Project Assistance project in her community.
Through the Small Project Assistance Program, the Cuatro Palos community constructed 29 cisterns to capture and store rainwater, and rehabilitated another outside of a local elementary school.
“We came to an agreement and put together a committee and made the request,” Guadelupe said. “It was a lot of work, but it was very beneficial.”
Two local organizations that supported the Small Project Assistance grant gained new experience building and maintaining the cisterns, from procuring supplies to organizing community members around the joint project.
Besides making it easier to access water, the cisterns ensure that Cuatro Palos residents have consistent access to water year round for daily tasks — even during dry seasons elongated by climate change. The community feels a deeper sense of environmental responsibility.
“It makes me very, very proud. We are a family of eight and, well, all of us benefit from the water from the cistern,” Guadalupe said.
The Small Project Assistance Program supports small projects in every sector through one unifying vision: When communities are empowered to find innovative, local solutions to their own development needs, seemingly small funds create lasting, effective change.
Learn more about how USAID and the Peace Corps partner to advance community priorities. For regular updates on the interagency partnerships and other locally led development work at USAID, subscribe to the Locally Led Development Initiatives newsletter.
About the Author
Karl Fickenscher is the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation.
