Grand Challenges for Development

The Grand Challenges for Development initiative is rooted in two fundamental beliefs about international development:

• Science and technology, when applied appropriately, can have transformational effects; and
• Engaging the world in the quest for solutions is critical to instigating breakthrough progress.

Under the Grand Challenges for Development initiative, USAID will focus on defining problems, identifying constraints, and providing evidence based analysis.  Addressing these challenges will require the creation and support of self-perpetuating systems, rather than one-off inventions or interventions.

Three Grand Challenges have been launched.

Saving Lives at Birth

USAID, the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, The World Bank, and the U.K. Department for International Development (DfID) call for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in poor, low resource communities around the 48 hours of delivery through:

• Science and technology advances that prevent, detect or treat maternal and newborn problems at the time of birth;
• New approaches to delivering high-quality care at the time of birth;  and
• Empowering and engaging pregnant women and their families.

For more information, visit: www.savinglivesatbirth.net

All Children Reading

USAID, World Vision, AusAID, and the U.S. Department of Education are leading the charge in finding early grade reading solutions. We seek scalable, cost-effective innovations to improve student reading by:

• Improving the design, production, distribution and use of high-quality, appropriate teaching and learning materials; and
• Improving the quality and increasing the accessibility of education data and information to support decision-making, incentives, transparency, and accountability.

For more information, visit: www.allchildrenreading.org

Powering Agriculture

Launched in June 2012, Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development will overcome critical barriers to agricultural electric energy access through innovative clean energy technologies and financing mechanisms.  The effort will bring global attention to the persistent energy access issues that confront farmers throughout the developing world in agricultural production, processing, and storage.

This Grand Challenge for Development encourages innovators to find new ways to bring clean energy to farmers through sustainable and scalable solutions that will create more and better quality food for farmers, their families, and their communities.  It is also expected that these innovations will create new economic opportunities in agricultural communities in the developing world.

For more information, visit: www.PoweringAg.org.