CRDF Global launched a new ”emergency fund” for Ukraine’s scientists, technologists and innovators at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol on June 3. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) co-sponsored the event in Congress’s Rayburn Building.
CRDF Global is an independent non-profit organization that creates opportunities for scientists and innovators to work with local and international partners to “drive results through scientific collaboration.” It works with partners in over 40 countries, with offices in the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, Jordan and Kazakhstan.
CRDF Global believes that the best chance to turn the tide of Ukraine’s desperate economic circumstances resides with Ukraine’s scientists and tech entrepreneurs. CRDF Global views the recent reforms in Ukraine’s education and technology sectors as the best way to bolster the role of technology in fostering Ukraine’s economic growth.
However, with the stalemated military conflict in Ukraine, and the severe economic downturn, government support for science and technology has virtually disappeared. Adding to the severe budgetary constraints is the displacement of over 500,000 internal refugees from eastern Ukraine, among them thousands of students, educators, engineers and innovators.
After discussions with Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, CRDF Global initiated an Emergency Fund for Ukraine’s Scientists and Innovators. The fund will be supported by donations and provide emergency support to the needy scientists and innovators. The fund will prioritize emergency research support for scientists displaced by the war and young scientists at risk for leaving Ukraine.
Micro-grants will support ongoing mentorship, networking, and travel opportunities for technology innovation and commercialization. The Fund is structured as ‘short-term relief for long-term, sustainable recovery”. It’s a practical way for individuals and organizations to contribute to the Fund, and help relocated scientists from the Donbas region and Crimea to stay in Ukraine. You can donate directly to the fund at www.crdfglobal.org/ukrainefund. Donations are tax deductible.
Cathleen Campbell, president and CEO of CRDF Global opened the Washington event with a letter from Ukraine’s Minister of Science and Education Serhiy Kvit, who noted that 26 universities and research institutes, and over 100,000 students and educators have been displaced by the war in Donbas. He emphasized that education is the springboard for the modernization and revitalization of Ukrainian society.
Minister Kvit’s letter briefly covered the goals of the higher education reform legislation of 2014, and the science reform law that is currently being drafted by Parliament. With these two major components of reform, future research programs and technology commercialization opportunities should produce better outcomes and create greater economic opportunities for Ukraine, particularly in the information technology (IT) sectors.
Anders Aslund gave a brief overview of the economic situation in Ukraine. He saw a great deal of progress in that over 300 new laws have been passed as part of the reform-oriented government of President Petro Poroshenko and his relatively youthful Cabinet of Ministers. Dr. Aslund understood that it will take time for the positive impacts of these laws to trickle down and take hold, but the process has been accelerated in the Poroshenko-Yatsenyuk administration.
John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, spoke of the political situation in Ukraine, and why Russian revanchism should be taken more seriously by the Obama administration. He stated, regretfully, that he did not “see the political will in the administration to achieve the goals of the [Ukraine] Freedom Support Act,” Nor did he observe a sense that Russia’s threats along Europe’s eastern border are viewed as an international crisis at the same level as ISIS or a nuclear Iran. Ambassador Herbst stated categorically that Russia is a bigger threat to global stability than ISIS or Iran.
In this context, the Obama administration’s lassitude with respect to implementing the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (Public Law No: 113-272), elevates CRDF Global’s emergency program as an extremely important initiative. U.S. government agencies have been very slow to implement the provisions of the act that were signed by President Obama in December 2014 – particularly those encouraging all branches of government to assist Ukraine by whatever means available.
The act highlights assistance for Ukraine’s energy security, but there are many more needs, especially in the agricultural sector and the science and technology sector, that would benefit from the act, with immediate positive impacts on the economy. In particular the IT sector would provide a big boost, for that is one of the most cost-effective investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Few realize that most of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act simply lays out conditions under which President Obama may trigger sanctions against Russia to protect Ukraine’s interests. It is only in Section 7 of the act, under the title of “Expanded Nonmilitary Assistance for Ukraine,” that the executive agencies of the U.S. government are encouraged to provide assistance to internally displaced people in Ukraine.
International humanitarian agencies are encouraged to give priority to Ukraine’s internally displaced people. The secretaries of state and energy, and the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are authorized to provide assistance in support of, and to invest in short-term solutions for, enabling Ukraine to secure the energy safety of the people of Ukraine during 2014 and 2015.
The law also requires the secretary of state, the administrator of USAID, and the secretary of energy work with other donors, including multilateral agencies and non-governmental organizations, to prioritize the provision of assistance from such donors to help Ukraine to improve energy efficiency, increase energy supplies produced in Ukraine, and reduce reliance on energy imports, including natural gas, from the Russian Federation.The law directs the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) and the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to prioritize support for and stimulate investments to help increase energy efficiency, develop domestic oil and natural gas reserves, improve and repair electricity infrastructure, and develop renewable and other sources of energy in Ukraine; and to implement procedures for expedited review and, as appropriate, approal, of applications by eligible investors.
Congress authorized $20 million for fiscal year 2016 to be appropriated to the Secretary of State to carry out the terms of Section 7 of the act, or approximately one-third of the total appropriations for 2016.
Other Ukrainian American scientists have been very active in coordinating with CRDF Global, and engaging many Ukrainian scientific institutions, such as the Ukrainian Physical Society and the American Physical Society. Dr. George Gamota has been at the forefront of promoting emergency assistance for the displaced academic institutions of the Donbas. Others will soon join this important effort.