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USAID Announces New University Engagement Partnership Program

Yesterday, at a White House innovation event, and echoing President Barack Obama’s commitment and vision for a greater focus on development through innovation, science and technology, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator for USAID, announced the final Higher Education SolutionsNetwork Request for Applications (RFA) to build new opportunities through partnerships with universities and colleges. This final RFA was a result of internal and external consultations, including two pre-solicitation workshops that were held in January.

“With the official launch of the RFA, we are pioneering a new relationship between USAID and universities that will help harness the creativity and experimentation that thrives on college campuses to help solve development challenges,” Shah said. “Through these new relationships, we will reach students who not only want to learn about global development, but are designing innovative solutions.”

 
Game changing innovations through new relationships with universities
By Alex Dehgan and Maura O’Neill
 
Over the years we have worked with partners on sector-specific projects, but today we are pursuing an unprecedented relationship with academic institutions as part of our effort to open the field to a broader range of actors and leverage the assets available through science and technology. USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network program aims to engage students and faculty and catalyze the enthusiasm on campuses for international development, making it easier to turn advocacy and ideas on campus into action and results in the field.
 

 

New report highlights relationship between USAID and the higher education research community

The new Feed the Future report “Feeding 10 Billion: A Dialogue Between Feed the Future and the International Research Community” represents a product of a new phase in the relationship between USAID and the higher education research community. Under USAID leadership, in coordination with USDA, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities was asked to organize a process for researchers to have input into the research agenda of Feed the Future. 

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