The Role of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in the Future of USAID (2017) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction: New Horizons for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in Development
1 Introduction: New Horizons for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in Development
Pages 15-26
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From page 15... ...
Technology continually contributes new tools and processes to development, while the fostering of innovation accelerates the pace of social and economic 1 While USAID sometimes uses the acronym "STIP" to represent science, technology, innovation, and partnerships, (along with use of S&T, STI, R&D, Research, and Partnerships on other occasions) , the committee considers STI to be distinct from P -- and USAID's budget category still treats science, technology, and innovation separately from reporting on partnerships.
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From page 16... ...
government, multilateral institutions, and philanthropic agencies initially focused on recovery of parts of the world shattered by the war -- most notably through the Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods institutions -- the success of those initiatives led to a rise in expectations and ambitions. The goal became global to close the gap between "developed" and "less-developed" countries.
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From page 17... ...
Six key changes stand out, in the judgment of the committee, that demand priority attention from USAID's leadership and its overseers in Congress and the administration: (1) Financial flows from bilateral and multilateral development agencies formerly dominated development work, and these agencies set development agendas.
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From page 18... ...
While the establishment of the Global Devel opment Lab represents a critical step forward, its effectiveness 4 For background, see summaries at MIT Scaling Development Ventures, http://sdvinfo.wix.com/mitsdv; and Prahalad and Mashelkar, Innovation's holy grail, Harvard Business Review, July-August, 2010. 5 United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, https://sus tainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/capacity-building.
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From page 19... ...
Through education and access to the for mal economy, empowering women can sharply increase the global human potential to address societal challenges. At the same time, enabling women to participate fully in STI develop ment can contribute to advances in the empowerment of wom en and girls.
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From page 20... ...
Most relevant for this study, in 2004 the agency requested the Academies to review the state of S&T at USAID. 8 Completed in 2006, the study recommended that USAID expand investments in human and infrastructure resources to facilitate sustainable development outcomes in partner countries, increase the number of S&Ttrained senior staff and program managers in USAID, create a new position of science and technology advisor to the administrator, and engage more technical experts from other federal agencies as resources for USAID projects.
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From page 21... ...
Within USAID, this has been reflected in the appointment of USAID's first full-time science and technology advisor; major initiatives around science, technology, and innovation in health and agriculture; the establishment of the Global Development Lab; and expanded science staffing, including the largest contingent of American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows in any federal agency. These wide-ranging changes raise many strategic options for the leadership.
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From page 22... ...
With an ambitious task and a short timeframe, the committee held a two-day public workshop, with numerous leaders of R&D and innovation from USAID, its partners, and outside experts, to gather information for its deliberations, as well as an internal USAID workshop and a sequence of virtual meetings with experts (see Appendixes C and D.) Committee Perspectives on S, T, I, and P in Development The committee sought to reach a common understanding of science, technology, innovations, and partnerships in the context of this study (see Box 1-2)
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From page 23... ...
The report will consider USAID's programs that are in place and those that are planned for implementation, including current approaches to monitor ing and evaluation. Such an analysis will include the role of gender integra tion in STIP, and consider evidence regarding the effectiveness of USAID STIP programs intended to redress gender inequality.
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From page 24... ...
. Field and economic studies, prior USAID experience, country office knowledge, and stakeholder engagement form the basis for a needs assessment and identify problems to address.
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From page 25... ...
Randomized control trials and field trials also provide insight into how the solution may perform across different environments. At each stage, a development solution may need to revisit previous steps, continue on the same step repeatedly, or even jump a step.
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From page 26... ...
Monitoring and evaluation practices also need to be incorporated during the testing, scaling, and eventual sustainability stages to determine the effectiveness of a solution. Organization of This Report In developing and presenting its findings and recommendations, the committee recognized a range of audiences for this report, including policy makers in the executive branch and Congress, USAID leadership and technical staff, and other stakeholders in the United States and other countries.
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