Positive Psychology: Analyzing USAID's Partnerships Incubator

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living. Instead of focusing solely on fixing what's wrong, this field emphasizes strengths, virtues, and the factors that help people and communities thrive. This was the spirit of USAID's Partnerships Incubator. As a former project director of this remarkable $47M project, I often wondered why it was so successful.

I accessed the work of Martin Seligman , a pioneer in positive psychology who sought to understand what makes life pleasant, engaged, and meaningful. Our work at the Incubator was just that: pleasant, engaged, and meaningful. By examining the successes of the operations through the positive psychology lens, we can see how the Incubator's practices and achievements align with the principles of positive psychology.

Reflecting on this experience, I've concluded that the Incubator practices and achievements aligned with the principles of positive psychology, the scientific study of what makes life worth living. Instead of focusing solely on fixing what's wrong, this field emphasizes strengths, virtues, and the factors that help people and communities thrive.

The Incubator’s Success: A Case Study in Flourishing

The Partnerships Incubator has been instrumental in enhancing the capacity of local and nontraditional partners to engage effectively with USAID. Its approach and outcomes provide a compelling case study of positive psychology in action. Here’s how:

1. Building Strong Relationships

A core element of the Incubator’s success has been its ability to foster strong, trust-based relationships with its partners. From the beginning, the Incubator cultivated relationships with champions and ambassadors of localization within USAID. This trust enabled the Incubator to innovate and tailor its services to the needs of its partners effectively.

“Success depends on a vision that is inspiring and grounded in comprehensive, meaningful data.” — Donna Vincent Roa

2. Leveraging Strengths and Expertise

The Incubator carefully selected team members who combined technical expertise with a genuine passion for the mission. This alignment of skills and enthusiasm created a powerful synergy that drove the project's success. The Incubator also empowered junior colleagues, providing them with opportunities to lead critical engagements and fostering a culture of growth and innovation across the portfolios.

“Passion without technical skill is ineffective, but extraordinary results are possible when both align.” — Donna Vincent Roa

3. Embracing Innovation and Adaptability

The Incubator's approach to development was characterized by its innovative and adaptable methods. Utilizing an agile development framework, the Incubator introduced and advocated for new technologies and solutions, balancing innovation with compliance. This adaptability was crucial in overcoming challenges such as navigating CIO requirements for workwithusaid.gov and ensuring the platform's security and compliance.

4. Enhancing Organizational Capacity

A significant aspect of the Incubator’s work involved providing tailored capacity-building support to its partners. The Incubator minimized administrative burdens and emphasized performance through partner-driven and capacity-building initiatives. This approach empowered partners and aligned with USAID’s localization agenda, enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of development efforts.

5. Promoting Inclusive Development

The Incubator's commitment to inclusive development was evident in its efforts to engage a wide range of local and nontraditional partners. By conducting comprehensive partner landscape analyses, the Incubator identified and supported organizations well-positioned to contribute to development impact but needed more or needed to gain experience working with USAID. This inclusivity ensured that diverse voices and perspectives were incorporated into the development process.

Exemplifying the Principles of Positive Psychology

The Partnerships Incubator exemplifies the principles of positive psychology through its focus on strengths, relationships, and inclusive, innovative practices. By fostering strong, trust-based relationships, leveraging technical expertise and passion, embracing innovation, and enhancing organizational capacity, the Incubator has significantly contributed to the flourishing of its partners and the broader development community.

The success of the Partnerships Incubator underscores the importance of a positive psychology approach in organizational and development contexts. It demonstrates how focusing on what is right with people and organizations can lead to extraordinary outcomes, creating a work environment where individuals can thrive in their efforts to make meaningful developmental change.

As the project team continues to explore and apply positive psychology principles, the lessons from the Partnerships Incubator will continue to provide valuable insights into fostering optimal functioning and flourishing in diverse settings.

Dr. Donna Vincent Roa is a certified prompt engineer, an internationally accredited business communicator (ABC), and a certified development project manager (CDPM?). Dr. Roa previously served as Project Director for USAID's Partnerships Incubator, a transformative pilot initiative funded by USAID designed to revolutionize how the Agency engages with local and nontraditional partners and to foster long-term sustainable change through innovative tools, training, and capacity-building programs that enhance the capabilities of partner organizations. Donna also served as Chief of Party for the Securing Water for Food (SWFF) Technical Assistance Facility—an incubator-accelerator where she catalyzed social impact entrepreneurship with 40 water-ag innovators operating in 35 countries.

Previously, Dr. Roa was a management and global branding expert consultant for the United Nations, World Bank, and other international organizations; the Environmental Protection Agency’s Public Affairs Director and Director of Science Communication; and a social scientist at the U.S. Information Agency.

Globally recognized as a champion for innovation, water, sustainability, and the environment, Dr. Roa, who is also a voice actor , holds a doctorate in international communication from the University of Southern Mississippi and has written numerous industry articles, over 100 LinkedIn articles, and four books, including The Value of Water: A Compendium of Essays by Smart CEOs , and Five Knocks , a contemporary social issue novel focusing on China’s One Child Policy. She is working on her fifth book, Color Catalog: Voice Actor Workbook, scheduled for early fall.