U.S. Chamber's BCLC Unveils International Aid Report at Global Corporate Citizenship Conference

New tool for tackling global public-private partnerships

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) released a first-of-its-kind report that analyzes how 10 significant international aid agencies and the China development model relate to the private sector and affect market development around the world. The report is designed to improve public-private partnership mechanisms.

"Ten countries, plus China, contribute more than three quarters of all foreign aid around the world," said BCLC Senior Vice President and Executive Director Stephen Jordan while releasing the report entitled Partnering for Global Development: The Evolving Links Between Business and International Agencies. "Naturally there is a lot of curiosity about where this money goes and how it relates to the private sector. This report is a step forward in understanding how social investments are being made in emerging markets."

Leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors identified specific barriers to successful partnerships earlier this year at BCLC's global forum in Brussels. This report is the first of several deliverables in direct response to that meeting.

"Engaging the private sector is an important strategy for international development agencies," said David Logan, the report's co-author and co-chair of Corporate Citizenship. "However, navigating international aid agencies is especially challenging for businesses. This report will help businesses understand how agencies interact with the private sector and will improve their ability to identify partners which can expand both sectors' ability to improve the livelihood of people living in developing countries."

The report's release is a featured part of BCLC's 2009 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference: Focus on Emerging Market Development. Conference speakers include Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State; Darius Mans, Acting CEO of the Millenium Challenge Corporation; and Bo Ekman, Founder of the The Tällberg Foundation. To view the report and learn more about the 2009 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference, visit BCLC's website.

BCLC is the U.S. Chamber's resource and voice for businesses' social and philanthropic interests. Its mission is to advance the positive role of business in society.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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