The ECPA Senior Fellows Innovation Projects Grant Award encourages the development and implementation of local projects that help increase sustainability, grow the use of clean energy, build models for adaptation to climate change, and design solutions for reducing deforestation.

Kammen’s proposal—“Sustainable and Cost-Effective Growth for Chile’s Electricity Sector Requiring Creating Local Capacity on Integrative Planning Modeling Tools”—focuses on some of the long-term challenges involved in growing a sustainable energy system in Chile. The project will seek to raise awareness and strengthen the capacity needed to ensure cost-effective, sustainable growth in the electricity sector. Kammen, a well-known international energy expert and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, will partner with the Center for Energy Innovation at Chile’s Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and the Asociación Chilena de Energías Renovables [Chilean Association for Renewable Energy].

Alavapati’s proposal—“Building Capacities for Sustainable Forested Landscapes”—aims to support efforts underway in Belize to develop agricultural and forest management practices that have long-term economic, environmental, and sustainable benefits. The project will draw on existing disciplinary expertise, institutional infrastructure, forest and agricultural field sites, and pooled social and financial capital resources, in the framework of the Capacity Building Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture, Forests, and Environment (CBI-SAFE). This collaborative partnership, which includes governmental, nongovernmental, private, and academic organizations, will offer workshops and technical courses on topics related to sustainable agriculture and forested landscapes. Alavapati is a Professor at Virginia Tech, where he heads the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.

The Senior ECPA Fellow Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Partners of the Americas, an international network that promotes social and economic development in the region through leadership, voluntary service, and development efforts.

Representatives from Partners of the Americas, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and a former Senior ECPA Fellow served on a panel of judges to determine the winners of the grant competition. Each of the winning projects will receive a $40,000 award, which will help leverage additional financial, technical, and political support over the coming year.