Aiden Hall, Senior Project Associate, Connexus Corporation
Katherine Kirchhofer, Project Associate, Connexus Corporation
At Connexus Corporation, a women-owned small-business, we are committed to providing high quality global consulting services to transform international development and build local capacity. Our vision for 2023 includes fully embracing USAID’s commitment to localization, which is partly why on November 10, 2022, Connexus acquired KANAVA International, a women-owned, service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, co-owned by Susan Puska and Carol Yee. Susan Puska said, “We are so pleased that Connexus has purchased KANAVA and we are excited to see how they leverage these additions to the company,”
The purchase of KANAVA includes ownership of the Impact Strengthening Development (ISD®) platform and toolkit, an innovative system that facilitates vetting and building of organizational management capacity to compliantly manage projects, including for USAID. ISD® is used to conduct assessments that identify gaps and allow capacity building interventions to be tailored to the needs of the selected organizations, responding to Board and Management concerns and also emphasizing potential blind spots. ISD® covers the nine core areas highlighted in the graphic, with an additional optional module related to Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI). Through collaborative assessment, ISD® scores each area and highlights specific areas for improvement. ISD® is currently available digitally in English, Spanish, and French. It has a history of success internationally, including with USAID’s Capacity Building of Cambodia’s Local Organizations Program (CBCLO). “Our team has found that ISD® is easy to use and time-saving. Thanks to the tools, CBCLO understood clearly how the CBCLO team could help the assessed organization and its staff, said Raty Ouk, Chief of Party, USAID/Cambodia, Capacity Building of Cambodia’s Local Organizations Program, Cambodia, IESC.
Connexus is excited to implement the ISD® platform in its newly acquired projects in Colombia where we are building capacity of five local nonprofit organizations on USAID’s Generating Equity project and three local businesses on USAID’s Land for Prosperity project, both led by Tetra Tech. As we use ISD® to identify and support areas of needed organizational growth, Connexus teams are preparing local organizations to be ready to manage USAID and other funds to better achieve development impact.
We are also excited that the acquisition of KANAVA includes a project with a new client for Connexus, the U.S. Department of State. Our long-term Knowledge Management Specialist is working with Dexis to provide assessment, monitoring, evaluation and technical services to support the Department of State’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs, Office of Security Assistance.
Also in 2022, Connexus was awarded its first prime contract with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to help prepare Sierra Leone for its impending Productive Use of Energy Compact. Specifically, Connexus is conducting an access to finance assessment for last mile electrification in Sierra Leone and studying how the increased availability and reliability of electricity can be a platform for economic growth in the agricultural sector. This research will inform ongoing discussions between the MCC and the Government of Sierra Leone to develop a compact to leverage access to electricity for post-harvest value-addition.
Connexus is also pleased to announce Aceli Africa as its KeyNote for its next annual Cracking the Nut® conference, which focuses on “Reducing Risk in Rural and Agricultural Investment.” The learning event will take place in June in Washington, DC. To learn more and to submit a proposal to present by Feb. 17, 2023, visit www.crackingthenutconference.com
Given Connexus’ new clients and technical areas, we are confident that our range of support for foreign assistance will continue to expand in 2023, so that we can add even more value to the local initiatives of developing countries. Connexus is committed to a path of consistent growth and high-quality contributions as we pursue new unique opportunities to expand our partnerships internationally. See www.connexuscorporation.com
