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May 28, 2024

USAID Science and Technology Fellowships Assessment

  • General Information
  • Report
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosts several science and technology (S&T) fellowship programs that advance the diplomatic and development policies of the United States government. These career and professional development programs also help the Agency deliver on its commitment to the use of science, technology, and innovation across all sectors in which USAID works. To better understand USAID Science and Technology (S&T) Fellowships, a RTAC team of researchers from Duke University and Michigan State University explored the fellowships’ importance and benefits and sought to provide insight on how the impact of these fellowships can be maximized both for S&T fellows and USAID. The team conducted a comprehensive literature review and mixed methods research based on analysis of primary and secondary data. In addition to the final report, three case studies were developed based on interviews conducted with former fellows....read more

May 28, 2024

USAID Mental Health Policy Consultations

  • Global Health
  • Report
The importance of mental health as a human rights concern, a major determinant of general health and well-being, and a critical factor in development progress is becoming more widely recognized. The debate is no longer about whether mental health is important, but rather how the development and humanitarian assistance community will address it through policy and/or programming. To provide insights to inform programs and policies related to global mental health policy, a series of consultations, designed to be highly inclusive, participatory, and rooted in global practice, were held between November 2022 and January 2023. An RTAC team of researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign led consultations to gather inputs for the first USAID Mental Health Policy. The consultation process involved three main activities: Virtual consultations with a range of stakeholder groups including USAID personnel, mental health clinicians, transnational and local nongovernmental organizations, donors and funders, academics, and youth; Small…...read more

August 31, 2023

Quantum Futures: International Development and the Quantum Computing Transition

  • General Information
  • Report
This report is an effort to address these questions and synthesize current understanding of how quantum computing may affect the trajectory of global development over the next two decades and proposes how practitioners and decision-makers can respond. The report highlights key challenges, risks, potential opportunities of quantum computing, and proposes recommendations for USAID and development practitioners more broadly....read more

August 23, 2023

Preserving and Restoring Mangroves Protects Communities

  • Climate and Environmental Protection
  • Brief
This brief, available in English and Tagalog, details the valuable services that mangroves provide, explains the challenges of preserving and restoring mangrove forests, and provides recommendations for local leaders to take to protect communities from the consequences of sea level rise and increasingly severe typhoons. Both briefs also include links to the “State of Mangrove Summit” findings for Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, and the Central and Eastern Visayas....read more

August 9, 2023

USAID READ Program: A Novel Approach Boosts Literacy in Dominican Schools

  • Education
  • Factsheet
Literacy skills are essential building blocks for success in primary education and advancement to secondary schooling. Yet schools in the Dominican Republic still struggle to impart basic literacy skills to their students, despite institutional and policy reforms. To address this issue, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Read Program created an approach for primary students in the Dominican Republic’s public schools, successfully combining teacher training and mentoring with tailored practice materials designed to meet children at their individual reading levels. Not only did students’ reading precursor skills improve within two years, but a subsequent national evaluation of sixth graders showed that students with the highest reading comprehension levels were more likely to have participated in the USAID Read Program.   This factsheet, available in English and Spanish, shares the approach and success of the literacy intervention and provides recommendations to take the program’s success nationwide in the Dominican…...read more

August 9, 2023

Striga-Resistant Sorghum Offers a Sustainable Alternative for Kenyan Farmers

  • Agriculture and Food Security
  • Factsheet
Sorghum was the third largest cereal crop in Kenya in 2020, following maize and wheat, with a gross production value of more than US$260 million. This staple crop is threatened by parasitic Striga plants, which pose a major constraint to food production in Kenya and throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Shifting sorghum cultivation to Striga-resistant varieties developed by a Kenyan team of scientists at Kenyatta University is an opportunity to increase crop yields for small-scale farmers in western Kenya. This factsheet – available in English and Swahili – shares results of the research on the Striga-resistant sorghum and recommendations to support striga-smart practices in Western Kenya....read more

June 9, 2023

Feed the Future and Conflict Integration Toolkit

  • Conflict & Security
  • Technical Guidance
Conflict remains one of the largest drivers of global food insecurity worldwide and the stressors this puts on the food system are numerous. As conflict is the largest driver of global food insecurity, the resources provided here strive to ensure that all Feed the Future Initiatives integrate conflict sensitivity. Conflict was responsible for roughly 72 percent of acute food insecurity worldwide in 2021. As many as 60 percent of the world’s 828 million hungry live in regions subject to war and violence. Conflict-affected areas are the frontlines in the global fight against hunger, and addressing food insecurity increasingly means addressing conflict, violence, and fragility.   Resources available include: Feed the Future and Conflict Integration: A Toolkit for Programming Food Systems Conceptual Framework: Companion Guide on Fragility, Conflict, and Violence Conflict Integration Guide...read more

May 17, 2023

Water and Conflict Toolkit

  • Water and Sanitation
  • Technical Guidance
USAID’s Water and Conflict Toolkit, originally published in 2014, has recently been updated. This revised version provides guidance for implementing partners, USAID staff, and other stakeholders to better understand the connection between water management and key risk factors associated with conflict, address linkages, and incorporate conflict integration into water security, sanitation, and hygiene programming. The toolkit is one of a series of forthcoming USAID resources around conflict including land, Feed the Future, food systems, and conflict integration....read more