In every project that BEP funds, the focus is on creating sustainable engagements, which assist countries and regions in building infrastructure for safe and secure bioscience practices as well as the capacity to rapidly detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. While sustainability may look very different depending on the needs of the country, as well as the length and depth of BEP engagement, sustainable capacity is always at the forefront of our long-term strategy for each scientist we engage, project we fund, and implementer with which we partner.
Methods used to ensure sustainability and build capacity include, but are not limited to:
- Cooperative Research and Development (R&D): Establish a framework within which BEP projects address the specific S&T needs that exist within the country, and provide an entry into the upper level policymaking within that country.
- Train the Trainer Programs: Build the institutional knowledge and human capacity within the country and region to independently handle biorisk management, disease diagnosis, surveillance, and response
- Biological Safety Associations: Create national and regional forums to bring all relevant actors together, whether they are scientists, engineers, technicians, or policymakers, in order to set standards, conduct trainings and certifications, and ultimately, build a culture that recognizes the importance of biosafety and biosecurity
BEP has limited funding, and with the rapid expansion of technology in the biological sciences, it is critical that every project we fund allows the recipients to move closer to self-sustainability, with the ultimate goal of not requiring future financial assistance from the U.S.