ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT | AIP FOUNDATION P i A IMPACT AT AIP FOUNDATION

by Helen Cheng Mao | China ‘94

In 1999, Greig Craft founded AIP Foundation to implement transportation safety initiatives in low and middle-income Asian communities. AIP initially focused on developing and promoting lightweight, low-cost motorcycle helmets in Vietnam. Over the years, it expanded its scope (to issues like pedestrian safety, safe school zones, driver’s education, etc.) and geographic reach (to Cambodia, China, Thailand, Myanmar, India, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Uganda).

Since 2008, AIP Foundation has welcomed 31 PiA Fellows to its Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City offices. As described by CEO Mirjam Sidik, PiA has impacted AIP Foundation in three major areas: infrastructure, partnerships, and innovations.

She notes that PiA has “helped us to develop a stronger internal operating system,” especially in Development and Communications. These departments benefit from solid processes and continuity as a result of responsibilities being transferred “from one Fellow to the next [through] comprehensive handovers.” That system was tested by COVID. As the last Fellow sent to AIP Foundation between summer 2019 and spring 2022, Molly Stoneman (Vietnam ‘19) witnessed the negative effects of a disrupted influx of Fellows. Ultimately hired by AIP Foundation, she has progressed through several roles, most recently Strategic Impact & Partnerships Advisor. Stoneman emphasizes that PiA has been “fundamental to AIP Foundation’s maturity as a nonprofit over the years to expand within Vietnam, within Southeast Asia” to create an international community of road safety advocates.

PiA has also benefited AIP Foundation by securing long-term, sustainable partnerships such as the USAID-funded project Garment and Footwear Sector Road Safety Strategy. This initiative advo- cates for transportation safety for Cambodian garment factory workers. Sidik notes that the project’s “whole approach, concept, and proposal were developed with the help of PiA Fellows.” Jimmy Tang (Vietnam ’18) and two other PiA Fellows collaborated and “bounced ideas off of one another … ultimately putting them into one project design,” an initiative that still exists today.

Recently, a former Fellow connected AIP Foundation with UC Berkeley's Transportation Studio. In this partnership, graduate students will research mobility/road safety issues in Asia before recommending policy initiatives for AIP to pitch to governments.

Tang echoes Sidik’s third assertion that Fellows infuse AIP with “innovative ideas.” Currently AIP Foundation’s Development and Strategic Partnerships Manager, Tang oversees Fellows. He appreciates the tremendous value of “new ideas and perspectives coming in [each] year … Now we have a solid team of permanent staff and PiA Fellows to support development functions.”

An example of what Sidik describes as “out-of-the-box thinking” is Stoneman’s pitch for an AI-algorithm-driven approach to road safety. Using global satellite data, AI technology can predict traffic flow and areas most susceptible to crashes. By connecting AIP Foundation with the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) and obtaining a grant, Stoneman positioned AIP Foundation to pilot Southeast Asia’s first AI predictive traffic flow project.

AIP Foundation’s impact on PiA has been equally positive. Stoneman enthusiastically describes AIP Foundation as a family that cares for Fellows; helps them adjust to and explore the community; and provides valuable learning opportunities, high levels of responsibility, and incredible experiences.