WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Higher Education for Development (HED) announced today 40 paired winners of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative Planning Grant Competition. Nearly 300 applications were submitted for capacity-building partnerships between U.S. colleges and universities and higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan African nations. Paired winners will receive planning grants from USAID of $50,000 each.

"This competition is an important opportunity to build the kind of higher education capacity critical to the development of Africa," said Joseph Carney, director of USAID's Office of Education. "This initiative was proposed during the Higher Education Summit for Global Development and subsequent regional summit held in Rwanda last year. We are delighted to see this effort moving forward and expect great results from these planning grants."

The 40 paired winning institutions include:

These paired institutions will use the grants to develop plans to address regional and national economic development priorities such as engineering, health, agriculture, environment and natural resources, science and technology, education and teacher training/preparation, and business, management and economics.

HED manages the competition which grew out of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative (www.aplu.org), a collaborative effort between a number of higher education associations and other organizations, led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A۰P۰L۰U), formerly the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC).

"We were elated by the astounding number of highly qualified applications received, and even more pleased by how many applications demonstrated a strong understanding of higher education needs in Africa," said Dr. Tully Cornick, executive director of HED. "The top 40 winners represent the best of these applications, and plans that are developed as a result of the grants will address a variety of critical development needs. It is our belief that if funding is found to implement these plans, we will see tangible, measurable and sustainable impact made in these African countries."

"This important initiative continues to illustrate the enormous unmet need for higher education partnerships in Africa," added Peter McPherson, president of A۰P۰L۰U. "We see this as just the beginning - this is an ongoing campaign to accomplish much more in engaging higher education institutions in Africa."

HED, funded by a cooperative agreement with USAID, was founded by the six major U.S. higher education associations to engage U.S. colleges and universities in international development. For more information about HED and to view details about the planning grants competition, visit www.HEDprogram.org.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For more information on USAID, visit www.USAID.gov.