[UgaBYTES] Fwd: News from USAID's Global Development Commons - January 2010

Tue Jan 5 03:01:47 GMT 2010

Dear All,

Happy New Year!

This is an interesting post for those involved in agriculture and innovation
in ICT Commons.

Kiringai

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Commons (USAID) <Commons at usaid.gov>
Date: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 1:03 AM
Subject: News from USAID's Global Development Commons - January 2010
To: COMMONS at info.usaid.gov

 *Greetings and Happy New Year from USAID’s Global Development Commons,*

*
We had a busy Fall!  * This is an exciting time for the Global Development
Commons as we welcome new leaders, evolve our innovation strategy, and
strengthen networks. We’ve traveled internationally and from coast to
coast interacting
with private sector stewards of sustainability, emerging business leaders,
leading- edge entrepreneurs for social impact, and technology and design
innovators. We’ve also been busy building momentum for an unprecedented open
collaboration and dialogue event to come in the new year- the Global
Engagement Jam, a three-day online conversation as one answer to President
Obama’s Call for engagement with Muslim-majority communities. We are
delighted  to welcome the newly confirmed USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv
Shah.  And the Global Development Commons will benefit from the strategic
leadership of our new Director, David Ferguson.

We are confident that USAID and development actors will continue to open up
to innovation and citizen and entrepreneurial engagement. But success in
creating opportunities for innovations with a social impact will depend on
the best ideas for ways to improve development from bright, networked, and
dedicated people like you.  We look forward to you participating,
interacting, and co-creating solutions with us as we seek to open up
development to innovation.

*Rajiv Shah nominated as the Administrator of USAID*

On November 10, President Obama nominated *Dr. Rajiv Shah *as the new
Administrator of USAID.  He was subsequently confirmed by the US Senate on
December 24th.  Shah, a medical doctor, was most recently Undersecretary
for Research, Education, and Economics at the Department of Agriculture
(USDA) as well as the agency’s Chief Scientist.   Read more about Dr. Shah in
the most recent issue of *FrontLines*
here<http://www.usaid.gov/press/frontlines/fl_nov09/p01_shah091101.html>
.

**

*Meet David Ferguson, Director of **USAID's* *Global Development Commons*

USAID is pleased to announce that *David Ferguson* has joined the Global
Development Commons team as its Director. David brings great experience in
the information and communications technology (ICT) field as well as an
innovative spirit. He has focused on international development challenges
for the past five years as an independent consultant at the nexus of
technology, development, and the private sector. We are glad to welcome Dave
to spearhead the efforts of the Commons in enabling open dialogue and
opportunities for innovation in international development.

David is eager for the opportunity to take his technical expertise in
development ICT, economic growth through private sector engagement, and
government technology and apply it to a creative initiative such as the
Commons.  As Director of the Commons, Dave will guide discussions and
identify key investment opportunities and partnerships so that innovators,
networks and resources may connect.  “I look forward to helping define a
strategy for innovation at USAID,” says David.  “We will work through
USAID’s strategic objectives to help USAID rebuild itself for the 21st
century, so that it is demand-driven and engages citizens in creating
efficient and superior solutions.”

David spent 27 years working at AT&T, where he created and ran AT&T's
Professional Services Division, developing it into a US $200 million
profitable entity. He was also responsible for creating new opportunities in
emerging markets. He spent several years based in Hong Kong for AT&T
identifying investment opportunities in telecommunications services in
China, India, and Indonesia. There, he learned about the demands and the
challenges of entrepreneurial ventures in developing markets.  David thinks
in terms of opportunities and connections for fostering good ideas so that
they may be put into practice.

*Get Ready to Participate in the Global Engagement Jam! *

President Obama called for renewed global engagement during his speech in
Cairo in June.  As a result, the Global Development Commons is helping
organize an intense 3-day "jam" or online discussion set to launch in March
2010.  Focusing outreach efforts in Muslim majority countries as well as the
United States, this unprecedented event has the ability to connect the
world’s most influential emerging leaders, governments, private firms,
organizations and individuals in an online, real-time global experience that
offers everyone a chance to influence a global discussion.  More information
will be available on
www.GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net<http://www.globaldevelopmentcommons.net/>
in
the new year.

*Open Government the Topic Du Jour at USAID’s  Administrator’s Forum*

On his first day in office,  President Obama signed the Open Government
Memorandum, signaling a heightened focus on collaboration, transparency, and
participation in federal government agencies. Naturally, the Global
Development Commons team was delighted as its main goal is to open up
international development to innovations that improve development outcomes.
Dr. Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government
in the White
House Office of Science and Technology Policy <http://www.ostp.gov/>has been
a strong ally of the Global Development Commons initiative. So we were
delighted to help bring Dr.Noveck to USAID for an Administrator’s Forum
focused on open government at USAID. She spoke about the importance of
transparency, participation and collaboration in achieving better
development results through greater accountability and more efficient
decision-making.  For more information and to watch a video, click
here<http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2009/pr090917.html>
 .

**

*Tech Awards 2009 Celebrates Innovations That Go Beyond the Bottom Line*

On November 19th, Global Development Commons Director David Ferguson
and Director
of USAID's Office of Development Partners Karen Turner participated in the
ninth annual Tech Awards in San Jose. The Tech
Awards<http://www.techawards.org/>celebrate social entrepreneurs and
innovation with a social benefit.
Fifteen "Tech Laureates" were selected from environment, equality, economic
development, health, and education categories; five won cash prizes of
$50,000.

Former Vice President Al Gore gave the address at the gala that evening and
was the recipient of the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award.  He
spoke of the importance of combating climate change, issuing a call for
action to the crowd.

*Karen Turner,* Director of the Office of Development Partners at
USAID (the office that oversees the Global Development
Commons initiative) gave the keynote address at The Tech Awards Showcase
that morning.  She highlighted the importance of innovation and
entrepreneurship in development.  But more importantly, she emphasized the
need for social entrepreneurs to connect with networks and resources that
can help them scale up.

This is the first year that USAID has partnered with The Tech
Awards<http://globaldevelopmentcommons.net/node/907>to help identify
and select Tech Laureates. The Tech Awards
celebrates innovators and offers them an opportunity to network with other
innovators, investors, and other resources.

Winners this year were:

*Joseph Adelegan, Cows to Kilowatts (Nigeria):* Slaughterhouse waste is a
significant source of water pollution and greenhouse gases in most
developing economies. The reactor used in the Cows to Kilowatts project
decontaminates the waste stream from slaughterhouses and turns this organic
waste into methane that can be used to generate electricity or as
inexpensive cooking gas.
Web site: *
www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/africa_casestudies/kilowatts.pdf*<http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/africa_casestudies/kilowatts.pdf>

Microsoft Education Award
*Akshaya Patra Foundation (India):* The Foundation, which includes Madhu
Sridhar, provides a School Meals Program that uses innovative kitchen
technology and food delivery systems to serve millions of poverty-stricken
Indian children a nutritious daily meal.
Web site: *www.akshayapatra.org* <http://www.akshayapatra.org/>

Nokia Health Award
*PATH (India, Brazil, Colombia):* The group, which includes Dipika Matthias,
has created an inexpensive and nutrient-fortified additive to standard rice
to make up for deficiencies common in poor regions. More than a billion
people around the world suffer from dietary deficiencies in micronutrients,
such as iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin A.
Web site: *www.path.org/projects/ultra_rice.php*<http://www.path.org/projects/ultra_rice.php>

BD Biosciences Economic Development Award
*Alternative Energy Development Corporation (South Africa):* The
corporation, represented by Rolf Papsdorf, makes inexpensive zinc-air fuel
cells for poor communities lacking access to grid power.
Web site: *www.aedc.co.za* <http://www.aedc.co.za/>

Katherine M. Swanson Equality Award
*World of Good Development Organization (Emeryville):* The nonprofit,
represented by Audrey Seagraves and Ella Silverman, teaches basic business
principles to poor women who do at-home work, such as stitching money
pouches, to ensure they earn an above-poverty-line salary. It created the
Fair Trade Calculator software, which provides localized pricing evaluation
of handmade goods to improve the wages of "informal" workers.
Web site: *www.fairtrade*
<http://www.fairtrade/>*calculator.com/index.php*<http://calculator.com/index.php>

*The Commons Connects with Emerging Leaders at the Net Impact Conference*

On October 13, USAID's David Ferguson presented the Global Development
Commons open approach to innovation for small and medium enterprises in
development to over 2,400 top MBA students at the Net Impact Conference
<http://http//www.netimpact.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=2029>at
Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.  The annual conference brings together
students from more than 100 universities to discuss the latest innovations and
opportunities in advancing sustainable global enterprise.

*The Commons Achieves Manifest Destiny at BSR Conference in San Francisco*

On October 21, The Global Development Commons participated in the Business
for Social Responsibility (BSR) Conference in San Francisco, CA. The
Commons, in partnership with IBM, hosted a reception to announce plans for
the upcoming  Global Engagement Jam in  March  2010.  The Global Engagement
Jam is a three day digital brainstorm for up to 20,000 participants. It
is one piece of President Obama's response to his call for engagement with
and between Muslim-majority communities and Americans. Applying IBM's
Innovation Jam technology, this will be an unprecedented effort toward open
collaboration and online problem-solving and we seek your participation and
your networks to help it be a success. Watch for more information about how
to participate in the Global Engagement Jam, and to become a more involved
early participant or to explore possibilities for marketing or engaging your
networks, please write to Hanna Jung <+hjung at usaid.gov>.

 The BSR Conference brought together some of the top thought leaders on
business and sustainability innovation.  Watch a video featuring a
fascinating discussion about integrating sustainability into corporate
innovation with Rosabeth Moss Kanter (Harvard Business School), John Kao
(Kao & Company) and Hannah Jones (Nike)
here<http://http//www.globaldevelopmentcommons.net/node/3486>
.

**

*P**lease Stay in Touch!*

Please contact Will Schmitt <%20wschmitt at usaid.gov>with any questions about or
ideas for the Global Development Commons.

Have a *story idea* about an emerging innovation that can improve lives in
developing countries? We get our content ideas from citizens like you for
GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net <http://www.globaldevelopmentcommons.net/>, so
send your story topics in for consideration to this email address.

Interact with the Commons on Facebook[image: facebook
icon]<http://http//www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=63232535633&ref=search&sid=819425244.3158407890..1>and
follow us on Twitter[image: Twitter Icon] <http://twitter.com/Commons>,
Youtube[image: YouTube
icon]<http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=global+development+commons&search_type=&aq=f>and
Delicious[image:
del.icou.us icon] <http://delicious.com/globaldevelopmentcommons>. Join the
emerging Ning community network  Open
Development<http://http//opendev.ning.com/>
. <http://http//opendev.ning.com/>    You can also sign up for USAID's
general RSS feeds here <http://www.usaid.gov/rss.html>.

USAID seeks ideas and partners to realize the full potential of the Global
Development Commons initiative. Let's co-create solutions to today's global
challenges.

Sincerely,

 The Global Development Commons team at USAID

-- 
_______________________________________
Kiringai Kamau
VACID Africa
Founder, Knowledge Specialist & Value Chain Analyst
PO Box 35046 00200
Nairobi-Kenya
Tel: +25420-2719733/2728708
Fax: +25420-2724389
Cell: +254-722800986/733375505
Websites:www.vacidafrica.or.ke,www.kenyaagriculture.or.ke,
www.kenyagateway.or.ke