What a Year, and Looking Forward to 2017!

KANAVA is very excited about the prospects in 2017! During 2016, KANAVA’s business grew as we expanded our opportunities and continued to develop our staff and systems to meet business challenges.

We also are happy for two new developments in our staff – welcoming the birth of Elizabeth Thibault and celebrating the marriage of Matthew Tyson! Congratulations!

On the business side we have had a productive year of growth and new opportunities. Early in 2016 we worked with a new client, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), to provide resource mobilization training for the mine action community in Sri Lanka.

In the Spring, KANAVA obtained HUBZone certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration based on our regional office located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. With this designation, we look to expand our federal contracting work and strengthen our efforts to link our international and domestic work and to expand opportunities and jobs in Northern Michigan.

Within our Management Capacity line of business, KANAVA’s role on the USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub has expanded to work more with regional organizations, first, assessing their current systems by applying KANAVA’s Impact Strengthening Development (ISD) methodology, which was mapped to USAID’s organizational capacity assessment tool, then, researching best practices for sustainability to be applied to these organizations. We also began work on a new USAID project based out of Niger as a subcontractor to TetraTech on the SERVIR West Africa project.

In late June, as a Commemorative Partner for the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, KANAVA spearheaded a recognition ceremony in partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and other participants, including the local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #180, the Soo Locks, the Chief Shawano Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, among others, to honor Vietnam Veterans and their families in June at the Soo Locks in conjunction with the annual Engineer Day celebration. Over 200 Vietnam Veterans were honored and several local Vietnam Veterans also had the opportunity to be interviewed for the Library of Congress Veteran’s project. KANAVA continues to locate and honor individual Vietnam Veterans; so far we have reached Veterans in the Washington, DC area, Michigan, California, Washington state, Oregon, Arizona, and Hawaii.

Within our Global Services line of business, KANAVA conducted multiple research and analysis projects including one on market entry into the USAID space, and one analyzing financial sustainability best practices of regional associations working in four value chains – livestock, shea, grain, and transportation.

As we continue to grow, we will leverage our experiences and skills to expand our market, especially to support efforts at the convergence between Defense, Development and Diplomacy to promote peace and stability.

We wish you all a Happy Holiday season and a prosperous and healthy new year!

Susan