Seminar Series: The LASER Experience, Integrating Research and Practice for Effective Development
Channel: Engineering for Change
Date: 2021-06-14

LASER (Long-term Assistance and SErvices for Research) PULSE (Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) is a five-year, $70M program funded through USAID’s Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub in the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, that delivers research-driven solutions to field-sourced development challenges in USAID  partner countries.
A consortium led by Purdue University, with core partners Catholic Relief Services, Indiana University, Makerere University, and the University of Notre Dame, implements the LASER PULSE program through a growing network of 2,500+ researchers and development practitioners in 61 countries. LASER PULSE collaborates with USAID missions, bureaus, and independent offices and other local stakeholders to identify research needs for critical development challenges, and funds and strengthens capacity of researcher-practitioner teams to co-design solutions that translate into policy and practice.

In this seminar, Arvind Raman from Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University discusses the “systems engineering” needed to put together such a program, specifically in terms of identification of key development bottleneck challenges where research can help move the needle, integrating development research and practice, and scaling impact.

To view the video share in this seminar in full see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1c1mLNV5Ik

E4C’s Seminar Series features academic laboratories researching solutions to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The world’s cutting edge research deserves a platform with a global audience. Join us for presentations of new findings from investigative teams around the globe each month. And researchers, we welcome your applications to take part in the series. Please send an email to research@engineeringforchange.org.