Community Connections Program
The United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs launched the Business for Russia (BFR) project in 1993 for the purpose of strengthening free market economies in the fledgling democracy of Russia. This goal is achieved by enhancing the skills of Russia's business leaders through meetings and practical training with their American counterparts. The Community Connections Program (CCP) capitalizes on the tremendous success of BFR and includes other countries that were part of the former USSR. To date, the programs have brought more than 6,000 entrepreneurs, executives, government officials and professionals to the United States.

The State Department funding for Communications ended in 2005. The Community Connections Program will continue in 2006 with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by World Learning. TGA submitted a proposal to World Learning in January and received word that we have successfully pre-qualified as a hosting organization for the new Community Connections Program. TGA will now be invited to submit bids for upcoming Community Connections projects as they arise.

Participants are selected based on their industry potential, personal motivation, and English language skills. After careful preparation they arrive in a host city in the U.S. for a three to five week professional program, spending time with colleagues and corporations in their industry to learn about and gain experience with successful American business practices. The program is designed to provide practical, hands-on training in American business environments, which can be transferred to colleagues upon a participant's return home.

Activities at the host companies can include professional shadowing; general orientation; meetings with colleagues and/or clients; site visits; learning about the structure, communication, and hierarchy of corporations; participation in the creation, management and/or execution of a specific project; and activities that address the specific interests of the participant. Our participants understand that this is a reciprocal exchange and are prepared to devote their considerable energy and skills to any task that is required. Host companies often comment that they in turn learn a lot from working with CCP participants, who provide refreshing new perspectives and a positive intercultural experience. They can become strong overseas contacts, both personally and professionally.

These participants are well placed to implement what they've learned in the U.S., sharing information with colleagues and developing their companies into more efficient, better structured, and effective industry leaders. Many CCP alumni now strongly support the role of business in enriching standards of living and education in the local communities. In a recent independent evaluation of CCP, alumni reported average post-CCP production increase of 18% for state firms, 27% for privatized firms, and 35% for start-ups. As a direct result of the CCP experience, they report profit increases of 14-24%. An overwhelming percentage of alumni feel that this program is highly instrumental in fostering a critical mass of reform-minded businessmen in the former USSR, and have great hope for market reform if more businessmen and politicians in their countries can learn these skills and values. They also said, as important as their business training was the moral support and validation they gained by meeting American businesspeople was crucial.