International Development

Scope of Service

Our International Development services include: 
  •  Program Management                               
  •  Microenterprise Development
  •  Community Development
 

Investing in Developing Countries

The goal of the assisted development process is to relieve or eradicate human suffering to the fullest extent possible while maintaining sustainable environments. While there is an ever growing consciousness and effort of the developed world to relieve human misery and annual allocations of billions of dollars in AID to meet a wide variety of needs across the globe, human suffering persists, and it threatens peace and security in many regions. The degradation it breeds is as much a risk to the health of the world as a whole as it devalues human dignity.While the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and many other countries and charitable organizations play key roles in combating underdevelopment, resources are not limitless. Therefore the deployment of resources must involve strategies that will optimize every allocation. We believe that one of the most effective ways of optimizing the investment in development is the full engagement and leveraging of the creativity, effort and experience of the stakeholder communities. Stakeholder buy-ins add value exponentially to well organized and well communicated development programs.

That’s where we come in. Our experiences and training have brought us face-to-face with real community issues at the grass roots and from the perspective of the framers of solutions, national governments and donors of AID. We intimately understand the constraints, processes and opportunities of underdevelopment. We know how to transform policy, processes and resources into results that impact rural, urban and suburban communities. Whether it is rebuilding civility and public order, strengthening the democratic processes, supporting productivity in small farms or organizing the delivery of civil services to far flung communities, we understand the issues and approaches that deliver results. That is because of our strong blend of experience of both the developed and developing world. Our interest is therefore fuelled by the personal commitment of our professional skills and abilities in Community Development, Civil Society Development, Microenterprise Development, Human Capital Development, Public Relations and Communications and Information Technology. We rely on a network of skilled and experienced professionals on whom we are able to draw to implement portfolio of our undertakings. 

   

Civil Society Development

In 2000, the President of EBT, Cosford Roberts worked with the Government of Jamaica to successfully executed a program to Rebuild Civility and Public Order in Jamaica. The timeframe between planning and implementation was three (3) months. The impact was that it established in the minds of decision makers that it was possible to rebuild public order. The level of participation and enthusiasm of the young adults demonstrated their desire in creating a safe environment for their future. Bus queuing was the mechanism used to develop civil interaction. The objective of the program was to achieve a greater degree of civility and order in public system such as Public Transportation, compliance with Traffic Regulations, and proper conduct at Public Events. The national civic conduct was not aligned with Jamaica’s economic aspirations. Public systems were inefficient, crime rate was high, and public order was not cohesive. Mr. Roberts presented the proposal to the Minister of National Security and Justice and was invited to join the National Committee on Crime. The committee comprised of seventeen (17) members with representative from the Ministry of National Security and Justice, Jamaica Defense Force (Army), Jamaica Constabulary Force (Police), Department of Public Health, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Transportation and Public Works. The committee had been meeting for the past 2 years and had not identified a delivery mechanism with which to engage the public and encourage civil and public order. Mr. Roberts proposal recommended bus queuing as the mechanism and an implementation timeline of 3 months. After further discussions the delivery mechanism and timeline was accepted by the committee. Weekly meetings were held to discuss strategy, build consensus, and identify resources. The Project schedules, project work plans, and task assignments for respective members of the committee were finalized. Letters were sent, and telephone calls were made to the business community informing them of the program, and requesting sponsorship in the form of goods and services. The decision was made not to request cash, but contribution in the form of goods and services, and discounted prices for the production of printing materials, and promotional items. Volunteers were solicited from HEART/NTA, Scouts Association of Jamaica, Girls Guide, Fathers Incorporated, Kiwanis and Rotary. Most of the volunteers were young adults under the age of twenty-five (25).
   

Disaster Recovery

In 1988, the President of EBT, Cosford Roberts volunteered to work with the Government of Canada in providing Disaster Recovery Assistance to Jamaica. This was in response to the impact of Hurricane Gilbert in Jamaica. Mr. Roberts was the liaison between the Canadian and Jamaican Governments. He organized advisory committee consisting of various non-profit organizations under the auspices of the Jamaican High Commission; oversaw all operational duties related to the project; prepared and presented weekly status reports to advisory committee, Jamaica High Commission and CIDA. For the public relations and communication component, developed and implemented a public campaign strategy and liaised with the media for implementation. Mr. Roberts coordinated the activities of non-governmental organizations, community associations and business entities across the provinces of Canada. He planned and coordinated all logistical arrangements for collection of goods across the country, and delivery of relief to Jamaica. The logistics of collecting all donations from the different states and delivery of the commodities to Jamaica was achieved with the assistance of the Canadian Rail and the Canadian Coast Guards.
   

Public Relations and Communications

Since 1972, the President of EBT, Mr. Cosford Roberts has been developing public relations strategy and media campaigns. For the Government of Guyana, he developed a public relations strategy to gain national acceptance of the national youth service program. The strategy was implemented with overwhelming success despite fierce political opposition. For a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Energy Sector Assistance Program in Jamaica he worked as the Program Administrator. He planned and organized workshops, seminars and symposiums on energy conservation and alternative energy. His target audience was businesses, real estate developers, educators and schools. He developed media campaign for the dissemination of information on energy conservation to the public. For the Guyana Electric Corporation, he developed media campaigns, aired weekly broadcasts, and conducted periodic media briefings. He developed and published a variety of brochures and pamphlets to meet internal and external communications needs. He hosted town hall and community meetings, and prepared briefings for the Public Utilities Minister for Cabinet meetings and press conferences. He led customer education program that addressed issues such as safety, benefits of conservation, use of alternative energy, energy audit and retrofitting of homes and commercial properties.