1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Global Development Lab Act of 2014”.
Global Development Lab Act of 2014
A BILL
To establish in the United States Agency for International Development an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab, and for other purposes.
2. Definitions
In this Act:
Administrator— The term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
Lab— The term Lab means the United States Global Development Lab established under section 4.
USAID— The term USAID means the United States Agency for International Development.
3. Findings
Congress finds the following:
Leveraging academic research and private sector expertise to effectively apply science and technology to United States foreign aid can increase the effectiveness of United States aid dollars and lead to better outcomes.
In the last 20 years, human ingenuity and entrepreneurship around the world has reduced child mortality rates by 42 percent and poverty rates by 52 percent, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Over the next 40 years, the developing world is expected to be the largest source of product and services growth. Breakthroughs pioneered for the developing world can translate into jobs and economic growth in the United States.
In 2014 the Office of Science and Technology and the Office of Innovation and Development Alliances at the United States Agency for International Development were abolished to pave the way to bring their staffing and other resources into the United States Global Development Lab.
The Lab represents a new approach to invest, test, and apply more effective solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges.
The Lab will partner with entrepreneurs, experts, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and science and research institutions to solve development challenges in a faster, more cost-efficient, and more sustainable way.
The Lab will utilize a pay-for-success model, which uses science, technology, and innovation-driven competitions to expand the number and diversity of solutions to development challenges.
In contrast with traditional grants or contracts, where USAID pays for a proposal to be implemented, pay-for-success awards are given to a winner only after the objectives of the competition have been achieved.
Expanding pay-for-success authority to allow the Lab to use these awards globally will increase the number of high value solutions to choose from at a significantly reduced cost.
4. United States Global Development Lab
Establishment— There is established in USAID an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab.
Duties and responsibilities— The duties and responsibilities of the Lab should include—
increasing the application of science, technology, innovation, and partnerships to develop and scale new solutions to end extreme poverty;
discovering, testing, and scaling development innovations to solve development challenges to increase cost effectiveness and support United States foreign policy and development goals;
leveraging the expertise, resources, and investment of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and research organizations, and universities to increase program impact and sustainability;
utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand the number and diversity of solutions to development challenges; and
supporting USAID missions and bureaus in applying science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches to decisionmaking, procurement, and program design.
Authorities—
In general— In carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the Administrator may, in addition to such other authorities as may be available to the Administrator—
use not more than $15,000,000 of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by an Act making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs under the heading “Development Assistance” for any fiscal year for the provision of grants that are focused on science, technology, or innovation and designed to improve health outcomes;
make awards in accordance with section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719), except that foreign citizens and foreign private entities may be eligible for such prizes notwithstanding the eligibility requirements of subsection (g) of such section; and
if the authority to appoint individuals on a limited term basis pursuant to schedule A or B of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, is authorized for the Lab by the Office of Personnel Management, use funds appropriated to carry out part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for the employment of not more than 30 of such individuals.
Recovery of funds—
In general— In carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the Administrator may provide that a cooperative agreement or other transaction for performance of basic, applied, or advanced research entered into between USAID and a person or other entity include a clause that requires the person or other entity to return to USAID program income generated under the agreement or other transaction.
Treatment of payments—
In general— The amount of any program income returned to USAID pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be credited to the account from which the obligation and expenditure of funds under the cooperative agreement or other transaction described in subparagraph (A) was made.
Availability—
In general— Except as provided in subclause (II), amounts returned and credited to an account under clause (i)—
shall be merged with other funds in the account; and
shall be available for the same purposes and period of time for which other funds in the account are available for programs and activities of the Lab.
Exception— Amounts returned and credited to an account under clause (i) may not be used to pay for the employment of individuals described in paragraph (1)(C).