WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With prospects of government budget cuts across the board, leaders from all sectors met to identify ways of leveraging and augmenting their efforts in development and stability operations.

This first meeting was an effort to quantify ways of identifying, harnessing and maximizing scalable, sustainable and residual value from current and future contracts and grants to better support U.S. policy goals around the world.

Recommendations for harnessing private sector capabilities to augment U.S. military and diplomatic efforts in an increasingly austere economic environment will be incorporated into a guidebook covering innovative means of accomplishing more with less.

"The organizations represented here have the solutions, technology and experience needed to develop innovative ways to counter-conflict as tools of soft power," said League for Hope Chairman Jeb Carney.

Private sector, NGO, government agency and combatant command leadership convened for the "2011 Leadership Symposium: Soft Power Protocol - Developing Common Language and Procedures to Harness NGO & Private Sector Capabilities through Partnerships Supporting U.S. Policy" co-hosted by League for Hope and Pepperdine University.

Symposium participants will continue to collaborate through pilot projects to determine how the contract bidding and implementation might provide ongoing residual value for local stakeholders, and to leverage corporate and NGO contract points of contact as a quasi-"diplomats" with incentives for both the corporation and the local stakeholders.

Organizations represented at the symposium include USCENTCOM, USEUCOM, USNORTHCOM, USSOUTHCOM J9, Department of Commerce, Department of State, USAID, Peace Corps, Institute for Defense Analysis, Cardno Emerging Markets, DAI, GDIT, Michael Baker Engineers, NC4, Pax Mondial, Sovana Global Logistics, OPIC, AidData, AmericasRelief Team, Grossman Burn Foundation, ISOA and Roots of Peace.

Planning chair and moderator Rosalie J. Wyatt opened the session, Pepperdine University DC's Executive Director Khalil Jahshan provided words of welcome and James Stephenson of Creative Associates International and Alonzo Fulgham of International Relief and Development co-moderated. Closing remarks included an investment and partnership invitation by the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Mauritania in Washington, DC.

Dean James R. Wilburn of Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy; Hon. David Litt of IDB's Center for Economic Stabilization and Reconstruction; and Hon. Paula Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs served as Honorary Co-Chairs.

The symposium was sponsored by CAII and DI Development and the reception was sponsored by Pepperdine DC Waves Alumni Association.

SOURCE League for Hope

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