Reaching Out to Business and Labor

Juliette Schindler

The National Policy Association (NPA) Aid and Development project was a four-year development education program carried out during 1994-98 with funding from the development education program of the U.S. Agency for International Development  (USAID).  The primary goal of the project was to conduct a public information and awareness program that would examine the role of the United States in providing aid to Third World countries which would reach a national audience of business and labor executives.  The project's secondary goal was to provide public and private decision makers with the opportunity to learn the views of U.S. business and labor leaders on the issue of aid.

The project was very successful, directly reaching 1,506 people in 27 states and, through its publications, reaching many more.  It brought heightened awareness to aid and development issues to NPA and its membership and to representatives of the greater business and labor community.

Project Elements

The project was composed of six major elements:

1. Design and carry out regional seminars aimed at local business leaders and labor officials.  NPA held 12 day-long regional symposia throughout the country focusing on a wide range of subjects related to aid and development, with 796 people attending the symposia for an average of 65 per meeting.  Project participants represented large and small businesses, national and local unions, academia, non-profits, and the government.
2. Conduct a series of working breakfasts in Washington DC intended to reach Washington business, labor and public policy representatives.  Twelve such breakfasts were held in the course of the project, with topics ranging from the future of the Soviet Union to the future of USAID.  Members of the labor, business, nonprofit, academic and government sectors participated, for a total of 721 people, or an average of 60 per breakfast.
3. Sponsor a panel discussion or a speaker on foreign aid and development at the meetings of NPA policy committees during the course of the project.  Altogether, 21 policy committee and board meetings dealt with issues of foreign economic development and foreign aid.
4. Sponsor a lecture and produce and disseminate a publication on economic development in Third World countries.  For four consecutive years the Walter Sterling Surrey Memorial Lectures focused on the economic and political forces that shape the developing world.  A monograph featuring the Surrey presentations, and in three cases including relevant articles by other authors, was published each year and disseminated broadly.
5. Research and write an econometric study which describes the benefits and costs of U.S. foreign assistance programs and a booklet synthesizing the conclusions and recommendations coming out of the discussion.  In time this study was broadened to include a look at the history of foreign assistance and current data by region and program.  The resulting study, U.S. Foreign Assistance: the Rationale, the Record and Challenges in the Post-Cold War Era, by Curt Tarnoff and Larry Nowels, was published in August, 1994 and has been widely distributed.

To synthesize project conclusions and recommendations, NPA published U.S. Foreign Assistance as an Instrument of U.S. Leadership Abroad in May, 1997.  This monograph, also written by Tarnoff and Nowels, reviewed key findings of the Aid and Development Project and updated the 1994 overview of U.S. foreign aid policy.  NPA has distributed 3,000 copies of this paper.

6. Carry out a media campaign to targeted labor and business publications.  At the recommendation of USAID, the media campaign was changed to include the broader press, as well as trade publications.  Stories featuring the project ran in such publications as The Washington Times, The Atlanta Constitution, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Iowa Farmer Today, and a discussion on the topic was broadcast by WHO radio in Chicago.  NPA's work was also frequently covered in the development press.

In addition to the planned activities, NPA also arranged, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a meeting of U.S. business, labor, PVO and government representatives with members of the German Bundestag.  On another occasion, a special Washington breakfast was to held to provide a forum for business and labor leaders to meet with Jill Buckley, USAID Assistant Administrator for Public and Legislative Affairs.

During the final year of the project several new activities were undertaken.  For example, NPA initiated and published four issues of a quarterly newsletter, Business & Labor Dialogue, highlighting the perspectives of business, labor, academia and government officials concerning U.S. foreign assistance.  NPA has created a functioning website.  It also commissioned an article by Barber Conable, former President of the World Bank, which was published as an op-ed piece in The Christian Science Monitor.

Evaluating the Project

The project had a great impact on the target audience.  Attendance at meetings was often so large that registration had to be closed.  As the project progressed, the number of unions and businesses willing to cosponsor the meetings grew.  NPA was able to bring together normally opposing groups to discuss the issues.  For example, meetings were jointly sponsored by General Motors and the United Auto Workers, Levi-Strauss and the Union of Needletrade Workers, and Citibank and the AFL-CIO, to name just a few pairings.

In addition to bringing two important groups-- business executives and labor leaders--  to the center of the discussion concerning the future of international development, NPA itself derived benefits from the project such as new members on its committees (the Food and Agriculture Committee established a Trade and Development Subcommittee), increased sales of its publications, and more contacts with other aid and development organizations.

Lessons Learned

The message about the importance of development must be brought to people who do not normally hear it.  Most people, even those concerned with international issues, are woefully misinformed about the purpose, size and activities involved in international development projects, even if they are enthusiastic and supportive of America playing a constructive role in world affairs.

It is also important to get USAID staff and other development practitioners out of Washington and engaged in discussions with people throughout the country.  Several AID officials remarked that they were surprised by how much the opinions of people outside the (Washington metro area) Beltway differed from those of people within it.

Another lesson learned was to involve others in the planning and delivery programs.  Not only did this leverage their skills and resources, but it also allowed NPA to design programs which would be of interest and use to people in the particular region where the meetings were being held.  Incorporating different perspectives in the discussions also gave the meetings legitimacy, inspired engaging dialogue, and allowed participants to gain insight into the very complex issues that surround U.S. foreign assistance programs.

At the meetings, NPA made a concerted effort to bring all project participants into the discussion.  The speakers and the audiences both shared their knowledge, ideas and insights in a two-way exchange, not just as a one-way lecture.  The importance of interactive sessions as a way to draw participants into the discussions was so clearly demonstrated that NPA has included this model in some of its policy committee sessions.

It is often assumed that organizations such as corporations and unions do not share the same internationalist values and goals as traditional supporters of foreign assistance.  NPA found that not to be the case.  Indeed, most people are concerned about the status of the developing world, but when examining assistance programs, they place a large emphasis on efficiency, effectiveness, and the implications for U.S. domestic policies.

Juliette Schindler is the Globalization and Development Project Coordinator at the National Policy Association (NPA).  Her expertise is in international development and U.S. foreign policy, and she spent a year and a half at the World Bank Group before joining NPA.  Ms. Schindler’s overseas experience includes 15 months of business consulting and expatriate training in London, and living in Moscow and Spain.  She received a B.A. from the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington and a M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

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