June 20, 2014

BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL BILL TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT GAINS AND PROMOTE INNOVATION AT USAID

Washington, D.C—Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX-10), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the Global Development Lab Act [H.R. 4905/ S. 2502], which authorizes USAID’s U.S. Global Development Lab research-based work to help hundreds of millions of people lift themselves out of extreme poverty. This bipartisan and bicameral bill allows this new arm within USAID to harness innovation, science and technology, and public private partnerships to help drive down the cost of development interventions and accelerate progress of U.S. development and foreign policy goals.

 “By collaborating with the world’s brightest minds, companies and organizations, we can leapfrog traditional development barriers and deliver breakthrough solutions to tackle the greatest development challenges of our time,” said Congressman Castro. “This bill will authorize the U.S Global Development Lab to bring together public and private innovators from around the world to carry out our nation’s development goals and lend itself to a more purposeful U.S. foreign policy.”

 “The Global Development Lab Act will transform the way the U.S. provides global development assistance by harnessing the innovation of entrepreneurs and leveraging the talent and resources of the private sector and the research community,” said Congressman McCaul.  “This public-private partnership model will deliver more cost-effective, innovative solutions to the world’s myriad development challenges by investing in ideas and technology that are proven to work.  By taking this new approach, we will save taxpayer’s money while fulfilling key strategic foreign policy objectives.”

 “Never before has the United States faced such a complex set of global challenges. The cost-effective and long-term solution to these challenges is our investment in global development. And when government partners with businesses, NGOs, entrepreneurs and innovators to tackle the world’s greatest development challenges, the possibilities are endless,” said Senator Cardin. “This Act gives USAID the flexibility it needs to invest, test, and bring to scale solutions to development challenges and empowers the Global Development Lab to be the world’s most innovative incubator of global development projects.”

 “The pathway to the future is private-public partnerships. When you can combine the collective talents of our private sector, NGOs, foundations and universities, you are certain to produce results,” said Senator Boozman. “Problems like food insecurity, preventable child and maternal deaths, and lack of energy and clean water access are certainly worthy of our efforts. This program will bring some of the world’s best and brightest to the table to come-up with innovative solutions to these problems.”

 Background:

Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20) and Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX-10) serve on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Boozman serves on the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee.

The newly created U.S. Global Development Lab seeks to increase the application of science, technology, innovation and partnerships to achieve, sustain and extend USAID’s development impact to help hundreds of millions of people lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The Lab’s mission is to discover, test, and scale breakthrough development innovations to solve development challenges faster and cheaper in support of U.S. foreign policy and development goals.

The Lab will focus around nine initial problem sets: Food Security and Nutrition; Modernizing Food Assistance; Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths; Energy Access; Water Solutions; Child Literacy; Financial Inclusion; Rights, Participation and Accountability; and Humanitarian Response.

 The Lab will partner with businesses, NGOs, foundations, universities and governments who bring cutting-edge technologies, deep expertise, advanced research and development capabilities, far-reaching networks of customers, suppliers and community organizations. The USAID website has a list of current partners.

 

###