Creative among 10 awardees of USAID’s SWIFT 5 to support countries transitioning to peace
September 25, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Creative Associates International is one of 10 development implementers to be awarded a unique U.S. government contract to support countries in transition.
The Support Which Implements Fast Transition (SWIFT) 5 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), will allow Creative to compete to implement rapid and strategic programming to bolster stability, improve citizen-government relations and engage marginalized groups in critical political transitions.
Programs issued under SWIFT 5 aim to lay the groundwork for lasting democracy, peace and stability by working with local organizations in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
“Implementing OTI transitions programming to support US foreign policy objectives in rapidly changing, conflict-affected environments is intense, complex, and yet deeply rewarding. We love this challenging work and look forward to continuing our support to OTI under SWIFT 5,” says Tom Wheelock, Creative’s Senior Vice President and Senior Director of the Communities in Transition Division.
This seven-year SWIFT 5 contract follows SWIFT IV, under which Creative implemented critical programming with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in Nigeria, Cameroon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Honduras. Over its 25-year partnership with the Office of Transition Initiatives, Creative has worked to curb insurgency, protect human rights, counter violent extremism and usher in democratic peace in countries ranging from Colombia to Serbia.
“As a long-time, trusted partner of USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, we welcome this renewed joint commitment to building peace in some of the world’s most challenging contexts through such timely and important interventions,” says Creative’s President and CEO Leland Kruvant.
Creative’s commitment to peaceful transitions
Working together with local partners, Creative has helped to catalyze change in complex contexts, including disrupting crime and violence in Honduras; supporting democratic transition in Peru; assisting counterinsurgency in Colombia; countering violent extremism in Pakistan, Nigeria and Cameroon; supporting stabilization in Afghanistan; and aiding transitions from war to peace in Angola and Liberia.
In all its programs, Creative prioritizes community-level engagement, identifying and supporting actors who are considered or could become change agents and who have the legitimacy, vision and social capital to influence a peaceful transition. Creative’s programs support the ideas and efforts of host governments, civil society, media, traditional authorities, and non-traditional actors through small grants; encouraging their participation in design and program implementation and providing capacity building and connection to other resources.
To stay one step ahead of shifting dynamics in these environments, Creative emphasizes constant situational and conflict analysis, creativity, agility, calculated risk-taking, and the courage to tackle seemingly intractable issues. As political and security dynamics change, Creative adapts its programming and operations to respond to new threats and opportunities, meet local needs, and move the needle toward stability, peace and democracy.