Four Key Insights from USAID’s 2024 DRG Annual Learning Forum

Against the complex backdrop of democratic backsliding and rising challenges, the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG)’s 2024 DRG Annual Learning Forum emphasized the need for adaptive, evidence-based approaches to DRG programming. Across the nine virtual sessions, more than 800 participants worldwide joined from USAID, implementing partners, donors and other stakeholders to engage with academic researchers and practitioners to share evidence, approaches, and key programming implications. This year’s Forum highlighted the findings of the research completed under USAID’s 2021-2023 DRG Learning Agenda. 

This edition of the DRG Learning Digest highlights the following key points from this year’s Forum that you can apply in your DRG programming:

• Customize your program’s response to democratic backsliding by understanding the type and drivers of backsliding. 
• Promising practices for information integrity, including ways to make media literacy programs more effective. 
• Addressing corruption by leveraging the right entry points, windows of opportunity, and effective programmatic interventions.
• Tips and tricks for understanding a program's impact.