Event Information

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Over 80 participants, including more than 35 Mission staff from 17 USAID Missions spent December 3-5 in Addis Ababa learning how to best advance their scaling strategies to achieve faster and deeper impact on Feed the Future goals. BFS Chief Scientist Julie Howard opened the first Scaling Agricultural Technologies Global Learning and Evidence Exchange (GLEE) by welcoming USAID staff and partners, reiterating the technology scaling challenge that President Obama and Administrator Shah have challenged USAID and other Federal agencies to meet through the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and across Feed the Future.

The format of the GLEE was highly interactive and designed to foster learning and dialogue among participating institutions. Participants drew from panel discussions, short presentations, poster and demonstration sessions, and other discussion forums to identify how technology decision-making, adoption pathways, private-public partnerships, extension approaches (including ICT), and policies can effectively drive technology adoption at scale. Hosted at the CGIAR’s International Livestock Research Institute campus, the GLEE included exciting opportunities to meet with technology generators and learn about extension opportunities along value chains in Africa.

The GLEE culminated in a discussion with SDAA/BFS Richard Greene, who emphasized the importance of scaling to the overall success of Feed the Future, encouraging the participating Missions to creatively manage resources to accelerate progress towards the initiative’s goals. The latter sessions were limited to USAID staff, offering excellent opportunities for individual Mission and regional group discussions. Missions exchanged information on their scaling plans, and regional Missions conferred on how best to support scaling opportunities that would enhance bilateral programs. BFS staff shared information on support available to scaling planning as well as programmatic and contract approaches that can hasten implementation and scale-level outcomes.

A similar GLEE tailored to serve Asia and LAC Missions will convene in Bangkok from January 7-9, 2014.