AWARE (Advancing Women in Agriculture through Research and Education) is a cross-cutting gender initiative formally established by the Office of International Programs, CALS (IP-CALS) in 2012 to ensure that gender is addressed across IP-CALS' entire portfolio of activities - from academics based at Cornell to research projects being carried out in the developing world that serve women farmers and improve their families' livelihoods. This initiative is built on the belief that focusing on women in agriculture as an underserved majority holds the greatest potential to improve food security, reduce poverty, and positively impact rural development in developing countries.
This grant provides up to $2,500 to support graduate student research that fits within the scope of the AWARE mission.
Letters of application should be submitted by February 1, 2015 to International Programs, 252 Emerson Hall -- marked Attn: Sr. Associate Director. Electronic copies may be sent to Denise Percey at dmp3@cornell.edu. Applicants should clearly indicate they are applying for the CALS AWARE grant. The Sr. Associate Director will be coordinating the review process. Awards will be announced by March 1.
Applications should be in the form of a letter, not over two pages in length and provide information on the dates, nature and location of the proposed travel for study, and the value of such study and travel for the College as well as the applicant. The letter should make a compelling case for how the applicant's research fits the mission of AWARE initiative. Please include a budget reflecting the amount of support being requested and how the funds will be used as well as any co-funding applied for or secured.
For graduate students applying for the award, an informational copy of their letter should be sent to their academic advisor. A letter of recommendation from their advisor is required. Faculty will need to include a statement about how applicant's responsibilities will be covered during your absence.
The number and amount of awards that can be made will depend on number of applications and amount of funding being requested.
Her current research projects focus on the gender implications of transitioning from traditional to industrial cassava production in northern Colombia, the gender and livelihood impacts of postharvest cassava processing innovations, and a global study on the role of social norms in agricultural innovation. She is also the gender focal point for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas where she works to mainstream gender into agricultural research and conducts capacity-strengthening activities. She earned her PhD from the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University where she specialized in protected area management and gender in international development. As an AWARE Visiting Fellow with IPCALS, she consults on gender in agricultural projects and hopes to link Cornell students with research opportunities within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).