The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Science Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute today announced 46 new research projects to advance the scientific and technical capacity of both the United States and partner countries in critical areas of development. The projects are funded through the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program, a joint initiative designed to foster collaborative global research.

The 46 new PEER awards include two projects designed to help in powering Ethiopia. The first, GeoPower Africa, will map multiple geothermal areas and identify new forms of geothermal activity across Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. The project will work to build a strong regional framework for scientific and technological exchange, while empowering and educating local pastoral communities. The second, Development of a Microgrid Research Center in Ethiopia to Support USAID’s Power Africa Program, is a research project to identify appropriate capacity development in microgrid technology that will enable electrification for the large percentage of people living in rural Ethiopia.

Since its launch in 2011, PEER has supported more than 150 projects in over 40 countries, an investment of about $28 million. Previous awardees are already seeing positive impacts from their projects: development of integrated humanitarian logistics systems in Colombia, improved yam seed systems in Nigeria, reduced exposure to arsenic and fluoride in groundwater in India, and assessment of volcanic hazards in Armenia.

The U.S. Global Development Lab supports breakthrough solutions in water, health, food security and nutrition, energy, education, and climate change, to help end extreme poverty by 2030. The Lab represents a new way of working at USAID, engaging a global community of inventors, academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate leaders in science and technology to invent, test, and scale the most promising and cost effective solutions to end extreme poverty.

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Press Release USAID Announces Global Research Collaboration Awards

USAID Ethiopia Power Africa