The Energy and Environment News quotes visiting fellow Tom Bollyky on USAID's renewed focus on new technologies.
From the article:
While some welcome USAID taking this approach, others are wary of the agency spending too much on research and getting swept away by high-tech gadgets.
"I think there's risk here of solutions, as opposed to problems, driving approaches," said Tom Bollyky, a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development. "[There's] a risk that you'll go towards the sexy solution as opposed to the low-cost, tried-and-true solution for addressing a development issue."
Instead of spending millions of dollars on clinical trials itself, the government would be more effective by creating enabling environments that promote private-sector innovation, Bollyky said.
Read the article.
