Science and Technology in U.S. Foreign Assistance Interim Report to the Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development (2004) / Chapter Skim
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The Significance of Science and Technology in Foreign Assistance The term science and technology is used in this report to include the natural sciences, engineering, technology, the health sciences, and the social sciences. In most cases, the S&T activities and work cited in the report are components, or enabling elements, within development programs directed at specific economic, social, and political objectives.
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In the context of U.S. foreign assistance, S&T encompass the capacity of the public and private sectors in developing countries to: provide technical services that support economic and social development activitiesservices such as health care, education, agriculture extension, information dissemination, transportation, communications, maintenance and upgrading of water supplies and sanitation facilities, provision of energy, and environmental improvement; carry out research, development, technology transfer, technology adaptation, and technology application activities; produce industrial goods and agricultural products based on suitable technologies and modern management methods; assess the technical and economic merits of technologies being considered for use in the country, prepare and monitor implementation of economic, trade, industrial, agricultural, health, education, environmental, and other policies that have technical dimensions or that influence the acquisition and use of technical resources; develop, manage, and disseminate information of importance for all aspects of development; participate in international trade negotiations, environmental treaty discussions, and other types of dialogues involving technical issues that are of political, economic, and social importance; conduct programs that heighten public awareness of the potential of modern technologies to improve the well being of the public; and develop an appropriate physical infrastructure, the manpower base, and educational and training institutions to support the foregoing activities.
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· Promoting successful agriculture: Research to reduce the effects of the parasitic witchweed striga, which affects sorghum crops in most of Africa, has led to the development of striga-resistant seeds, now heirs distributed thro~ho~,t the continent T—~ ~ · ~ T ~ enhancing good governance: In Namibia, a USAID partnership with Microsoft and Compaq has developed effective e-government services and dramatically enhanced civil participation in parliamentary affairs. · Improving quality of life through infrastructure development: Last winter, the first engineering design and construction phase of the Kabul to Kandahar highway was completed, employing 2000 Afghan workers and providing improved access to markets, health care, schools, and jobs.
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Some organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency have Tong had interests in developing countries, frequently serving as the organizations responsible for implementing USAID-financed programs but at other times using their own financial resources to pursue their own interests. Of special importance is the expanding role of the Department of State in the funding and management of many international programs involving S&T (e.g., AIDS, refugee affairs, humanitarian assistance, economic support programs, and activities in the former Soviet Union)
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We share your concern that despite recent dramatic increases in the budget managed by USAID, Congressional earmarks and Administration initiatives limit the discretionary portion of the agency's budget. As a result, mission directors and program managers in the central bureaus are severely constrained in pursuing important new and innovative projects building on developments in science and technology.
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This central staff would not take the place of technical specialists working on key sectoral issues such as health, education, energy, or agriculture. USAID's sectoral technical staffs must continue to play lead roles within the agency and more broadly in US and international S&T networks.
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In the absence of a stronger cadre of direct-hire specialists who participate directly in internal decisions of the agency, it will be extremely difficult to introduce innovative programs that utilize modern technology as a key element of development or to adequately represent the agency in its increasing interactions with specialists from other government organizations as discussed above. The agency has become largely dependent for technical expertise on detailees from other government organizations, contractor personnel, Fellows provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and other innovative arrangements.
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While it may not be possible to revert to previous approaches to Tong-term training in the United States for security and budgetary reasons, greater use of regional facilities collocated with selected developing country educational institutions might be an attractive alternative. As the National Academies have demonstrated in recent reports concerning the application of GPRA to research programs in other federal agencies, long-term research investments can be effectively assessed within the GPRA framework.
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individual specialists at home and abroad to complete our assessment of the role of S&T in foreign assistance. We plan to pay special attention to the international programs of other U.S.
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