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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

USAID Announces the Launch of GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net

Linking Technology Innovations and International Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2008
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is pleased to announce the launch of www.GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net, a website that brings international development and technology innovations together. GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net seeks to foster ideas that add value by demonstrating how technology innovations can be applied to international development efforts. Created to support USAID's Global Development Commons initiative, GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net complements USAID's www.usaid.gov/commons site.

The Global Development Commons initiative seeks innovations that to make knowledge more accessible and affordable to help people in developing countries solve social and economic problems. The Commons seeks to catalyze the international development community to become more open and collaborative through information and communication technologies.

The site profiles successful applications of technology that improve access to information in developing countries. For example, it features EpiSurveyor, a free, open-source software suite that enables people to easily and quickly gather health data through cell phones and other handheld devices. It empowers health practitioners and citizens with the tools they need to collect and analyze the data themselves. The featured projects take a Commons-like approach to making information more accessible and international development more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable.

GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net includes a basic toolkit to help development practitioners and other interested users understand how to maximize social networking tools to connect communities of practice and enable efficient communication. The site aggregates blog feeds and identifies interesting articles through the delicious, a social book-marking tool. GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net encourages its online community to participate and provides a way for development practitioners to share their ideas- It features an interactive rating system and a space for users to comment on highlighted projects and suggest other innovative applications of technology to development.

The site enables users to follow the Global Development Commons on Twitter, Facebook, and Delicious. To meet its mission of energizing and connecting communities of practice, GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net features a "Commons" button that offers a coded link between other sites and GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net. The site encourages users to feature the Commons button on their own websites to help in the creation of a universe of Commons sites that generate easy mobility among innovative international development communities.

For more information about USAID and its programs please visit: www.usaid.gov. To join the Global Development Commons, visit www.GlobalDevelopmentCommons.net or www.usaid.gov/commons.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

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