The collaboration between Michigan State University, the University of Malawi and Lincoln University, was one of 11 partnerships of American and African university awarded a grant by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Higher Education for Development (HED) to help strengthen capacity at African universities. The African-led partnership will help expand the University of Malawi’s role in addressing environmental and development challenges within their continent.

"We are focused on enhancing and empowering institutions of higher education in Malawi so that their contributions are more effective in supporting development in Africa," said Anne Ferguson, MSU professor of anthropology and co-director of Center for Gender in a Global Context.

Uneven development, population growth, and climate change have resulted in forest, fishery, soil, and water degradation in Malawi and in the region.

"An ecosystem services focus in research, curricular development, and outreach is critical as the country is facing complex environmental and development challenges," said Ferguson.

Over the next 2 years the partnership will use the $880,000 grant to improve faculty and staff development, increase research capacity and forge new and long-term collaborative partnerships with public, private and NGO organizations in Malawi. Additionally, the partnership will help strengthen libraries and information technology resources related to agriculture and ecosystems.

The project's strategic plan is designed to maximize the resources of Michigan State University and Lincoln University while placing the University of Malawi in the lead to capitalize on their on-the-ground knowledge.

The long-term goal is to improve Malawi's infrastructure and ability to manage services that are impacted by the environment. These services include cultural and recreational services, health and environmental services and provisioning services such as those related to food and water supplies. MSU's partnership with the University of Malawi began in the early 1980s with the MSU - Bunda College of Agriculture Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program, and has since involved numerous other collaborative research programs in the agricultural and health sciences. These include a 2004 National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center grant of more than a half-million dollars to establish a partnership between MSU’s medical ethics program and the University of Malawi. Over the years, MSU's work has expanded to include projects on Malaria, safe water, environmental management, sustainable farming and food security, land use and gender issues.

The Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative Grant Competition was proposed during the Higher Education Summit for Global Development and a subsequent regional summit held in Rwanda in 2008.

HED managed the grant competition which grew out of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative, a collaborative effort between a number of higher education association and other organizations, led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, formerly the National Association of State Universities and Land-grant Colleges.