NEW YORK, August 7, 2018 – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed up to $24 million to establish a Research Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) at the University of Chicago’s independent research organization, NORC. The RTAC will serve as a new resource to USAID, by offering in-depth research, specialized training, and technical assistance that can inform the development and implementation of USAID’s development work worldwide.
With the support of this award, NORC and its consortium of partners – including IIE – will build a global network of university researchers to provide USAID with rapid-response, on-demand research expertise. IIE will manage the researcher partner pool, handling the researcher application process and managing the selection process to match partner pool members to relevant research opportunities for USAID missions worldwide.
“The RTAC will create a pool of researchers based across the globe that will help inform USAID’s work and ground it in research-based best practices,” said David Simpson, Director of USAID Programs at IIE. “IIE looks forward to engaging with NORC on this vital project.”
USAID is awarding an initial $2.5 million to launch the RTAC, with plans to increase support up to $24 million – subject to the availability of funds — during the life of the program. The RTAC is a new award under the portfolio of USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network program, and will run from 2018 until 2022.
Current NORC consortium partners include:
- Arizona State University
- Centro de Investigación de la Universidad del Pacifico (Lima, Peru)
- Davis Management Group
- DevLab@Duke University
- Institute of International Education
- Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development
- Population Reference Bureau
- Resilient Africa Network at Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda)
- United Negro College Fund
- University of Chicago
- Harris School of Public Policy
- International Innovations Corps
- University of Chicago Center in Delhi
- Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflict
- University of Illinois at Chicago
About IIE:
For nearly a century, IIE has been a world leader in international education. We work to build more peaceful and equitable societies by advancing scholarship, building economies and promoting access to opportunity. As a not-for-profit with 18 offices and affiliates worldwide, IIE collaborates with a range of corporate, government and foundation partners across the globe to design and manage scholarship, study abroad, workforce training and leadership development programs.
About NORC at the University of Chicago:
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.
For more information, contact:
IIE: Catherine Morris, cmorris@iie.org, +1.202.326.7765
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