Stories

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,…

After years of off-and-on droughts and with the specter of continued climate change looming, Kenya faces an enormous challenge in providing access to water to its citizens.  Many rural and poor urban communities do not have access to clean, safe water.  One reason for this: large parts of the country are arid or semi-arid, and…

You are reading the third installment of GKI’s “What We’ve Been Reading” series, where we share what a few of our staff and/or interns have been reading (and have enjoyed/found interesting) over the past few weeks. We read a lot of fascinating and thought-provoking articles in the course of our work, and want to share…

Meet Thomas Miller, GKI featured collaborator. Dr. Thomas Miller is a professor at the University of California, Riverside’s Department of Entomology.  Aside from being an eminent leader of the international entomological community, Miller is an important member of the team working on LINK: Rwanda’s “antestia-potato taste” specialty coffee challenge.  In partnership with Dr. Susan Jackels…

Working in conjunction with Rwanda’s Ministry of Education and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, a Global Knowledge Initiative team presented preliminary findings from the Rwanda Science, Technology and Innovation Policy review on June 20 in Kigali, Rwanda.  In attendance were various stakeholders representing a range of interests, including university administrators, government officials, and…