Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Global Development Lab Act of 2015

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Leveraging academic research and private sector expertise to effectively apply science and technology to United States foreign aid can increase the effectiveness of United States aid dollars and lead to better outcomes. (2)In the last 20 years, human ingenuity and entrepreneurship around the world has reduced child mortality rates by 42 percent and poverty rates by 52 percent, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. (3)Over the next 40 years, the developing world is expected to be the largest source of product and services growth. Breakthroughs pioneered for the developing world can translate into jobs and economic growth in the United States. (4)In 2014 the Office of Science and Technology and the Office of Innovation and Development Alliances at the United States Agency for International Development were abolished to pave the way to bring their staffing and other resources into the United States Global Development Lab. (5)The Lab represents a new approach to invest, test, and apply more effective solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges. (6)The Lab will partner with entrepreneurs, experts, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and science and research institutions to solve development challenges in a faster, more cost-efficient, and more sustainable way. (7)The Lab will utilize innovation incentives, a pay-for-success model, which uses science, technology, and innovation-driven competitions to expand the number and diversity of solutions to development challenges. (8)In contrast with traditional grants or contracts, where USAID pays for a proposal to be implemented, pay-for-success awards are given to a winner only after the objectives of the competition have been achieved. (9)Expanding pay-for-success authority to allow the Lab to use these awards globally will increase the number of high value solutions to choose from at a significantly reduced cost.

United States Global Development Lab

(a)

Establishment

There is established in USAID an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab. (b)

Duties and responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the Lab should include— (1)increasing the application of science, technology, innovation and partnerships to develop and scale new solutions to end extreme poverty; (2)discovering, testing, and scaling development innovations to solve development challenges to increase cost effectiveness and support United States foreign policy and development goals; (3)leveraging the expertise, resources, and investment of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and research organizations, and universities to increase program impact and sustainability; (4)utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand the number and diversity of solutions to development challenges; and (5)supporting USAID missions and bureaus in applying science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches to decisionmaking, procurement, and program design. (c)

Authorities

(1)

In general

In carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the Administrator, in addition to such other authorities as may be available to the Administrator, including authorities under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), is authorized to— (A)use not more than $15,000,000 of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by an Act making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs under the heading Development Assistance for any fiscal year to provide funding to improve health outcomes; (B)provide innovation incentive awards (as defined in section 4(4) of this Act); and (C)use funds appropriated to carry out part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for the employment of not more than 30 individuals on a limited term basis pursuant to schedule A of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or equivalent provisions of law or regulations. (2)

Recovery of funds

(A)

In general

In carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the Administrator shall require a person or entity that receives funding under a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement made by the Lab to return to the Lab any income generated under a program carried out under such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. (B)

Treatment of payments

(i)

In general

The amount of any program income returned to the Lab pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be credited to the account from which the obligation and expenditure of funds under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement described in subparagraph (A) was made. (ii)

Availability

(I)

In general

Except as provided in subclause (II), amounts returned and credited to an account under clause (i)— (aa)shall be merged with other funds in the account; and (bb)shall be available for the same purposes and period of time for which other funds in the account are available for programs and activities of the Lab. (II)

Exception

Amounts returned and credited to an account under clause (i) may not be used to pay for the employment of individuals described in paragraph (1)(C).

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. (2)

Lab

The term Lab means the United States Global Development Lab established under section 3. (3)

USAID

The term USAID means the United States Agency for International Development. (4)

Innovation incentive award

The term innovation incentive award means the provision of funding on a competitive basis that— (A)rewards and spurs the development of solutions for a particular, well-defined problem; (B)helps identify and promote a broad range of ideas and practices that may not otherwise attract attention, facilitating further development of the idea or practice by third parties; or (C)provides such other types of incentives as the Administrator considers appropriate to stimulate innovation that has the potential to advance the mission of USAID.