RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International (RTI), a nonprofit research and international development institute, has established a new technical unit within its International Development Group business unit to build on its experience providing integrated, multisectoral programming and technical solutions to respond to climate change, build resilience, and promote economic growth. The new technical unit is called Sustainable Growth & Resilience and unifies RTI experts and capabilities across food security, agriculture, energy, environment, water, governance, and economic opportunity. The Sustainable Growth & Resilience unit will also work closely with RTI experts in Global Health and International Education.
“Integrated, multisectoral programming is key to providing comprehensive solutions that promote resilience and sustainable growth in lower- and middle-income countries,” said Paul Weisenfeld, Executive Vice President for International Development at RTI. “RTI is going to the next level in thinking and working across sectors to build sustainable solutions to the biggest challenges facing the world today, from COVID-19 to climate change.”
The Sustainable Growth & Resilience technical unit is led by Nicole Barnes, Senior Vice President. It will be comprised of three closely aligned divisions that organize technical expertise in three core areas:
- Energy, led by Tatyana Marshall.
- Food security & agriculture, water and environment, led by David Spiro.
- Governance and youth economic opportunity, led by Ami Thakkar.
“We have deep experience in each of these sectors and we are committed to true integration of our approaches,” Barnes said. “We know from experience how energy programs can spur economic growth and promote clean energy, how biodiversity programs can preserve natural resources and improve livelihoods, how good governance enables and sustains these improvements, and so much more. These sectors are all connected, and so are our solutions.”
RTI currently implements a wide range of successful USAID-funded programs working across Sustainable Growth & Resilience sectors including:
- Power Africa Off-Grid Project, which expands access to reliable electricity in 26 countries and supports health systems and solar energy companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Energy Secure Philippines, which supports a more competitive energy sector to drive future economic growth and social development. This project builds upon the success of Building Low Emission Alternatives to Develop Economic Resilience and Sustainability (B-LEADERS), which increased the resilience of the power sector in the Philippines to the environmental stresses of economic growth.
- Philippines Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes, which improves natural resource governance, stimulates public- and private-sector investments, and reduces environmental crime to protect the Philippines’ rich biodiversity while improving the livelihoods of those who depend on the resources.
- USAID Somalia Growth, Enterprise, Employment, and Livelihoods, which promotes sustainable and inclusive economic growth through private sector-led solutions – particularly through the agriculture, fisheries, livestock/dairy, and energy sectors – to help Somalia’s economy heal from the long-term scars of war and recurrent crises.
- USAID Governance for Local Development, which strengthens the ability of local governments in Senegal to respond to citizen requests, improve the collection and management of local public resources, and increase community participation in the management of public services such as health, education, WASH, and agriculture.
RTI also integrates scientific, technical, and economic decision-making tools to help governments create sustainable action plans responding to climate change. Our cross-disciplinary team includes experts in resilience, agriculture and food security, natural resources management, energy, finance, economic impacts and environmental justice, water quality and availability, and international development.
RTI’s international development experts design and implement programs across a wide range of sectors to help lower- and middle-income countries and communities address complex problems and improve the lives of their citizens. Working with local partners and stakeholders, our solutions promote sustainability, resilience, and success at scale. Alongside this, we conduct research to adapt as we implement and to develop innovative solutions for enduring and emerging issues facing the countries where we work.
To learn more about RTI’s work across the international development sector, visit https://www.rti.org/practice-area/international-development.
