Integra News

Fall Internship Program Underway

Integra is pleased to welcome the 2011 class of Fall Interns! After a very competitive selection process, three interns have been selected for the fall semester, which began on September 19. The group represents Georgetown, Syracuse and Clark Universities and will work on researching, writing and networking for the Global Broadband and Innovations Program.

Fabrice Musoni, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University and was the 2010-2011 Yahoo! Junior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Fabrice previously worked as a consultant on another USAID project called Programme Paix et Gouvernance (PGP) implemented by AED in Senegal, for Search for Common Ground’s (SFCG) youth project in Burundi and as a researcher at the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in Rwanda. Musoni holds a B.A. with honors in Political Sciences and Communication Studies from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. A Congolese-born Rwandan citizen, Musoni speaks fluently Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and French. Musoni’s focus is on International Development with a keen interest in sub-Saharan Africa. He will be writing for the ICT4Democracy and Governance and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.

Christy Gillmore recently received her MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University with a concentration in human rights and peacebuilding. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali working on health and environment development projects and has worked in refugee resettlement coordinating healthcare for clients. She served as a Peace Fellow for The Advocacy Project where she worked with a Kenyan NGO in Nairobi to develop an ICT strategy as well as blog about issues and projects within the slums of Kenya. Currently she works at Free the Slaves, managing the anti-slavery organization’s programs in Ghana. She will be writing for the ICT4Health, ICT4Democracy and Governance, and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.

Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has a good knowledge of the history of rural development and agriculture; farming systems approaches; agricultural extension reforms; and approaches to food security and vulnerability mitigation. Ben has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ben will be contributing to ICT4 Agricultural Development, Connectivity for Development, and ICT4 Environment sites.

September 29, 2011/by actualize

Africa, Areas of Expertise, GBI Updates, Information and Communication Technology for Development, Integra News, USAF Updates, Where we work

Integra provides telecom training in Tanzania

Robert Otto shakes hands with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete

As a part of its contract with USAID, Integra led the GBI team to successfully host a panel and workshop for Universal Service & Access Fund administrators in Sub Saharan Africa on Friday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The sessions were part of the annual Connecting Rural Communities Forum held by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO). GBI’s Project Manager for its USAF Initiative, David Townsend, facilitated the sessions, which were attended by over 100 people from across the continent.

Integra’s Eric White spoke to the conference attendees twice – first to describe the USAID program for digital development, and second to deliver survey results collected from participating African USAF administrators.

The conference, which was officially opened by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, and hosted by the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa, lasted three days, and brought together telecommunications professionals from more than 2 dozen African countries. Sessions topics included policy and regulatory issues, equipment and technology, and applications and content.

These sessions mark just part of GBI’s overall support for telecommunications infrastructure in the region, for which Integra is the sole contractor. In addition to support for Universal Service & Access Funds, GBI provides support and technical assistance for legal, regulatory and competitiveness counseling as well as research and support for low cost/low power technologies. Please visit our Current Activities page for more information about GBI.

September 9, 2011/by actualize

Integra News

Summer Intern Program Comes to an End

Next week we say goodbye to an excellent team of interns who have been with us all summer! Jeff Swindle, Katie Leasor, Tyrone Hall, Shazad Ahmed and David Willmore have been at Integra since late May, and their hard work and dedication has really paid off!

For duration of the 12 week program, the group worked on research and outreach for the Global Broadband and Innovations Program, for which Integra is an implementing partner. Interns attended events, conducted interviews with professionals in the field, and networked throughout the city, all while learning more about ICT4D and gaining valuable experience working with USAID.

But it hasn’t been all work – excursions to various restaurants, water tubing, and even a filed trip and tour of the Washington Post, have made this a great summer for all of us!

We wish them all the very best in their future endeavors and look forward to learning about their professional success!

Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall program. For more information, and to apply, please visit the GBI Internship Program.

August 5, 2011/by actualize

Integra News

Magda Van Dusen Hired as Director of Operations

Integra is pleased welcome Magda Van Dusen as our Director of Operations!

Magdalena Van Dusen has over eight years of experience working in a range of financial, project management, and administration fields, including federal grant and contract administration, project accounting and subgrants management. Previously, a Senior Accountant at RAFFA, P.C., Magdalena provided a wide range of accounting services for not-for-profit clients, including financial reporting and month-end closing process. While an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Magdalena oversaw the firm’s support to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) monitoring efforts through comprehensive business compliance reviews of large facility projects. Previously, as a Financial Analyst at a development organization, Magdalena provided full service accounting and financial oversight for a portfolio of complex multi-million dollar international development projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Magdalena’s additional experience includes internal audit engagements, budget development and analysis, financial report preparation, training, and administrative systems design.

Magdalena will oversees HR, compliance and accounting functions for the firm.

June 27, 2011/by actualize

Agriculture, Food Security & Rural Development, Areas of Expertise, Information and Communication Technology for Development, Integra News

USAID Speaks on the need for Food Security Through Local Production

USAID representatives yesterday at a panel discussion hosted by the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa came out strongly in support of Food Security through Agricultural Development. Rob Bertram, a biotechnology Team Leader in EGAT’s office of Environment and Science Policy, spoke about the need to increase productivity and to facilitate regional trade, noting that 90% of potential gains from agricultural trade in Africa are in regional markets. He made the point that the 2008 food price crisis illustrated that African countries cannot depend on imports for food security – they must work together to meet their own food security needs.

His point was made as part of a discussion on USAID’s Feed the Future program and how it reflects the principles of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) put forward by the African Union. He noted that Feed the Future takes CAADP as a model and therefore includes a focus on things such as smallholder growth, science and technology, and natural resource management.

Ms. Rhoda Tumuslime, an elected commissioner of the African Union, spoke of Feed the Future as a “great hope” for Africa, and expressed her grave concern that “ongoing discussions” on capital hill could adversely impact the program.

March 4, 2011/by actualize

Integra News

CEO Robert Otto named to SBAIC

INTEGRA is proud to announce that CEO Robert Otto has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the Small Business Association of International Contractors. The association is the leading advocate for small business interests with the US Agency for International Development and other U.S. government agencies working overseas. Mr. Otto says “I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with SBAIC’s membership of 22 firms to expand small business opportunities in the international professional services market.”

January 12, 2011/by actualize

Areas of Expertise, Information and Communication Technology for Development, Integra News

INTEGRA Presents at USAID Infrastructure Training

INTEGRA Managing Associate Eric White yesterday gave a presentation to a gathering of USAID infrastructure specialists from missions around the world about the importance of investing in ICT infrastructure. He specifically highlighted the importance of wireless voice and broadband connectivity in meeting the US Government’s goals under the new “Feed the Future” program.

Food Security, Mr. White explained, can come either through improving domestic agricultural output and distribution or through improved cross-border trade facilitation. He highlighted ways that ICT infrastructure improves both. After pointing out that agricultural development is the flip side of rural economic growth Mr. White explained how numerous studies, at both the macro and micro level, have found a 10-1 relationship between expanding ICT coverage and GDP growth. A 10% increase in ICT penetration is generally associated with a 1% increase in GDP growth rates.

Mr. White then explained how it is possible to work with private sector firms to expand ICT access to rural people in developing countries. He pointed out the remarkable willingness-to-pay of even the very poor when it comes to communication. Even people living on only a few dollars a day are willing to pay up to 10% of their income for access to communication. Given that relatively large willingness-to-pay and a relatively low cost of capital it is in fact possible to reach every developing country resident with wireless technology through the smart use of targeted subsidies and investment in emerging low-cost technologies.

Eric White ftf presentation

View more presentations from IntegraLLC.

December 16, 2010/by actualize

The Intel Corporationsponsored a two-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya aimed at facilitating dialogue among managers of African Universal Service Funds (USFs). Representatives from 10 African countries were present, as well as leaders of the Funds in Malaysia and India.

The workshop was very interactive. It consisted of a series of panel discussions facilitated by Mr. David Townsend, a world expert in Universal Service, where managers of more advanced funds could discuss how they had tackled various issues in the past. The discussion was lively and broad, and afterwards all participants acknowledged the usefulness of the exercise.

Mr. Baskir Kamara, of the Sierra Leone Universal Access Development Fund, said “I now have more confidence to implement an effective USF.”

Eric White of INTEGRA made a presentation about GBI and its mandate of providing technical assistance to USFs. Afterwards he was approached by a number of country representatives inquiring about how to establish USAID assistance programs.

The workshop was the first in a series that Intel and USAID will hold over the next year.

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