August 30, 2022

The Time is Now: Preserving the Ecosystems, Fisheries, and Cultural Heritage of the Amazonian Rivers

• Climate and Environmental Protection
• Factsheet

The Amazon Rainforest is an essential global resource, but existing dams harm river ecosystems, threaten the wellbeing of indigenous people and local communities and endanger the cultural heritage of Brazilian riverine communities. This fact sheet outlines steps that global and national partners can take to preserve Amazonian rivers....read more

August 30, 2022

GridWatch: A Low-Cost Approach to Measuring the Reliability of Power Systems

• Economic Growth and Trade
• Factsheet

Across sub-Saharan Africa, more than half a billion people cannot access electricity, while millions more live with unreliable and intermittent sources of power. Data on power quality at the customer level are limited or nonexistent in these contexts. In response to this challenge, nLine has developed GridWatch, an innovative, low-cost way to measure grid performance and provide estimates of key performance indicators for grid reliability....read more

August 30, 2022

Cooling from the Sun: Innovations for Effective Post-Harvest Cold Storage in Rural Areas of India

• Agriculture and Food Security
• Brief

Expanding access to cold storage for rural farmers reduces food waste, supports food security, and increases farmers’ income. Innovations that use solar energy and low-cost materials, such as the Farm SunFridge (FSF) model, increase access to refrigerated cold storage for rural farmers who lack reliable electricity. To make certain this innovation reaches rural farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), and farming communities who can benefit from it, officials from government agencies must ensure that grants and loans for solar-powered cold storage using the FSF model are accessible through subsidies and funds that support agricultural development....read more

August 30, 2022

The Agricultural and Economic Advantage of Biopesticides: Increasing Rice Yields and Smallholder Farmer Equity in Mali

• Agriculture and Food Security
• Brief

Rice production is a key revenue generator for Mali, yet technology for biological control of rice pathogens is lacking. Since domestic production of biopesticides can generate economic savings and increased revenue, this policy brief provides recommended actions to be considered as part of a multi-prong approach to the scaleup of biopesticide use....read more

May 16, 2022

Evidence Gap Map to Assess the Effectiveness of Development Research

• Public Policy/Strategic Management, Research Translation
• Brief

The Research and Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) partnered with USAID’s Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub Research Division (ITR/R) to develop an Evidence Gap Map (EGM) to assess the effectiveness of development research in low and middle-income countries. Three evidence briefs summarize key learnings from the Evidence Gap Map and highlight recommendations for future ITR/R programming. The briefs are organized into the following themes: effective partnership approaches in international research capacity building for research translation, and research financing. The Pulte Institute for Global Development’s Evidence and Learning Division at Notre Dame has published further context on its website....read more

May 11, 2022

Toxic Arsenic in Drinking Water

• Climate and Environmental Protection, Global Health
• Factsheet

The fact sheet “Millions of People in India Consume Toxic Arsenic in Drinking Water” provides an a practical, sustainable, and profitable way to reduce arsenic in drinking water.  The fact sheet highlights ECAR technology, developed by Dr. Ashok Gadgil and a team of scientists in 2006, is a sustainable development solution that generates profitable local business while addressing inequities in access to drinking water....read more

April 4, 2022

Investing in Research to Accelerate Development Solutions

• Research Translation
• Factsheet, Report

This fact sheet provides an overview of ITR/R’s role within the Agency and a summary of the large portfolio of ITR/R programs that advance the use of research, demonstrating that investments made in implementation research can yield impactful results....read more

December 29, 2021

Using Machine Learning for Programmatic Synthesis

• Agriculture and Food Security
• Brief, Report

In the summer of 2020, the Analysis and Learning Division (ALD) at the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security partnered with RTAC to test machine learning (ML) methods for aggregating and synthesizing information contained in water sector documents to inform approaches by the Center for Water (C4W) and achieve development objectives....read more

December 20, 2021

Early Childhood Care and Education Quality Assurance Systems in Africa

• Education
• Report

Research has consistently demonstrated the value of investing in quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for improved later learning outcomes of students. While countries throughout Africa have made significant progress in building their ECCE systems, there remains much room for improvement to ensuring quality of all ECCE facilities....read more