J. Carl Ganter Receives Innovation Award from The Rockefeller Foundation

Honored for his Innovative Approach to Documenting and Reporting on The Global Freshwater Crisis

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Jun 25, 2012, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation, celebrating 100 years of global innovation, today unveiled the names of the individuals and institutions that will be honored as part of its second annual Innovation Awards ceremony on June 26, 2012 in New York.

Michigan's J. Carl Ganter, Director and Co-Founder of Circle of Blue – an international network of leading journalists, scientists and data experts – will receive an innovation award from the Foundation for his unique, multi-disciplinary approach to documenting and reporting on the global freshwater crisis. Other award recipients include Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons, Ltd.; Sir Ronald Cohen, Chairman of The Portland Trust and Big Society Capital and Director of Social Finance US; and representatives from the international youth empowerment organization, Design for Change.

Under Mr. Ganter's guidance and leadership, Circle of Blue's breakthrough model of reporting, data collection and sharing, and collaboration provides relevant, powerful and actionable information that is spurring new partnerships and action to address a critical challenge of the 21st century.

"At The Rockefeller Foundation, we are constantly searching for innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, and it is clear that water scarcity is one of those problems that impacts all of us," said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. "J. Carl Ganter and his team of journalists, scientists, programmers and data experts have taken a fresh approach to working together to document and report on a real global crisis, and we are honored to be able to recognize him and Circle of Blue for their trail-blazing work."

Circle of Blue has served as the launching point for a number of innovations in communications, research programs and public policy that are helping citizens, scientists, business and community leaders, and policy makers understand the complexities of the fresh water crisis and pursue better solutions. In particular, their reports on the "chokepoints" in the water supply of the United States and China are informing the global conversation on the issue and inspiring action.

Ganter will receive his award at the Foundation's annual Innovation Forum, to be held in Manhattan on June 26, 2012. As part of his recognition, Circle of Blue will also receive a $100,000 grant through its fiscal sponsor, the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development Environment and Security, from The Rockefeller Foundation to support Circle of Blue's future innovative work.

Past recipients of The Rockefeller Foundation's Innovation Award include President Bill Clinton, Dr. Sania Nishtar of Heartfile, an NGO and think tank in Pakistan and Jane Weru of the Akiba Mashinani Trust in Kenya.

For a live stream of The Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Awards dinner, please visit: http://centennial.rockefellerfoundation.org/events/entry/innovation-forum-2012if

The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation's mission to promote the well-being of people throughout the world has remained unchanged since its founding in 1913. Today, that mission is applied to an era of rapid globalization. Our vision is that this century will be one in which globalization's benefits are more widely shared and its challenges are more easily weathered. To realize this vision, the Foundation seeks to achieve two fundamental goals in our work. First, we seek to build resilience that enhances individual, community and institutional capacity to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of acute crises and chronic stresses. Second, we seek to promote growth with equity in which the poor and vulnerable have more access to opportunities that improve their lives. In order to achieve these goals, the Foundation constructs its work into time-bound initiatives that have defined objectives and strategies for impact. These initiatives address challenges that lie either within or at the intersections of five issue areas: basic survival safeguards, global health, environment and climate change, urban economic security, and social and economic security. For more information, please visit http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org

The Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Forum

The Rockefeller Foundation's annual Innovation Forum convenes some of the most creative and inventive minds from the worlds of business, government, civil society and journalism to bring innovation to bear on urgent challenges facing poor or vulnerable people around the world. This year's Innovation Forum will focus on one of today's most pressing issues – how to ensure that the benefits of new technologies do not bypass the world's poor. The Foundation will seek to address this issue by showcasing some of the latest cutting-edge technologies and inviting participants to imagine how these technologies might benefit people around the world. The Foundation will then leverage some of the ideas and recommendations discussed at the Forum to search for new ways of ensuring rapid advancements in technology help those who are most vulnerable.

SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation