Additional Context: The Spatial Informatics Group—Natural Assets Laboratory, or SIG-NAL, manages the SERVIR Global Network. Previously, the SERVIR project was managed and funded by USAID and NASA. The alliance is composed of experts, institutions, and communities using geospatial technology and Earth observation to provide practical solutions for environmental and development challenges. Although the U.S. grants and agreements that helped establish and fund the network have ended, regional partners remain engaged. The network has since established a new governance structure as it rebuilds core capabilities, while emphasizing locally-led approaches.

According to a representative from the network, the program worked in parts of South Asia to strengthen capacities to predict extreme weather events with at least 56 hours of advance notice of their occurrence. These efforts included training school teachers in rural Nepal to interpret data, so that local communities could benefit from the information. A lack of maintenance to the data system meant that information was no longer reliably available, leaving potentially affected communities more vulnerable to these meteorological events.

Devex Researcher Note: According to a list of terminated grants from March 2025, the combined total estimated cost of canceled SERVIR awards across their fully planned lifecycle was $73.3 million. Around $26.2 million remained unobligated at the time of grant terminations.

Source: SIG-NAL/SERVIR