IESC

IESC recognizes that collaboration with government, private sector, and local organizations is essential to advancing long-term, shared objectives. We value the complementary roles that varied stakeholders play within a well-functioning market system, and we engage closely across sectors to deliver program objectives together.

Our approach prioritizes partners willing to commit time and resources, engage in collaborative planning, and deliver solutions on the ground — to ensure solutions are delivered effectively and endure over time.

To this end, IESC regularly and successfully establishes steering committees, advisory councils, and coordination platforms to engage stakeholders for effective collaboration within market systems, aligning priorities, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and advancing interventions collaboratively.

IESC also identifies, engages, and strengthens the institutional capacity of local organizations to build durable systems for governance and operational sustainability, empowering them to advocate for and drive change within market systems long after a program ends.

Through this collaborative approach, IESC has leveraged substantial public and private investment in support of program objectives, proof that locally grounded, partnership-driven development delivers results that last.

IESC awarded Allyn Lamb with the 2025 David Rockefeller Spirit of Service Award, which recognizes outstanding and continuing contributions to IESC. Established in 1992 and named for David Rockefeller, one of IESC’s founders, this award honors those who, through superior and sustained performance, dedication, and commitment, work to improve the lives of others.

Over the past 11 years, Mr. Lamb completed 19 volunteer projects across six IESC programs in Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, and Tanzania, helping agribusinesses and farmers to access financing previously out of reach, enabling them to expand their businesses, create jobs, and strengthen their communities.

IESC staff recently gathered at our Washington, DC home office to celebrate his achievements, featuring a slideshow of his past volunteer projects and a fireside chat with IESC’s President & CEO, David Hartingh.

You can read more about Mr. Lamb’s record of service here: https://iesc.org/iesc-news/2025-david-rockefeller-spirit-of-service-award/

National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs) play a critical role in economic development, serving as a central forum where public and private sector stakeholders come together to identify and take actions to reduce barriers to trade, coordinate procedures, and adhere to international trade facilitative commitments.

A well-functioning NTFC means faster borders, lower trade costs, and greater opportunity for businesses to compete more effectively in global markets.

Since 2019, IESC has designed and delivered targeted assistance to NTFCs, collaborating with government institutions and private sector actors to diagnose systemic bottlenecks in transparency, agro-food standards, border coordination, and digitalization. This work build the coordination frameworks that make trade work better for everyone.

Most recently, IESC brought together 27 public institutions and 21 private sector organizations to develop a five-year NTFC strategic plan targeting faster clearance times, modernized regulations, and greater interoperability across digital trade systems. By ensuring broad and equitable participation, we helped build the institutional ownership and stakeholder buy-in needed for the plan to deliver lasting results.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/hCPo50Zq2E0

Strengthening NTFCs to Drive Economic Growth - IESC National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFCs) play a critical role in economic development, serving as a central forum where public and private sector stakeholders come together to identify and take actions to reduce barriers to trade, coordinate procedures, and adhere to international trade facili...

The David Rockefeller Spirit of Service Award recognizes outstanding and continuing contributions to IESC. Established in 1992, the award is named for American business leader David Rockefeller, who helped found IESC. The award honors those who, through superior and sustained performance, dedication, and commitment, work to improve the lives of others. This year’s recipient is Allyn Lamb for his numerous volunteer assignments with IESC’s Farmer-to-Farmer programs. Read more about his record of service:

IESC Announces David Rockefeller Spirit of Service Award Winner, Allyn Lamb - IESC The David Rockefeller Spirit of Service Award recognizes outstanding and continuing contributions to IESC. Established in 1992, the award is named for IESC founder and American business leader David Rockefeller who, among other accomplishments, was Chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank. David Roc...

IESC implements digital interventions to create economic opportunity around the world. Established in 2023, the Linowitz Commendation for Innovation, Technology, and Digital Development is named for one of IESC’s founders. This award recognizes interventions that had, or will have, the greatest demonstrated transformational impact.

The 2025 recipient of the Linowitz Commendation is a digital intervention that was developed under the Trade-Facilitating Agricultural Systems and Technology (T-FAST) program in Paraguay. The program team led the digital transformation of Paraguay’s national animal quality and health service (SENACSA) by digitalizing laboratory records, automating laboratory information and management into an interconnected online system, and installing secure hyperconverged infrastructure. Read more here:

IESC Announces 2025 Linowitz Commendation for Innovation, Technology, and Digital Development Winner, T-FAST - IESC The Sol Linowitz Commendation for Innovation, Technology, and Digital Development was established in 2024 to honor one of IESC’s founders, Sol Linowitz, and IESC’s transformational impact in innovation, technology, and digital development. Among many accomplishments, Sol Linowitz helped found Xe...

Volunteers have been an important part of IESC’s mission since 1964. Every year, IESC recognizes individuals whose dedication and service have truly made an impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. The Frank Pace Award, named for one of IESC’s founders, is awarded each year to the volunteer expert who performed the most outstanding program in the previous year. For 2025, IESC recognized Nancy Glaser who volunteered with IESC in Tanzania. Read more about her outstanding contributions here: https://iesc.org/iesc-news/2025-frank-pace-award-winner/

The Tarek Nabhan International Achievement Award was established in 2013 to recognize in-country staff members who go above and beyond their normal job responsibilities to achieve excellence. The award is named after Tarek Nabhan in honor of his 31 years of service to IESC.
For 2025, IESC recognized Santiago Colato, ICT Business Specialist in El Salvador, as the Tarek Nabhan International Achievement Award winner. Read more about his exceptional contributions here:

IESC Announces Tarek Nabhan International Achievement Award Winner, Santiago Colato - IESC Established in 2013, the Tarek Nabhan International Achievement Award recognizes staff members in our overseas offices who regularly go above and beyond their normal job responsibilities to achieve excellence. The award is named after Tarek Nabhan in recognition of his 31 years of service to IESC. F...

The 2026 is just ONE DAY away! Tomorrow, we’ll be joining hundreds of other practitioners and professionals at the Society for International Development, United States (SID-US) 2026 Annual Conference.

As a Sponsor, we’re looking forward to the candid conversations, collaborative problem-solving, and thoughtful reflection on where the sector is headed—and how we can shape what comes next together.

It’s going to be a full day of networking, connecting, and collaborating on practical solutions with our colleagues, friends, and partners. Will you be there? Visit www.sidusconference.org to see what else is in store!

At a moment of profound global and domestic transition, IESC is proud to be a Sponsor for the Society for International Development, United States 2026 Annual Conference. This conference is an opportunity to step back, engage, and help chart the path forward for the international development sector - together.

We look forward to exploring how this community can adapt, innovate, and collaborate in a rapidly changing world. If you’ll be there, stop by our table in the Exhibit Hall!

Building sustainable market systems requires the alignment of incentives across government, private sector, civil society, and smallholder farming communities. At IESC, we bring these groups together to create market systems that are resilient, inclusive, and self-sustaining.

IESC engages local actors who are willing and committed to invest their own time and resources, fostering a "crowding in" effect that extends impact beyond a project’s lifecycle. We cultivate strong government relationships to advance shared objectives and institutionalize program outcomes for long-term success — because government ownership is foundational to lasting change.

We recognize that every stakeholder in a well-functioning market system plays a complementary role. Through steering committees, advisory councils, and coordination platforms, IESC facilitates meaningful collaboration that incentivizes local investment without creating donor dependency.

Our commitment to rigorous testing, monitoring, and adaptive management ensures interventions remain context-specific, inclusive, and effective. The result? Increased productivity and incomes, stronger climate resilience, greater dietary diversity, and more inclusive rural economies.