U.S. Agency for International Development

  • Workers on the front lines battling Ebola face a lot of dangers. One of the biggest? Simply taking off their protective suits at the end of the day. It's a multi-step process with no margin for error. To combat this and other logistical problems, the U.S. Agency for International Development launched what it calls the "Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge." It solicited designs and innovations from all over the world. Wendy Taylor, director of USAID's Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to parse the challenge's results.

    December 19, 2014
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development has tapped a former senior engineer at Google to run its new Global Development Lab. Ann Mei Chang will start later this month. She spent eight years at the Silicon Valley powerhouse before stints at the State Department and the nonprofit Mercy Corps. From her San Francisco home, Chang spoke with Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive about the lab and her intentions for it.

    December 09, 2014
  • An agency denies a federal contractor access to its facility after learning that he's visited family in West Africa, in one sign of the confusion amid contradictory guidance from the White House, Pentagon and elsewhere.

    October 30, 2014
  • The Senate left Washington without confirming several of President Barack Obama's nominees for the executive branch, including Carolyn Colvin, his choice to lead the Social Security Administration.

    September 22, 2014
  • VanRoekel will advise the agency's senior leadership on using technology and data to help coordinate the government's response to the crisis. This is his second stint at USAID. Lisa Schlosser will be the interim federal CIO.

    September 19, 2014
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development is making drinking water safer in Kenya and Uganda. It's a bread and butter issue for the development agency, but the solution is different. Jill Boezwinkle has taken a crowd-sourced idea and turned it into reality in the Dispensers for Safe Water program. Now, she is a finalist in the national security and international affairs category of the 2014 Sammies awards. She joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss her role in the Dispensers for Safe Water program.

    June 30, 2014
  • A small team at the U.S. Agency for International Development is helping developing nations find financial aid. Jason Fleming is the Latin America-Caribbean and Europe-Eurasia Team Leader of the Development Credit Authority. So far, he and his team have generated more than $1 billion in financial assistance for 42 developing countries. For that work, they're finalists in the Call To Service category in this year's Service to America medals. He explained how the agency's loan guarantee program works on In Depth with Jared Serbu. View a photo gallery of all Sammies finalists or read a Q&A with Jason Fleming

    June 18, 2014
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development is helping build hospitals and medical centers around the world by channeling smart investments through commercial banks in developing countries.

    June 18, 2014
  • Recent headlines suggest federal agencies do not always look kindly on whistleblowers in their ranks. Most recently, the Veterans Affairs Department stands accused of tamping down dissent over mismanagement of its health care system. But an awards ceremony at the State Department today is honoring some federal employees for sticking out their necks and challenging their leaders. The American Foreign Service Association is giving four career diplomats the Constructive Dissent Award. Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, currently regional USAID mission director for the Central Asian Republics, is one of the honorees. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what led to his nomination.

    June 18, 2014
  • How has USAID sought to promote stability and order in Afghanistan? What is USAID's three-fold transition strategy? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Larry Sampler, Assistant to the Administrator & Director, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, USAID.

    June 06, 2014
  • The military has an old saying. Plan the work, then work the plan. That's what the U.S. Agency for International Development is doing. It's got a five-point plan for the approaching hurricane season. Tim Callahan is senior regional advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. He spoke to Tom Temin on the Federal Drive. He's got a musical way to try to get young people involved in disaster preparedness.

    June 05, 2014
  • Nearly a year ago, the White House promised it would help sub-Saharan Africa turn the lights on. More than two-thirds of people there live without electricity. The Power Africa initiative includes a dozen federal agencies, six African countries and corporate partners. Andy Herscowitz coordinates the effort on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss the initiative.

    May 16, 2014
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development is looking for a new way to protect its more than $15 billion of investments in Afghanistan. With most U.S. troops leaving this year, development workers expect it will be harder to eyeball construction in remote areas of the country. USAID has a new technology project to keep tabs on its investments. Larry Sampler, assistant to the administrator in the Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs Office at USAID, told Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the agency's plan. Read Associated Press' related article.

    April 09, 2014
  • The Agriculture Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are at loggerheads over a computer application called Web Based Supply Chain Management system. USAID quit using it shortly after it rolled out in 2011. Agriculture officials say they've fixed the problems. They say the information USAID is tracking outside the system isn't always accurate. Thomas Melito, director of International Affairs and Trade Issues at the Government Accountability Office, looked into this spat and shared what he found with Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.

    April 01, 2014