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I always get excited at the beginning of a new year. I think here is something important about moments like these that allow us a collective opportunity to not only enjoy time with friends and family, but also take stock of where things stand, and what we might like to change. While I remain humbled that you're now listening to the 132nd episode we're publishing here on TOR, I've also spent the closing of last year receiving feedback, working with our team and getting energized for how we will continue to grow, shape and evolve this show to do our part in helping to make aid and development better.

As I'm recording this we're standing at the precipice of a time when the aid and development sector will come under unprecedented scrutiny and pressure. With Brexit, and now the election of Trump, it is not a question of if, but when, this will happen. The time couldn't be more ripe for taking bold steps to better define why what we do to help others not only matters, but is effective in ending suffering and creating change. I, for one, am up for the challenge and I hope you'll join me.

This very reason, however, is why I'm especially excited to bring you this episode. Because, you see, a little more than a year ago, the US State Department also experienced one of these reflective moments where they realized there was, potentially, a massive source of energy and innovation that had never before been tapped, right in their own back yard. What came out of that moment was the piloting of a office in Silicon Valley to learn how they might contribute to solutions for some of the world's most difficult challenges. My guest, Zvika Krieger, has been at the forefront of that pilot and he's here to tell us what they've learned and what will happen next.