Pledge for Innovation and Excellence

On September 28, as part of USAID’s Global Innovation week in Washington, D.C., Winrock International President and CEO Rodney Ferguson took the stage along with the heads of 20 other high-level USAID partner organizations to make a “Pledge to Innovation and Excellence.”

“We pledge to incorporate solar capabilities in all new project sites we’re planning in 2018 for implementation for all new projects in 2019,” Ferguson said. “At each location, we will build the capacity of local entrepreneurs and service providers to market, install and maintain key products in order to hasten the pace of technology deployment nationwide as a way to meet the challenge of climate change. And lastly, we will continue to do everything we can as an organization to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement moving forward.”

“There are 21 leaders, over 40 million dollars in stated value, … [and] over 100 countries of work reflected on the stage right now,” said Alexis Bonnell, division chief of applied innovation and acceleration at USAID’s U.S. Global Development Lab, at the conclusion of the pledge ceremony. “This is how our work gets done.”