Mekong - U.S. Partnership
The ASEAN-U.S. Science and Technology Fellows Pilot Program, which is managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the United States Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), places scientists in ASEAN ministries and helps the region’s countries make greater use of science, technology and objective analysis to improve public policy and support national development.
The inaugural class of fellows consists of eight scientists working in five countries (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) on a range of policy matters related to biodiversity, climate change, reducing disaster risks, health, and water management.
The program is inspired by the 40-year old Science & Technology Policy Fellowships program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was proposed by Montira Pongsiri, who was then the Science Advisor to the U.S. Mission to ASEAN and previously a mentor to AAAS S&T Policy Fellows at the Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with alumna AAAS policy fellow Teresa Leonardo, the Regional Science and Technology Advisor at the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia.
Articles published in the June 27, 2014 edition of Science Magazine and on the AAAS website further describe the pilot program and the important work being undertaken by the inaugural class of fellows.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6191/1462.full
http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-policy-fellows-inspire-new-program-southeast-asia
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
