GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT & STABILIZATION
The Obama administration is placing increased priority on diplomacy and development as tools of global influence. Concerned that a quick resort to military options has damaged U.S. standing around the world and may be ill-suited to some security and foreign policy challenges, the Obama administration wants to emphasize other forms of influence to advance vital national interests. This new emphasis will require substantial industry support.
Many activities focused on furthering global development and fostering stability can be attributed to the concepts of “soft” and “smart” power, which emphasize the use of diplomatic, economic, and development efforts to achieve broad political, security, and stability goals. Many of these activities are not wholly new, but the heightened emphasis on these areas may yield relatively greater opportunities in the near future.
Within the U.S., these efforts are sponsored by multiple agencies, including the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, the Intelligence Community, law enforcement agencies, as well as components of the Department of Defense. Outside the U.S., institutions such the United Nations, World Bank, and bilateral aid organizations represent major customer groups. Resources are commonly shifted and shared across these varied agencies.
Addressing global development and stabilization opportunities requires that firms first understand how various customers and requirements relate to their core capabilities. Governance, reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, and other development priorities represent a collection of activities that are united more by their goals and objectives than by customer or buying patterns. Most of the missions and activities draw on competencies that core defense and government services firms already employ in more traditional settings, including:
- Logistics: The management and delivery of assistance to areas devastated by conflict or natural disaster remains a key element of development and stabilization tasks. These activities, involving transportation, supply chain management, and distribution of goods and services, will increasingly focus on countries in Central Asia and Africa.
- Construction and Technical Services: Alongside building projects in support of allied efforts in Afghanistan, engineering and construction activities will also be focused on non-military projects around the globe. These will emphasize vital, if smaller-scale infrastructure projects, such as water and irrigation for remote areas across Asia and Africa.
- Training & Education: Training and education services, rendered in-country are one of the central areas of demand for providers focused on broad areas such as legal reform, governance, economic development, law enforcement, and military training.
- Support and Operational Services: On the support side, program planning, contracting, human resources, finance, and information systems management will be in demand, sustaining an increased presence in crisis and post-conflict areas. Operational services, in sectors such as humanitarian de-mining, aircraft operations, and others will also see increased demand.
While many traditional defense and government services firms may have the capabilities to execute on these new opportunities, they must be prepared for the challenge of working with new customers, including USAID, U.S. and foreign non-governmental institutions, and international organizations like the United Nations. Moreover, they must recognized that many activities in the development and stabilization sector, particularly those related to military training and security operations, can pose unique risks to both personnel and corporate reputation. Firms new to the space may need to repackage existing core skills in logistics, training and program management into new, more comprehensive offerings tailored to different missions and customer sets. At the same time, most firms are unlikely to fully transition into this new market, preferring to straddle this nascent segment and their more traditional lines of business.
In all cases, the importance of optimizing a business strategy is paramount. Developing the appropriate offering may involve a series of strategic decisions beyond basic questions of organic versus inorganic growth. While organic growth may seem the most logical approach for many firms, acquiring an established outside organization can deliver capabilities and establish project and customer legitimacy. More limited collaboration, joint ventures, and partnerships with for-profit and non-profit players may also provide the speed, agility, and full service offering customers in this space seek.
AVASCENT’S EXPERIENCE SERVING GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT & STABILIZATION SECTOR
Competing in the development and stabilization market space poses a series of strategic and operational challenges. Avascent’s deep market expertise supports our clients with multiple tools to compete successfully.
Avascent provides comprehensive strategic support and tactical recommendations to clients in this space. Avascent’s customer assessments help clients pair their capabilities with individual customer requirements, and tailor their traditional business development and project capture efforts to the specific demands of the development and stabilization space. Avascent helps clients address the risk implications of development and stabilization activities—which often involve work in high-risk, remote, and inhospitable environments—through sophisticated political, business, and security risk assessment. Avascent’s due diligence and merger and acquisition support, two key Avascent core offerings, supports growth strategy execution.