RTI International to discuss international development strategies and partnerships at Manila forum

MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Representatives from RTI International will discuss best practices to develop long-term partnerships and build local capacity in international development at the Devex International Development Career Fair and Partnerships Forum in Manila, Philippines June 10-11.

The two-day forum will bring together international organizations, including aid agencies and Asian development organizations, and donors with local partners and candidates based in the region. The event will include discussions on issues ranging from localization of aid to disaster relief and resilience.

"RTI is a leading player in international development in Southeast and South Asia, working in partnership with local organizations and the private sector," said Aaron Williams, executive vice president of RTI's International Development Group. "We're excited to be an executive partner at this conference, where we will not only highlight the work we're doing, but also expand our relationships with other organizations so that we can continue extending our reach and impact in Asia."

Paul Weisenfeld, vice president of Global Programs in RTI's International Development Group will serve on the plenary panel, and RTI experts in development will lead an interactive session to explore how organizations can enhance their impact and cultivate meaningful partnerships. At the workshop, RTI experts in development will discuss strategies for enhancing an organization's capacity to provide more direct services to international development projects.

Other RTI experts will serve on several additional panels throughout the two-day forum.

The event aims to help centralize business development and recruiting efforts, and provide an opportunity for attendees and organizations to explore additional opportunities in Asia.

RTI has a regional office in Jakarta, Indonesia, including a staff of more than 300 professionals who work across Indonesia, India, China and Southeast Asia. The regional office supports projects involving education, health, public management and governance, environmental management, public finance, and information and communication technology.

RTI is leading several projects in the Philippines that include:

• Implementing a program called Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) in support of the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Growth. As part of the project, RTI is forming partnerships between universities and industries to enhance the Philippines' capacity for innovation-led economic growth.
• Working on project called LuzonHealth, which extends the work done under the HealthGOV program, to help local capacity officials increase the coverage and quality of public health services to improve health outcomes. The project is being implemented in Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines.
• Forming the Wireless Access for Health partnership in the Philippines, with funding support from Qualcomm Wireless Reach, to introduce Electronic Medical Records into rural health units to improve the availability and quality of health data. Since 2010 with four pilot health clinics in one province, the project has scaled up to 68 rural health units in 14 provinces across the Philippines.
• Implementing an early grade reading assessment of children in Grades 1 and 2 in four local languages, and examining the key issues relating to their mother-tongue based multi-lingual education curriculum. Prior to this activity, we worked with the Philippines Department of Education to implement a first round of early grade reading assessments in Filipino, English and Ilocano (a mother tongue language from the north).

Devex was founded to help make the international aid process more efficient. Its membership includes more than 1,400 funding agencies, companies and nongovernmental organizations in 100 countries.