The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is association with Devex, is currently inviting entries for the essay competition to find five most interesting and insightful opinions related to specific themes for inclusion in an essay collection to be released in May 2012. The selected essays will be included, along with essays by leading global development thinkers, in USAID’s May 2012 “Frontiers in Development” publication.
Essay themes
Winning essays will address an issue directly relevant to one of these topic areas:
- Democracy and development in the 21st century
- Pressure on the planet: climate change, resource demand and demography
- Strengthening security to accelerate development, accelerating development to strengthen security
- Competing in global markets in 2025: trade, jobs, growth, and the role of the state
- Making markets and technology work for service delivery
Suggested essay angles
USAID is especially interested in emphasizing food security and health, and how they interact with the above issues. In addition, across these issues, USAID is interested in the relevance of science, technology and social media; the impact of development on gender, marginalized groups, and larger questions of poverty and equity; and the impact of new development partners such as foundations, philanthropists and private business.
Winning essays will address an issue or idea directly relevant to one of the major topic areas listed, and will present an original, innovative or underappreciated insight to help shape how some aspect of development practice is undertaken in the foreseeable future. Essays should be forward-looking, thought-provoking and concise. They should focus on where the world is going and how developing countries and their partners can best prepare for future changes.
General Terms and Conditions
- Both single-author and co-authored papers are welcome. Participants are welcome to submit more than one essay for consideration.
- USAID employees are not eligible to submit an essay for this contest; USAID employees interested in submitting an essay are encouraged to participate in USAID’s concurrent, internal essay contest.
- Essays must be written at a level accessible to development professionals in all sectors, not just to specialists.
- Each submission must be clearly relevant to one of the five topic areas outlined; USAID is particularly interested in essays that engage in broader debates on future-oriented key challenges to development, rather than essays that focus on analysis of U.S. foreign policy or foreign assistance.
- USAID may reject, disqualify or disallow any submission it deems inappropriate, contrary to U.S. national interests, in violation of contest rules, or for any other reason in its sole and absolute discretion.
- Submission of an essay constitutes the participant’s certification that the essay is the participant’s own original work and does not infringe the intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party.
- USAID shall have a royalty-free, non-exclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish or otherwise use selected essays for federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
Last date for submitting the entries is January 8, 2012.
For more information, visit this link.
