Accelerating Development through Science Innovation and Partnership

For the first time in history, the tools, technologies, and approaches exist to eradicate widespread hunger and preventable child death within the next two decades. USAID's legacy of developing and implementing innovative breakthroughs has saved lives, created economic opportunity, and advanced human development. The Agency's innovative approach involves serving as a platform that connects the world's biggest development challenges to development problem solvers. This requires connecting talent from around the world to opportunities, as USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah emphasized in 2012. The developing world is critical to American prosperity and security, offering current and future markets for entrepreneurs. The largest source of growth for U.S. businesses over the next 40 years is expected to come from the developing world. Greater prosperity in low-income countries can lead to more jobs in the United States as markets for exports expand. Breakthroughs pioneered for the developing world will likely improve health and economic growth for the United States, such as low-cost health diagnostics and treatments. Science diplomacy makes the United States safer by connecting its scientific community, innovation ecosystem, and ingenuity with global partners in countries critical to foreign policy goals. The development landscape is changing, with private resource flows to developing countries dwarfing official assistance. Science, technology, big data, and communications advances are accelerating, and the boundaries of the development sector are disappearing. All segments of society are demonstrating a desire to engage in global challenges. To connect the world's innovators, support their discoveries, and scale solutions to end extreme poverty, the U.S. Global Development Lab is spearheading a new approach. The Lab will accelerate the application of science, technology, innovation, and partnerships (STIP) to solve complex development challenges more cost-efficiently and effectively. This involves collaborating with host-country counterparts, entrepreneurs, and experts from corporations, NGOs, universities, and research institutions to co-design new solutions and take them from pilots to global impact. The Lab will also inspire, strengthen, and link the brightest young minds in America with those in partner countries, and improve USAID's development impact by supporting scientific and innovative approaches to strategic decision making, procurement, and program design. The Lab's approach includes sourcing and scaling new technologies and solutions, building partnerships to co-design new solutions, and inspiring and strengthening the brightest young minds in America and partner countries. This will catalyze global action, improve USAID's development impact, and ultimately help end extreme poverty.