Let's Get Technical: The GKI Review Committee
If you could solve any challenge in the world, which would you pick? At the Global Knowledge, we have criteria for selection that whittle down the pile of possible global development challenges from which GKI selects those for its partnership-making efforts. For us, challenges must be: Pertinent to science, technology and innovation; Transformative to the lives of people living on $2 a day; Solvable; Scalable; Sustainable; Suitable for capacity building, not just a quick fix. Even with specified criteria for selection, however, the choice among challenges humbles even the most intrepid solver.
When it comes to solving development challenges, the substance of the challenge matters as much as the process to select it. Meritocratic, international peer review governs the selection of GKI challenges. Central to the success of the Global Knowledge Initiative's pilot LINK (Learning and Innovation Network for Knowledge and Solutions) program in East Africa is the technical review of the Requests for Engagement submitted by each possible partner. To achieve this, GKI convened a world-class Technical Committee charged with recommending which Request should be taken up as a LINK pilot challenge. The Technical Committee strengthened the LINK pilot process by instilling mechanisms for quality assurance and ensuring the scientific integrity of our process.
Our Technical Committee members hail from around the globe, representing a variety of scientific fields and a breadth of experience, knowledge, and expertise. Their tasks included reviewing and scoring all submitted "Requests for Engagement", providing comments to proponents, and recommending those top-ranked requests for selection as pilot LINK challenges. After the completion of Phase I, the committee will review the full "Proposals for Pilot Challenge Activities" and recommend a set number of full proposals for continuation in LINK Phase II and III. Committee members will also provide guidance and coordination for national, regional, and international networking, especially in building awareness of complementary initiatives.
Nina V. Fedoroff is Co-Chair of GKI's Advisory Board, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. A specialist in plant genomics and molecular biology, Fedoroff has published two books and more than 130 papers in scientific journals. Nina completed a three-year term as the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State and to the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2009.
Currently, Cynthia Baldwin is a Professor of Virology and Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). Her research area is vaccine design based on cellular immune responses. She was named the 2002 Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist, has been president of the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists, and chaired the international organization Brucellosis Research Workers. She is on the veterinary immunology committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies and edits the journal Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology.
Deanna Behring is the director of International Programs for the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University. She joined the college in 2000 after more than a decade of experience in Washington, D.C., including an appointment to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Clinton Administration as assistant director for international affairs. She has also worked for the Department of Commerce, as well as on projects for USAID as well as on projects for the U.S. Trade Representative. Deanna received her Masters degree in international economic development from Ohio University and is currently working on her Ph.D. dissertation from Pennsylvania State University on communication in global virtual teams.
Most recently based at Natural Resources Canada, on executive interchange from the Canadian-based International Development Research Centre, Paul Dufour is the Principle of Paulicy Works, a science and technology consulting organization. Prior to working with National Resources Canada, Paul was the interim Executive Director at the Office of the National Science Advisor in the Canadian federal government. He has rich experience in addressing the interaction between science and international relations. He is series co-editor of the Cartermill Guides to World Science and past North American editor to Outlook on Science Policy.
Having just completed a term as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Molly Jahn currently serves as a Professor in the Departments of Agronomy and Genetics and as Special Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost for Sustainability Sciences. In November 2009, she was appointed Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and subsequently held the position of Acting Under Secretary for the mission area.
Rattan Lal is a Professor of Soil Science and the Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Rattan conducts research in carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems, soil dynamics and processes, and natural resources management with an emphasis on food security and environmental quality. He is the recipient of prestigious Norman E. Borlaug Award (2005) and the Justis von Liebig Award (2006) for his contributions and research in sustainable management of soil and natural resources.
Burton Mwamila is founding Vice Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology in Arusha, Tanzania, for the Eastern African region. Burton spearheaded the transformation of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (from 2000-05), into a College of Engineering and Technology. He was the college's first Principal from 2005 to 2009. He is currently the Chairman of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).
Moses Osiru is Programme Manager for Networking, Advocacy and Grants of RUFORUM, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture. Moses previously worked as a research scientist with the CGIAR system in Malawi and Uganda at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Bioversity International. Moses currently serves on the Board of the African Crop Science Society and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Phytology. He is a member of the Steering Group of the African Forum on Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS).
Contributors: Christina Golubski, Andrew Gerard
Photo Credits: Technical Committee members' institutional websites
