Contact us

Organizations and individuals that are simply interested in keeping track of events and progress on the HRI can become observers. Observers will be subscribed to a mailing list for updates and quarterly reports. Your email address will not be shared, with correspondence distributed via the BCC email function. Simply contact us and ask to become an observer.

The HRI has very many opportunities for participation, for both individuals and organizations. If you are international, please note that international assistance is still very much needed in Haiti and is most welcome. If you are a Haitian national or a member of the Diaspora, it is clear that you are already helping; what is offered with the HRI is a way to potentially increase the impact of your efforts.

Providing the right sort of help and participating in a manner that adds value is critically important.

In this context, HRI presents the following very specific ways in which you or your organization can participate and support the people of Haiti by supporting the activities of the HRI. The HRI is in continual need for contributions in the following fields:

• Donations and grants
• General and social business investments
• Non-profit organizations
• Pro-bono services
• General employment and consultancy opportunities
• Technical document translation
• Volunteering -- fieldwork
• Volunteering -- desk research and technical writing
• PhD Research

Financial assistance on any scale is much appreciated, however, the best approach to giving funds is dependent upon the amount offered.

Individual donations up to $5,000 are best directed to Haiti-specific NGOs and institutions with the facilities for secure online donation. There are many to choose from; we recommend HRI Partners, including the energy NGO Earthspark and their finance partner, the micro-credit organization Fonkoze.

Small-scale donations from $5,000 up to $20,000 are best directed to one of the national NGOs listed as HRI Partners, and donors are encouraged to contact them directly via the URLs provided. In the future the Côte Sud Initiative may develop a pooled fund to attract and manage small-scale donations for use at the community level.

Medium-scale grants of between $20,000−$100,000 are best directed to one or more of the national and international NGOs listed as HRI Partners, and donors are encouraged to contact them directly via the URLs provided. Medium-scale grants can be absorbed by the partners without great impacts on the coordination and annual planning process. Such donations will generally allow the organizations to accomplish more of that which they have already planned—either reaching more people or moving forward on tasks previously deferred due to a lack of funds.

Large-scale grants have a very positive major impact on the annual work plans of the partnerships, and therefore coordination across the Initiative is critically important. In this case, potential donors should contact HRI to discuss their intentions and priorities and the appropriate way forward.

Business investment in Haiti is more than welcome because it creates sustainable employment and lasting economic growth. The Côte Sud Initiative includes Private Sector Development support, with multiple pre-identified opportunities for business investment. Private sector investment in the South Department may be facilitated by the Côte Sud Initiative, with logistical support for targeted assessments, business introductions, co-financing and business risk underwriting.

The Côte Sud Initiative has particular interest in attracting social business investments, with either a double (economic-social) or triple (economic-social-environmental) bottom line. The CSI recognizes that such businesses can have a significant development cost and risk, and has the capacity to assist. In addition, several of the partners and projects listed in the Sustainable Development Solutions component of HRI have business opportunities currently available.

To investigate business opportunities in CSI or SDS, contact us at haitiobserver@haitiregeneration.org .

In general, Haiti has sufficient generalist non-government organizations. In contrast however, there is a serious and ongoing shortage of specialized international non-profit organizationswith the motivation and human resources to help build the capacity of national organizations and fill key technical gaps.

Emerging opportunities will be posted on the home pages of the Haiti Regeneration Initiative and the Côte Sud Initiative, while long-term high priority opportunities are noted in the following fields:

• Tertiary education
• Marine environment and fisheries
• Hydrology
• Forestry
• Renewable energy
• Soils science
• Urban planning
• Ecotourism
• Private sector development

Non-profit organizations with these skill sets who are already in Haiti or are considering entry into Haiti should contact us at haitiobserver@haitiregeneration.org . 

Haiti 2040 and the Côte Sud Initiative are highly interested in companies involved in providing pro bono services and Corporate Social Responsibility-linked support. The Côte Sud Initiative can provide field office hosting services for high caliber individuals in any of the fields listed above in the opportunities for non-profits section. In addition both the Côte Sud Initiative and Haiti 2040 are interested in services that can be delivered in the following fields:

• Document translation, editing, layout, publishing, and printing
• Marketing and public relations
• Open and/or confidential technical peer reviews
• Project finance and financial risk management
• Civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering design and architecture
• IT support
• GIS services

As of June 2011, the combined budget of all the partner activities noted under the Haiti Regeneration Initiative and Côte Sud Initiative frameworks is approximately $US 10 million per annum. To deliver on this scale, we need good people on our teams.

The policy of both the Haiti Regeneration Initiative and the Côte Sud Initiative is to recruit nationally for staff and consultants, and to resort to international recruitment only in the absence of national candidates. Recruitment for the Côte Sud Initiative and the Port-à-Piment MVP is managed via the HRI web site and through the Côte Sud Initiative partners' web sites. The Côte Sud Initiative is hiring over the period Q2 – Q3 2011. Haiti 2040 is a small team and will only be recruiting on a very occasional basis. Recruitment for the partners listed under the Sustainable Development Solutions is managed by the listed organizations and not associated with the HRI.

Note that HRI, CSI, and its partners unfortunately cannot guarantee any response to unsolicited emailed or mailed requests for general employment or consultancy contracts.

The Haiti Regeneration Initiative portfolio entails a large amount of translation of technical documents, most often from English to French, and occasionally from English to Spanish. Technical translators are tested and then given a framework contract where services are paid on a per word translated basis. Interested candidates need to be technical graduates from high quality Francophone or Spanish universities or institutes of technology, and should have excellent writing skills in English and either French or Spanish. Appointments are generally for a period of six months or more.

The Haiti Regeneration Initiative and Côte Sud Initiative have standing arrangements with Haitian universities to provide short-term work experience assignments for recent graduates. General volunteers are not accepted, unless partner organizations specifically state this on their Web sites or in their human resource policies.

For internationals, the Côte Sud Initiative has the capacity to accept limited numbers of masters or doctorate graduates in specific fields to act as field research assistants in the South Department. Interested candidates should have the ability to speak French, be field-capable, financially self-sufficient and be able to commit to a minimum of three months for fieldwork. Columbia University, home of the Earth Institute, has a self-contained intern selection and management process. Interested candidates should contact us at haitiobserver@haitiregeneration.org

The Haiti 2040 team has an ongoing need for volunteer desk research and technical writing. Interested candidates should possess advanced research and writing skills in the fields listed in the Haiti 2040 section of this web site. Co-authoring of papers is available for the right candidates.

The Côte Sud Initiative offers multiple subject opportunities for international doctorate theses and can supply fieldwork logistical support and mentoring. Candidates must be financially self-supporting, able to speak French and English, and be prepared to undertake substantial field research work. Coordination of this subject area is undertaken by Columbia University. Interested candidates should contact us at haitiobserver@haitiregeneration.org .