Stories
At GKI, we believe in the power of words to influence and inspire action. We actively pursue humility, curiosity, and reflection in our work as we share our insights, experiences, and resources with the broader community of decision-makers, change-makers, and practitioners.
GKI nominated for Rockefeller Foundation Award
The Global Knowledge Initiative has been nominated for a Rockefeller Foundation Next Century Innovators Award. We’ve been contacted by the Rockefeller Foundation to let us know of our nomination, and are crossing our fingers that we make it all the way! The Foundation will choose 100 innovators/innovative organizations to feature, all of which will have…
GKI’S LINK Program Named One of the Global Top 100 Social Innovations for the Next Century
The Global Knowledge Initiative’s flagship partnership-forging program (LINK, which stands for the Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge and Solutions) has been awarded an exciting honor. This humbling designation comes courtesy of the Rockefeller Foundation, a leader in global philanthropy with a storied history of support for science, technology, and innovation. While celebrating a century…
Kenya Stakeholder Dialogue on Water Harvesting: See After-Action Report Here
In January, a group of us from GKI were in Kenya with Dr. Kennedy Mwetu and the LINK Kenya team. The trip was exciting for a number of reasons, including having the chance to visit farmers in Kitui County, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Kenyatta University. One of the most important parts of…
Thinking while Doing: What the GKI Team Read this Week
We read a lot of interesting articles/websites/books in the course of working to solve development challenges through collaboration. This reading ranges from articles on processes we want to implement, such as pieces on better measurements for network success, to content-based web stories on water use in Malaysia or food security in Ethiopia. In order to…
PlantVillage helps people get answers on growing food, from Penn State to Kenya
Our friend, collaborator, and Penn State University assistant professor of entomology Dr. David Hughes has a venture aimed at sharing knowledge on gardening and farming that he’s started with Penn State biologist Dr. Marcel Salathe (check out Salathe’s lab here). They have designed their website, PlantVillage, to help people garden, farm, and generally grow their…
Sara Farley Deconstructs Network Difficulties at AAAS Annual Meeting
Every year, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, thousands of scientists, researchers, and policymakers gather to discuss the year’s most exciting, challenging, and relevant developments. This year, at the Boston event (held February 14-18) GKI Chief Operating Officer Sara Farley joined an intriguingly-named panel titled “A Tale of Two…
Training-of-Trainers on Innovation in Tanzania: Refreshing and Revisiting
Back in August, we teamed up with UNESCO and the Nelson Mandela Africa Institute of Science and Technology to conduct a Training-of-Trainers program on innovation management skills in Tanzania. During our first visit we trained trainers on the fundamentals of the skills needed for collaborative innovation and the training techniques needed to impart those skills…
Kenyatta University and GKI sign Memorandum of Understanding
At a ceremony held at Kenyatta University on January 10, 2013 GKI Chief Operating Officer Sara Farley and Kenyatta University Deputy Vice Rector Prof. John Okumu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) linking the two organizations. The partnership came about through the LINK (Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge and Solutions) program, the third round…
Water Harvesting Research in Kitui
Despite recent, heavy rains, that have given Kenya’s Kitui County a lush, green feel, it remains water scarce. From January 7-9, a GKI team, along with Dr. Kennedy Mwetu of Kenyatta University, Dr. Patrick Kariuki of South Eastern University College, Prof. Anthony Egeru of Makerere University, and a number of others visited Kitui County, Kenya…
International Convening Aims to Tackle Kenya Water Sustainability Challenge
Building off of the success of the Global Knowledge Initiative’s first two LINK (Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge and Solutions) pilot programs in Rwanda and Afghanistan-Pakistan, GKI is gaining momentum, scaling purpose-driven networks to solve real science, technology, and innovation challenges across the world. The LINK Round III winner, a Kenyatta University-based research team, began constructing a global network to…