Science, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at USAID Kyriacos Koupparis Science & Technology Advisor | AAAS Fellow
USAID/Washington Middle East Bureau, Office of Technical Support WLI Coordination Meeting - Nov. 5th & 6th 2013
USAID Forward: A renewed emphasis on science, technology, innovation and partnerships (STIP)
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USAID Forward reforms are focused on three main areas: 1. Deliver results on a meaningful scale through a more strategic, focused and results-oriented approach. 2. Promote sustainable development through high-impact partnerships and local solutions. 3. Identify and scale up innovative solutions to intractable development challenges by strengthening our work with scientists, researchers and universities, investing in new technologies, and supporting mobile solutions to dramatically expand opportunity.
STIP Approach @ USAID
•Produce Breakthrough Development Innovations:
•Invest in both directed research and open innovation approaches. An integrated R&D platform to discover, test, and transition solutions to scale.
•Accelerate the transformation of the U.S. development enterprise:
•- Support Presidential Initiatives and STIP Lead Missions and Bureaus in applying STIP
Office of Science and Technology
•Data Pillar •
- Geo-Center, Data & Analytics, Futures
•Research Pillar • •
- Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in
Research (PEER) - Global Research & Innovation Fellowship Network (GRIFN)
•Solutions Pillar •- Challenges, Prizes, LAUNCH •Development Lab Pillar •- Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN)
Office of Innovation and Development Alliances
•Global Partnerships • - Global Development Alliances/Public-Private Partnerships
•Mobile Solutions • - mAccess, mData, mBanking •Development Innovation Ventures
Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development
YOUR LOGO
Securing Water for Food Focus Areas Focus Areas: New and Sustainable Water Sources for the Food Value Chain
Salinity • Low-Cost • Low-Energy • Brackish Water Focus/Reducing Saline Aquifers • Small Community Systems • Applicable to one or many parts the food value chain
Water Capture and Storage • Low-Cost • Low-Energy • Applicable to multiple parts of the food value chain • Improve Water Sustainability
Water Re-Use and Efficiency • Low-Cost • Low-Energy • Reduce water demand in the food value chain • Improve water use and crop yields
How will the challenge address these barriers? LEVERAGING RESOURCES THROUGH STRONG PARTNERSHIPS: •Pooling over $25 million in financial and in-kind support SEEKING AND SUPPORTING SOLUTIONS THAT: •Meet existing or latent demand for Water-Reuse and Efficiency, Capture and Storage, or Salinity Technologies within developing countries’ food value chains. •Promote the design and deployment of the types of water technologies that will help produce more food with less water.
•Employ innovative business models to sustainably satisfy the demand for sustainable water technology among farmers and
Call for Proposals
•On November 4, 2013, a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) will be posted requesting proposals. •We expect to receive between 500-800 applications by the time the Call for Proposals closes in mid-January 2014.
•We expect to narrow that applicant pool to 150 proposals that will submit full applications in March 2014. •Approx. $15M will be awarded to the winners of this first Call for Proposals. •FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: www.securingwaterforfood.org
Brackish Water Desalination Prize TECHNICAL POINT SOLUTION
Desalination Device Prize
CRITERIA
DESIGN
• Phase I: Semi-finalists • Provides potable water for demonstrate device humans and livestock, and prototypes at Brackish Water water for crops (0.1-1.5 Testing Facility in New Mexico hectares) • Phase II: Finalists from • Removes total dissolved Phase I demonstrate solids in an acceptable devices at a USAID mission range (to be determined). Devices • Energy Efficient will be tested at 3 locations • Appropriate Flow (2 groundwater and 1 rate/volume surface water) in the field. • Inexpensive, durable, easy Top performing device will to repair be selected
Brine Disposal / Remediation Prize IDEATION PRIZE
Brine Disposal / Remediation / Reclamation Prize
BACKGROUND
DESIGN
• Agricultural solutions are needed to mitigate brine • Innovators will submit discharge dispensed from theoretical solutions and brackish water desalination strategies for brine disposal / procedures remediation / reclamation • Goal of the prize is to • The prize will be hosted on a incentivize low-tech solutions platform such as Innocentive to deal with potential and • Winning selections will be existing brine accumulation in announced on the Securing soil Water for Food GCD website • Solutions can be for brine and winning ideas will receive disposal, brine remediation in a cash prize soil, or brine reclamation for manufacturing products
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) - Science
• USAID & NSF Collaboration: provides
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support for researchers in 87 fully-eligible countries worldwide on a wide range of development-related topics, including food security, climate change, water, biodiversity, disaster mitigation, and renewable energy. Applicants to PEER Science must be working in collaboration with a U.S. partner who holds an active award from the
Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN)
•USAID has funded 7 development labs: •1. MIT 2. UCBerkeley 3. Michigan State Uni. •4. William and Mary College 5. Texas A&M 6. Duke Uni. 7. Makerere Uni. (Uganda)
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•MSU - Global Center for Food Systems Innovation: • •
- Contribute to sustainable food production and consumption - Develop a sophisticated understanding of mega-trends affecting global food systems (population growth, rapid urbanization, climate change, pressures on land, skills gap in the food system workforce)
Middle East Bureau S&T initiatives
•MENA
- National Water Centers of Excellence
•Middle East Regional Cooperation Program •Arab - American Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine
MENA Network of Water Centers
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Water Innovation Fellowships Grants Program
•- Reward innovative thinking to solve water
problems - Seeks to build strong partnership between one research scientist and one Network Center - Grants to be awarded: $5k - $25K Young Water Scientist Partnerships Smalls Grants Program - Provide an opportunity for young water scientists (21- 40 yo) to develop research projects - Foster scientific partnerships between young
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Middle East Regional Cooperation Program
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Promotes cooperation between Arab and Israeli technical communities through joint Arab-Israeli research projects to solve common development problems. Currently active projects include over 400 scientists, engineers, students and technicians at 50 institutions in seven Middle Eastern countries. Water Projects in: 1. Water Resources Management (5 projects) 2. Wastewater Treatment for Re-use in Agriculture (4 projects) 3. Minimizing Freshwater Requirements for Existing Crops (4 projects) 4. Identifying New Varieties and Adapting Crops for
Arab-American Frontiers in Science, Engineering and Medicine
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Symposium for Arab and American scientists and engineers - promotes scientific dialogue and research collaborations. September, 2014 in Oman (tentative). 60 - 80 Arab scientists and 20 - 25 US scientists (under 45 years old). Frontiers Fellowships available for participants who want to jointly explore a research idea. Five Topics: Food Security, Water for Growth, Hydraulic Fracturing, Cancer, Sustainable Communities.
THANK YOU
Kyriacos Koupparis
[email protected]