Recent shortages of toilet paper and cleaning products prompted a deeper appreciation for how healthy supply chains work. <\/span><\/p>\n Even without a pandemic, in many places around the world supply chain gaps prevent goods from reaching their intended market and the people who need and rely on them. Supply chains include the system of organizations, resources, and activities that move goods to consumers, and gaps can create stresses for producers and consumers alike. When these goods are food and medicine, the results can be devastating \u2014 even deadly. A large body of research shows that efficient supply chains are crucial to local, regional, and national economic development. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), invested in this new project, via the Building Research and Innovation for Development: Generating Evidence and Training (BRIDGE-Train) program: to advance research, translation \u2013 quickly moving research findings into practice with practical solutions \u2013 and training in supply chain management (SCM). <\/span><\/p>\n With a $15 million investment from USAID, Arizona State University (ASU) is embarking on a catalytic partnership with the <\/span>Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology<\/span><\/a> (KNUST), and multiple public and private sector partners to establish the Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain-Africa (CARISCA). The project brings together faculty expertise in the Department of Supply Chain Management in ASU\u2019s W. P. Carey School of Business and the KNUST School of Business. It\u2019s the largest award in W. P. Carey\u2019s history. <\/span><\/p>\n ASU and KNUST\u2019s shared vision for CARISCA builds on five years of equitable partnership and collaboration. ASU and KNUST have worked together on the <\/span>ShipShape project<\/span><\/a>, a mobile education game that teaches supply chain skills to healthcare workers. Plus, the <\/span>Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at ASU<\/span><\/a> brings KNUST students to ASU as part of the <\/span>international accelerated degree program<\/span><\/a>. The CARISCA project is housed in ASU\u2019s Frontier Economies Logistics Lab (FELL) and leverages ASU\u2019s world-class supply chain expertise and multidisciplinary experience in international research projects. <\/span><\/p>\n New Global Center: CARISCA<\/b><\/p>\n The CARISCA center at KNUST is envisioned as a globally recognized, locally owned hub for generating and translating innovative research into positive development outcomes for Ghana and pan-African supply chains, driving country self-reliance and increasing the impact of USAID investments. <\/span><\/p>\n CARISCA will harness innovative research in supply chain management, drawing on the social sciences, industrial and systems engineering, computer science, mathematics, economics, marketing, finance, and management, to take on significant development challenges and address barriers to development caused by inefficient and ineffective supply chains.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n CARISCA will:<\/span><\/p>\n Ghana is the ideal country to launch CARISCA. It offers high levels of human capital supported by influential universities such as KNUST, whose existing strengths in SCM and logistics provide a strong foundation for local and pan-African SCM capacity strengthening. <\/span><\/p>\n Dale Rogers, ON Semiconductor Professor of Business in the Department of Supply Chain Management at ASU\u2019s W. P. Carey School of Business and Director of the Frontier Economies Logistics Lab (FELL), is the principal investigator and executive director for the five-year project. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that Ghana and Africa, in general, are likely to continue to grow in importance economically. The ASU-KNUST partnership is a wonderful opportunity to contribute to higher education and supply chain practice while learning about local Ghanaian solutions and practices,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n CARISCA\u2019s focus on supply chain management reflects a large body of research showing that efficient local supply chains are crucial to local, regional, and national economic development.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSupply chain management transcends functional, organizational, and industrial boundaries,\u201d explains Nathaniel Boso, dean of the KNUST School of Business and director of CARISCA at KNUST. \u201cTo this end, I am so excited about this unique partnership between KNUST, Arizona State University, and USAID to establish a center for applied research and innovation at KNUST to build research capacity in supply chains towards accelerated growth and development of Africa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Stephen Feinson, associate vice president for International Development at ASU adds: \u201cThe CARISCA Project is a great example of ASU\u2019s university design objectives to strengthen universities both here in the U.S. and around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The center\u2019s activities will be supported and sustained by local and international networks of industry partners that connect African researchers, practitioners, and businesses to global supply chain assets.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n USAID: From the American People <\/span>The W. P. Carey Department of Supply Chain Management<\/b> is <\/span>consistently ranked in the top five<\/span><\/a> nationally for undergraduate and graduate programs by <\/span>U.S. News & World Report<\/span><\/i>. SCM research at ASU advances knowledge in global supply chain management while focusing on issues of practical importance. Its faculty is globally recognized for expertise in procurement, supply management, operations management, logistics, and supply chain performance optimization.<\/span> wpcarey.asu.edu\/supply-chain<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n ASU International Development <\/b>is the university\u2019s platform for providing game-changing solutions for development, both as a prime implementer and as a partner, and provides international development agencies and implementing firms with access to the university\u2019s wealth of knowledge and expertise for global projects. <\/span>internationaldevelopment.asu.edu<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The KNUST School of Business<\/b> (KSB) is a top-ranked business school in Ghana<\/span> for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. KSB serves more than 4,000 undergraduate students and over 2,400 postgraduate students.<\/span> business.knust.edu.gh<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Links to CARISCA announcements:<\/strong><\/p>\n Five-year, $15 million cooperative agreement to establish Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain-Africa to advance supply chain research and training in Ghana and beyond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,12,10,11,8,13],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jake Kupiec","author_link":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/author\/jakupiec\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n<\/b>Created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, USAID leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people progress beyond assistance.<\/span> usaid.gov<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n