Solar energy has long been touted as a clean alternative to traditional electricity generation, but building a clean energy economy will also create jobs. Thanks to federal and state policies to support renewable energy, it’s estimated that the solar i…
A guest post from Howard White, Executive Director, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation:In the foreign aid business, it’s very important to answer the question, “Was this a successful project?” because donors need to know where to target…
The Economist has just released a fascinating video showing Google.org grantee Pratham in action, conducting ASER (Annual Status of Education Report). The video colorfully illustrates a major issue in India’s education system: even when they attend sch…
As you might expect from a company founded by two engineers and an infusion of start up cash, Google believes in the power of entrepreneurs and small businesses to drive innovation and spur job growth. So it wasn’t surprising that when we considered ar…
In early 2008, Google.org announced its initiatives to the world and made clear how the company would leverage its people, money, and creativity to address some of the world’s most pressing and difficult problems. Among them were climate change/renew…
Panchayats were Mahatma Gandhi’s original vision for a free India – an India made up of thousands of “little Republics” where people meet their needs through self-reliance. Today, panchayats are responsible for implementing development programs…
A guest post from Pay Drechsel at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI):As in many parts of the developing world, failure is the norm for urban sanitation services in Ghana. Of the approximately 60 wastewater and faecal sludge treatment p…
Our Predict and Prevent initiative is delighted to announce support to a new regional disease surveillance network called the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS). SACIDS is the first regional network to embrace the conc…
(Cross-posted from the Official Google Africa Blog)Having been in Africa for the past several months, I am beginning to see firsthand how access to information by regular citizens is starting to transform the continent. A single newspaper could be read…
On September 12 2008, Cecilia van Deventer, a safari booking agent living in Zambia, was flown to South Africa in critical condition. She died just two days later. By October 6 2008, three more people had died: the paramedic who accompanied Cecilia to…
On October 11th, nearly 200 people convened at Google for the first BarCamp Africa with the purpose of “building the conversation between people and opportunities in Silicon Valley and Africa.” With Google as Hosting Sponsor, this volunteer-run event g…
The core of the Inform and Empower initiative lies in the access to timely, relevant information that can empower government leaders and citizens to improve the delivery of vital public services. So I was delighted to hear that yesterday one of our gra…
A number of us at Google.org have been gleefully contributing to the spread of the Girl Effect video. Maybe you have seen this powerful and moving video already. This piece of art and social commerce, which argues that the key to breaking the cycle of …
In January we announced Predict and Prevent, Google.org’s global public health initiative that aims to help prevent the next pandemic. Since then our team has traveled far and wide to meet with partners, particularly in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan A…
Last month, Google.org invited the non-profits attending Clinton Global Initiative to a half-day technology training on tools to improve their operations and enhance their websites. Romanus Berg from Ashoka moderated the session and Suzanne DiBianca an…