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Looking for something new to read this weekend? Check out these suggestions from some of GKI’s fantastic staff. Article: Ireland, Jay (2013). “Africa’s Innovative Spirit: Taking on the World.” Ideas Lab. Why we liked it: This article gives an interesting perspective into the strengths and weaknesses of innovation systems throughout Africa. Specifically, it challenges the notion…

2013 saw tremendous growth in the scope of GKI’s training.  We’ve developed new curricula and trained across several geographies, empowering a growing cohort of worldwide collaborative innovation experts.  Most recently, we’ve been training in Malaysia and Rwanda. In November, GKI-ers Sara Farley, Courtney O’Brien, and Andrew Bergmanson gave a series of trainings at the Universiti…

Settled onto the cool concrete floor of the boathouse, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students furiously took notes as the fishermen of Air Papan, Malaysia explained their work, their challenges, and their hopes for the future.  There, between buoys and hammocks made of fishing net, with a view of the South China Sea, the UTM-GKI Southeast…

The countries of Southeast Asia struggle daily with this vexing conundrum: ample water, but much of it unsafe or unreliable. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon states, “Water links the local to the regional, and brings together global questions of food security, public health, urbanization and energy. Addressing how we use and manage water resources is…

Farmers in Kenya’s drylands use numerous techniques and technologies to capture the scant water that falls during rainy seasons.  Rainwater harvesting (RWH) technologies, which range from simple to complex — and inexpensive to very expensive — also vary in effectiveness and optimal use.  In order to make smart decisions about financing and implementing RWH structures,…

Every so often, we are lucky enough to see the full spectrum of a challenge—from cutting edge research to glowing accounts of positive outcomes.  As September drew to a close, GKI Chief Operating Officer Sara Farley had just such an experience with science and innovation policy. Sara traveled to Atlanta for the annual Atlanta Conference…

Governments, non-profit organizations, and farmers have built rainwater harvesting structures across East Africa’s drylands.  These structures are designed to provide water to communities that need it for agricultural production, domestic use, and hygiene — communities such as those in Kenya’s drylands, where droughts are common and water scarce.  The extent to which these structures effectively…

The United Nations has projected that by 2030 nearly half of the world’s population will face the problem of water scarcity as the demand for fresh, clean water increases in the face of limited supply.  Essential on its own, water is also fundamentally linked to the most important global development challenges: food, energy, health, climate…

In our work, we often encounter researchers, students, policymakers, and other leaders who know the benefits of working together, but are unsure of what tools exist or how to utilize them to help create an effective network.  Intuitively, we know that humans are social creatures, and research shows that collaboration has multiplicative, rather than additive,…

The Global Knowledge Initiative is proud to announce the commencement of a fourth round of our flagship partnership-forging, LINK (Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge and Solutions) program.  GKI designed LINK to harness the power of international collaboration to solve development challenges.  Specifically, LINK seeks to solve challenges that beckon for scientific and technical research,…