Sec. 1003. Encouragement of United States private and voluntary cooperation
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Congress finds the following: The sustained participation of United States private and voluntary organizations, community and faith-based organizations, charitable foundations, labor unions, cooperatives, and credit unions in international development and humanitarian relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction significantly reduces poverty and alleviates human suffering through— application of accumulated expertise in the discipline of development; provision of social services in underserved communities; building the capacity of local organizations to operate with maximum effectiveness, thereby strengthening civil society and advancing self-reliance; establishing long-term partnerships with and between local communities, civil society organizations and governments of developing countries at all levels, thus helping to strengthen accountability, reduce corruption, build capable institutions, and sustain progress; empowering marginalized groups through access to information and a leadership role in decisionmaking processes; and serving as a voice for the poor and bringing best practices and lessons learned to bear on policymaking processes in the United States and worldwide.
Such organizations, foundations, unions, and cooperatives, by mobilizing private United States financial and human resources, reflect the values and goodwill of the people of the United States and embody the American spirit of self-help. Advocacy groups and organizations that represent American political, legal, academic and business life have developed long-standing relationships with their overseas counterparts, helping to build people-to-people networks that strengthen civil society, protect human rights, support democratic institutions and foster a policy environment conducive to economic development.
Similarly, the sustained participation of United States educational and research institutions in building the scientific, educational, and service capacities of developing countries is vital to the economic and social development of those countries, and at the same time strengthens the faculty and programs available to United States students. Because of their ability to attract and leverage private contributions, the entities described in paragraphs
(1)through
(4)are extremely cost-effective partners for providing foreign assistance. Because such entities, often using their own resources, develop and maintain long-term and independent relationships with their counterparts in foreign countries, they provide great expertise in program implementation, an important source of knowledge about local needs, attitudes, customs, and conditions, and a critical means for building trust and goodwill with local communities. It is the policy of the United States to— encourage and facilitate, as appropriate, international activities of United States private and voluntary organizations, community and faith-based organizations, charitable foundations, labor unions, cooperatives, credit unions, and educational and research institutions in furtherance of the goals of this title; co-design, co-fund, and co-manage projects and strategies with such entities to meet jointly agreed development objectives; strengthen the capacity of such entities, without compromising their private and independent nature, to undertake effective international assistance efforts; and streamline and simplify the process by which such entities may compete for resources made available under this title.