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The National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on July 7 are launching the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) initiative. This initiative is aimed at addressing the challenges that not only affect United States but the developing world also by reinforcing the existing relationships and opening new doors of connections.
PEER will bring together NSF’s competitively-awarded scientific investments in U.S. institutions with similarly awarded USAID funding. The combined resources will support international counterpart scientists in the developing world and build scientific and technical capacity.
Pilot projects in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Mali, Kenya, and Burkina Faso are exploring issues related to ecosystems, climate change, seismology, hydrology, and biodiversity. Michael Steckler from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University and his international collaborator Syed Humayun Akhter from the Seismology & Geodesy Division of the Department of Geology at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh will attend the July 7 launch ceremony.
America considers that the strong international science and engineering collaborations are critical to its future. President Barack Obama’s “New Beginning” initiative, announced during his historic speech at Cairo University in Egypt, has advanced the Administration’s commitment to foreign policy, development and international science engagement.
