A Future of Failure? The Flow of Technology Talent into Government and Civil Society

This report is an evaluation of the technology talent landscape shows a severe paucity of individuals with technical skills in computer science, data science, and the Internet or other information technology expertise in civil society and government. It investigates broadly the health of the talent pipeline that connects individuals studying or working in information technology-related disciplines to careers in public sector and civil society institutions. Barriers to recruitment and retention of individuals with the requisite skills include compensation, a perceived inability to pursue groundbreaking work, and cultural aversion to innovation

Agricultural education and training system capacity development for sub-Saharan Africa: The role of InnovATE

There is an urgent need to develop capacity in African agricultural education and training (AET) through innovative methods that achieve the goals of food security, economic development and poverty reduction. InnovATE (Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education) is a five year, demand-driven USAID-funded program with a mandate for capacity development in AET systems in low income and emerging economies across the world. Though innovATE’s primary focus is on formal AET, the program’s activities and findings are oriented toward developing capacity acrossagricultural knowledge and information systems (AKIS), which includes agricultural extension activities. Through innovATE’s learn-design-train approach, the program has developed capacity through various activities in Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA). These have included the generation of AET system studies on countries and thematic issues, the creation of an online Community of Practice, in-country assessment of AET systems in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the provision of training workshops for capacity development in Senegal and Mozambique. Evaluating the results of these activities provides the context for critical examination of the most effective approaches for AET system capacity development in SSA.Key words: Agriculture Education and training, AKIS, extension, InnovATE, Sub-Saharan Afric

A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy case studies

System changing innovations for sustainability transitions are proposed to emerge in radical innovative niches. ‘Strategic Niche Management’ theory predicts that niche level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, distilling and disseminating best practice. This should lower the bar for new projects to form and establish, thereby encouraging the innovation to diffuse through replication. Within this literature, grassroots innovations emerging from civil society are an under researched site of sociotechnical innovation for sustainable energy transitions. We consider the emerging community energy sector in the UK, in order to empirically test this model. Community energy is a diverse grassroots led sector including both demand and supply side initiatives for sustainable energy such as community owned renewable energy generation, village hall refurbishments, behaviour change initiatives and energy efficiency projects. Our analysis draws on in depth qualitative case study research with twelve local projects, and a study of how intermediary organisations aim to support local projects and encourage replication. This rich data allows us to examine the extent and nature of interactions between projects and intermediary actors in order to evaluate the utility of niche theories in the civil society context. In particular, we investigate which types of knowledge, support and resources were needed by our case study projects to become established and thrive, and compare and contrast this with those offered by the emerging community energy niche. Our findings indicate that while networking and intermediary organisations can effectively collate and spread some types of learning and information necessary for replication, this is not sufficient: tacit knowledge, trust and confidence are essential to these projects’ success, but are more difficult to abstract and translate to new settings. We draw out the implications of our findings for niche theory, for community energy and other grassroots practitioners aiming to build robust influential niches, and for policymakers eager to harness civil society’s innovative potential for sustainability

A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK

System-changing innovations for sustainability transitions are pro- posed to emerge in radical innovative niches. ‘Strategic Niche Management’ theory predicts that niche-level actors and networks will aggregate learning from local projects, disseminating best practice, and encouraging innovation diffusion. Grassroots inno- vations emerging from civil society are under-researched, and so we investigate the UK community energy sector to empirically test this model. Our analysis draws on qualitative case study research with local projects, and a study of how intermediary organisa- tions support local projects. We examine the extent and nature of interactions and resource flows between projects and intermediary actors in order to evaluate the utility of niche theories in the civil society context. While networking and intermediary organisations can effectively spread some types of learning necessary for diffu- sion, this is not sufficient: tacit knowledge, trust and confidence are essential to these projects’ success, but are more difficult to abstract and translate to new settings. We discuss the implications of our findings for niche theory, for community energy and other grass- roots practitioners aiming to build robust influential niches, and for policymakers

Irrigation district sustainability

Presented at Irrigation district sustainability - strategies to meet the challenges: USCID irrigation district specialty conference held on June 3-6, 2009 in Reno, Nevada.Includes bibliographical references.Today irrigation districts across the United States face mounting challenges to maintain viable operations as facilities age, competing demands for water increase, urbanization spreads, and competition for quality employees is becoming an increasing concern. Issues commonly dealt with by irrigation districts – including weather events, actions of livestock or wildlife, and unintended impacts of human activity – may be unchanged in likelihood of occurrence, but may now represent potential for dramatically increased financial impact compared with historical episodes of similar nature. Access to real-time knowledge of conditions at key locations, and the capability to remotely operate or adjust operations of control structures at key points in the irrigation delivery system can enable an irrigation district to increase delivery efficiency and quality of service, enhance staff productivity, and respond rapidly and effectively to unexpected events. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that provide these capabilities are being integrated into the operation of growing numbers of irrigation districts. In most situations, availability of external funding has played the pivotal role in the feasibility for irrigation districts to consider SCADA. Reclamation's Hydraulic Investigations and Research Laboratory, together with Reclamation's Nebraska-Kansas Area Office, are working to develop monitoring and control systems that could be adopted by districts of any size which can offer affordability within normal operating budgets (i.e. reasonable acquisition and installation costs, installation, operation and maintenance performed by irrigation district staffs with minimal need for on-site technical support). This paper examines the on-going effort to develop and refine this concept through case studies of two demonstration projects in Nebraska

Bovine Trichomoniasis

Bovine trichomoniasis (Trich) is a venereal disease of cattle caused by the protozoan Tritrichomonas foetus. This disease causes early pregnancy loss and occasional late-term abortions; it may also extend the breeding/calving season

Climbing the Mountain: An Approach to Planning and Evaluating Public-Policy Advocacy

· This article proposes a new methodology for planning and evaluating public-policy advocacy. The methodology is designed around a series of stages, each with a different set of strategic planning and assessment requirements. · The article suggests that both planning and evaluative approaches that fail to take account of the necessary stages required to develop and then implement an advocacy strategy will likely assign the wrong indicators of success. · This analysis is based on direct experience working with both policy processes and a wide range of foundations and nonprofits that have invested in public-policy advocacy, including the Rockefeller, Ford, David and Lucille Packard, and William and Flora Hewlett foundations

Meeting irrigation demands in a water-challenged environment

Presented at Meeting irrigation demands in a water-challenged environment: SCADA and technology: tools to improve production: a USCID water management conference held on September 28 - October 1, 2010 in Fort Collins, Colorado.The Prior Appropriation Doctrine formulated in early-day Colorado as a means of appropriating water used primarily by the mining industry became the framework of water law for most states of the western United States. Colorado has also been a frontrunner in establishing legal recognition of the hydraulic connection between surface streams and the tributary aquifers in within stream basins. Colorado's Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969 was passed to integrate administration of groundwater pumped from tributary aquifers with the administration of diversions from surface streams. The impact of the 1969 act on well users was magnified by a 2001 Colorado Supreme Court ruling, (Empire Lodge Homeowner's Association vs. Moyer), subsequent to which eastern Colorado water users that depend at least in part on groundwater wells have faced a dramatic increase in requirements for measuring and recording water flows. A case-study is presented documenting an effort spearheaded by the South Platte Ditch Company (SPDC) in northeastern Colorado with objectives of improving flow measurement capabilities and of simplifying data collection and data management tasks. After an initial season with two field sites, representing SPDC's first experience with electronic flow monitoring equipment, the district quickly recognized that integration of electronic technologies represented a steep learning curve, and saw evidence that significant mutual benefits could be realized if multiple small districts like themselves (along with individual irrigators) could jointly establish and utilize a wireless data collection network. A grant to fund a broader scale demonstration project was awarded to SPDC by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in late 2005. The key objective of the project is to enable water users to make water management decisions – including augmentation of stream flows to offset depletions due to past well pumping – based on real-time data. In the aftermath of the 2001 Empire Lodge ruling, well augmentation requirements are being quantified based on "worse-case" projections using data whose availability is typically lagged a month or more. Cooperating partners in the demonstration project include the South Platte Ditch Co.; shareholders of the Johnson and Edwards Ditch Co.; the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District; the Colorado Division of Water Resources; US Bureau of Reclamation; Control Design Inc. along with limited support of other water entities and equipment manufacturers

Building Global Leaders through Field Research and Extension Experiences in Belize

One of the most complex agricultural and natural resources challenges of our time is reconciling sustainable global food security and biodiversity conservation. Providing undergraduate students effective, learning experiences to develop technical and cultural competency prepares them to address this challenge and become global leaders in their disciplines. A three-year experiential research and extension project brought together 14 students and 10 faculty mentors to investigate smallholder farmers practicing conservation-compatible adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. We used an agroecological approach to foster systems-level thinking and develop transdisciplinary skills of undergraduate students. Students completed applied individual research projects that explored the challenge of food security and biodiversity conservation in the tropics, and worked collaboratively with local stakeholders, design and implement extension projects based on research results. Student and faculty teams assessed cropping and soil management practices; social and economic systems; and wildlife, forestry, and ecosystem services. We assessed student learning outcomes with a tool commonly used for evaluating undergraduate research. Students reported learning gains in attitudes and behaviors toward research, mindset towards research, ability to think and work like a scientist, and research skills. Students also reported positive working relationships with mentors and peers, and a high level of publication and presentation outputs. Students reported that their Belize experience helped develop their agroecological and cross-cultural knowledge and skills, and prepared them for their next career steps. We conclude with recommendations for higher education institutions wishing to develop meaningful global undergraduate research experiences that can build the next generation of leaders

Emerging challenges and opportunities for irrigation managers

Presented at Emerging challenges and opportunities for irrigation managers: energy, efficiency and infrastructure: a USCID water management conference held on April 26-29, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Includes bibliographical references.Water for irrigation at Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District (MVIDD) is all pumped from the alluvial aquifer along the Arizona eastern side of the Colorado River. This groundwater pumping is administered as diversion from the Colorado River under a contract between the MVIDD and the US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Previous efforts to measure pumped flows have been largely unsuccessful due to multiple factors including corrosive agents present in the water, limited head availability and/or limited space availability for proper installation and operation of traditional canal measurement structures. Corrosive agents present in the pumped water have limited the service life for the various flow measurement technologies tried on District pumps. Open channel measurement structures that have been installed at selected sites as part of flow measurement demonstration efforts have met with limited success. Insufficient space between pump discharge and field turnouts or lateral off-takes is a problem for open channel structures at multiple sites. Available freeboard along lined canal sections has proven insufficient for even long-throated flumes, which pose the least head requirements of all critical-flow open channel flow measurement structures. In an effort to address this challenge, Reclamation's Water Conservation Field Services Program of the Yuma Area Office (YAO) worked with Reclamation's Hydraulic Investigation and Laboratory Services group (HILS) to devise a plan for measuring flow from each well within MVIDD using technologies that would have an acceptable service life and be cost-effective for an agricultural water system. A combination of venturi-type pipe meters and open channel flumes utilizing the venturi solution for either critical flow or submerged operation – all using bubbler sensors to minimize potential for sensor degradation due to contact with corrosive agents in the water – was devised for MVIDD. Installation of measurement equipment was performed by MVIDD staff in Spring and Summer of 2010. Reclamation began performing calibrations of measurement sites during Fall of 2010. Calibrations are expected to be completed by summer of 2011. When calibrations are completed, flow data will be telemetered real-time by radio from each site to the MVIDD office