Current ACCEL Projects

Global Communities Projects 

McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (McGovern-Dole) Programs 

Since 2001, Global Communities has partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement 23 McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (McGovern-Dole) programs. These integrated school feeding projects offer daily nutritious meals to children while mobilizing and strengthening the capacities of local governments and communities to gradually transition to locally owned and sustainable school meals programs. In addition, these programs improve school infrastructure, curriculums and students’ literacy outcomes; encourage healthy behaviors and nutrition practices; and enhance economic opportunities for local producers by linking them with schools and promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices. In support of Global Communities’ ongoing McGovern-Dole programs in Central America, Tanzania and Madagascar, the AccelNet partnership will improve the analysis, visualization, and ongoing use of data across programs. This will inform program decision-making and contribute to improved program outcomes.  See more about the project here.

Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania (EFFECTS)

From 2018 to 2021, Global Communities, in partnership with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Purdue University, the Africa Academy for Public Health, and the National Institute of Medical Research-Mwanza, implemented the Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania (EFFECTS) study in Mara, Tanzania. EFFECTS was a peer group-based behavior change program designed as a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of engaging fathers and bundling child nutrition and parenting interventions on a variety of primary and secondary outcomes, from child growth, nutrition and development to household gender equality and women’s empowerment. The study generated novel evidence that, with the right approach, materials, and ongoing support, community health workers can deliver gender-transformative bundled nutrition and parenting interventions to couples in low-resource community settings with potentially synergistic positive effects on household gender relations and maternal and child well-being. Specifically, EFFECTS revealed that bundling nutrition and parenting interventions had greater benefits to child development, child diets, nutrition and parenting practices, and household gender equality, compared to nutrition-only interventions. The study also demonstrated the positive effects of engaging couples (mothers and fathers) in nutrition and parenting interventions compared to interventions that engage only mothers. AccelNet is supporting Global Communities’ efforts to utilize these study results as an evidence base informing future programming.  See more about the project here.

MindCET Project

Global EdTech Startup Awards Special Tracks Competition 

AccelNet’s pitch to the Global EdTech Startup Awards focuses on the development of self-regulation through a cultural strength approach. The project emphasizes using culturally sensitive measures to assess self-regulation across various communities by integrating physiological and behavioral data with neurobiology. The goal is to develop tools that document and analyze multi-modal data on cultural practices that support resilience and healthy development. The competition is launching in October 2024 and will be managed by MindCET. Read more about the competition here.

San Diego Supercomputer Center

Global Science of Learning Community square 

Community Square is a multi-dimensional cyberinfrastructure that supports the working needs of our community. In partnership with the San Diego Supercomputer Center, a team of interns used Unreal Engine to design a virtual square featuring a library, data hub and computing facility. It will be the home to our resources and working spaces along with features for data storage and a sharing hub. Read more about the Global Science of Learning Education Network here.

ACCEL Fellows

Our AccelNet early career fellows represent diverse backgrounds, nationally, culturally, ethnically, and linguistically. They will be actively involved in the AccelNet research projects we are working on in collaboration with our network partners Global Communities, MindCET, UNESCO MGIEP, and Sesame Workshop. They will also collaborate in conducting a global study of self-regulation.