North Carolina Research Institute Receives Contract to Help Rebuild Local Governments in Iraq By ELIZABETH F. FARRELL
An independent research group affiliated with three North Carolina universities has won a $7.9-million contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development to help rebuild local governments in Iraq.
RTI International, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was founded in 1958 by Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which remain affiliated with the nonprofit organization. Ronald W. Johnson, RTI's executive vice president for international development, said that the universities would most likely have a "consulting and advisory" role in the later stages of this project.
"We plan to tap into the resources available at the universities for the knowledge they have about the Middle East," said Mr. Johnson. "But our staff members will be the ones doing the fieldwork in Iraq."
Mr. Johnson and a staff of four others plan to leave for Iraq within two weeks to begin their work to improve the infrastructure and resources available to Iraqi citizens. The first step in their project is to coordinate their efforts with humanitarian groups that are working in the area.
"We won't be doing direct humanitarian work, but we will be working to do things like get the water running again," said Mr. Johnson. "We want to help the local governments to provide things most people expect from their government, like public schools, hospitals, and garbage collection."
According to Mr. Johnson, RTI plans to expand the scale of its operations in Iraq and eventually have about 200 employees working to improve conditions in the country. The organization expects to receive additional funds from the Agency for International Development as the project progresses.