Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development

The BHEARD Program strives to have deep, reciprocal relationships with their country partners that provide a spectrum of opportunities for academic scholars at all levels. While most of the capacity development projects take the form of individual scholarships and academic support, BHEARD is also invested in extending that training, and support at the institutional level, such that scholars return to their communities empowered to help meet the capacity-building needs of the local community they reside in.

Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) includes strengthening the ability of individuals, institutions, and systems to respond to environmental factors in ways that improve the achievement of desired outcomes. Injecting new knowledge, skills, or technology into a system works best when there are complementary efforts to ensure that the institutions are prepared to absorb, adopt, and adapt resources. The BHEARD Program financially supports projects in five countries that emphasize various methods of institutional capacity development. While projects are designed to further innovative research into marketable technologies, grantees must think critically about how their research supports institutional-level change. The following reports detail the institutional strengthening efforts put forth in BHEARD countries that expanded beyond the scope of PhD and Master's Program activities.