Global Development Commons: Connect. Collaborate. Innovate.
 The Global Development Commons promotes innovations for international development through knowledge sharing, partnerships, and collaborative problem-solving. Identifying and fostering innovations through open approaches can improve our ability to deliver on our core mission at the US Agency for International Development. We seek to enable any citizen of this world to co-create solutions to common problems because no single actor can solve today’s global challenges.
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Open Innovation for Government
On Tuesday, April 14th, at an interactive panel called Open Innovation for Government: Answering President Obama’s Call for More Open, Effective Public Service, leaders for innovation from NASA, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development agreed that the federal government must create incentives and processes that enable citizens to offer feedback and co-create solutions with government employees. Offering ways to participate and collaborate can help agencies to innovate to achieve their core mandates for the American people. "At USAID, we are in a space where risk-taking is particularly appropriate, said Karen Turner, Office of Development Partners and Acting Director of the Global Development Commons at the US Agency for International Development. "The Global Development Commons promotes innovations that deliver better development."
Dr. Beth Noveck, who leads President Obama’s Open Government directive for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, framed the discussion around the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration. “We are here today to listen, to celebrate these innovators, and to encourage more,” said Dr. Noveck.
Hosted by USAID's Global Development Commons and the Post-conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, the interactive discussion included a live streaming webcast featuring chat, available in an archived version at www.GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net/node/1679. More than 40 participants online from as far as Singapore asked questions in the hopes that their feedback would help shape policy.
USAID Development 2.0 Challenge
 Mobile phone penetration has now topped 50 percent, with almost four billion subscribers, compared to 10 percent for personal computers. The Global Development Commons wants to apply these mobile technologies to exchange key information among people in developing countries. The USAID Development 2.0 Challenge sought to tap non-traditional sources, such as students, budding entrepreneurs, and other innovators to apply an innovative mobile technology solution for maximum development reach and impact in areas such as health, banking, education, agricultural trade, or other pressing development issues.
Read more about the 2.0 Challenge and watch video from the event
Partnership with the Tech Awards
The alliance between USAID and The Tech Awards will support and promote innovative individuals, companies and organizations that use technology to improve the impact of international development efforts. USAID cultivated this partnership as part of an integrated strategy driven by its Global Development Commons to harness innovation in international development and apply it to the work of the agency.
"We're honored to have the opportunity to work with USAID, a prestigious organization with global outreach and objectives very complementary to those of The Tech Awards program," said Peter Friess, president of The Tech Museum. "By working together, we can further accelerate the identification and recognition of people and projects around the world that are using innovative technologies to benefit humanity, and hopefully inspire more innovation as a result."
Learn more about USAID's activities with the Tech Awards
Development Experience Clearinghouse
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