Gifts from generous donors are enabling us to apply the Bass Connections model of interdisciplinary, team-based inquiry to special research and engagement initiatives.
Special Initiatives
All Babies and Children Thrive (ABC Thrive)
ABC Thrive leverages the innovative research, education, clinical care and outreach capabilities of Duke University and Duke Health to promote optimal development in children from prenatal to age five. The initiative supports interdisciplinary teams of experts who identify, validate and disseminate best practices for use by parents, educators, health care providers and community stakeholders to ensure that every child has the best possible start in life, with a particular emphasis on three goal areas:
- Prenatal and early childhood health and wellness
- Community outreach
- Applied technology to achieve scale
Biodiversity Conservation
This special initiative was formed in support of wildlife conservation programs at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and environmental research and education at Duke. In 2020-2021, this initiative is supporting three Bass Connections project teams that are:
- Reducing marine mammal bycatch by developing an exemplary model of legislation for countries
- Creating a lab strain of bacteria capable of rapidly degrading plastic
- Using ocean evidence gap maps to examine the relationships between conservation interventions and social-ecological outcomes
Energy Access Project
Duke University launched the Energy Access Project to develop new, collaborative ways to meet the energy needs of some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities, without exacerbating climate change. In 2020-2021, a Bass Connections project team is tackling this challenge by filling critical knowledge gaps on strategies for energy, water and agriculture in rural Ethiopia.