Friday, May 28, 2010
VIDEO: Watch Elinor Ostrom’s Keynote Address from the World Bank’s Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration
We blogged previously about the World Bank’s Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration, which was held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington last month. The event’s Keynote Address was delivered by Nobel Laureate (and CAPRi executive committee member) Elinor Ostrom. The video of her address is now available online. This is Part 1:
If you’d like to watch the rest, follow the links below.
EMPLOYMENT: 2 Vacancies at PLAAS: 1) Senior Researcher; 2) Information & Communication Officer
The Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies (South Africa) is accepting applications for 2 positions.
Senior Researcher. PLAAS has received funding towards a three-year regional research programme. The research will focus on:
- small farmers, governance of the value chains in which they participate and the wider agro-food systems of which these are part
- commercialisation pressures and competition with external investors over land and water
- the implications for rural poverty, gender equality, social differentiation and food security.
Applications are invited for this position on an initial one-year contract, which is likely to be renewed. The successful applicant will undertake field research, and will also assist with project co-ordination and management.
Information & Communication Officer. This is a one-year contract post which is likely to be renewed. The successful candidate will primarily be responsible for systems and strategies for effective communication, dissemination and information management at PLAAS. This will include the production and dissemination of publications, the effective management of the organisation’s web presence, and co-designing and implementing effective strategies for branding, publicity and public relations. The candidate will also have responsibility for the effective management of common internal information resources of PLAAS, including a CRM and an organisational knowledge base.
More information on both positions.
Deadline: June 11, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
This Week’s Posts
- EMPLOYMENT: OECD Economist/Policy Analyst
- Deadline: June 12, 2010
- FUNDING: M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) announces a Ph. D. position in Social Sciences/Gender Studies
- Deadline: June 4, 2010
- CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Certificate of Advanced Studies in Disaster Risk Reduction Vulnerabilities and Capacities in the Context of Climate Change
- Deadline: 30 May 2010
- CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS: Advanced Analytics for Green and Sustainable Economic Development: Supply Chain Models
- Deadline: June 15, 2010
- ONLINE RESOURCE: Agriculture and Food Security Program (IDRC)
- BLOG: Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators
- PUBLICATIONS: New Discussion Papers from IFPRI
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
BLOG: Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators
The Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative, facilitated by IFPRI, has launched a new blog. The blog will feature the latest ASTI news and information. A number of exciting ASTI publication releases and events have occurred recently and more are expected in the coming months. The first posts include entries such as:
- ASTI and ISRA release new datasets and publications for Senegal
- ASTI outputs prominently featured in GCARD discussions
- Increasing female participation in agricultural R&D
ASTI is a comprehensive and trusted source of information on agricultural research and development (R&D) statistics. ASTI compiles, analyzes, and publicizes data on institutional developments, investments, and capacity trends in agricultural R&D in low- and middle-income countries worldwide.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
PUBLICATIONS: New Discussion Papers from IFPRI
Several new IFPRI discussion papers are likely to be interesting to CAPRi colleagues.
- Poverty Status and the Impact of Social Networks on Smallholder Technology Adoption in Rural Ethiopia -- Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool and Alex Winter-Nelson
- Sarpanch Raj: Is the President All Powerful? The Case of Village Councils in India -- Nethra Palaniswamy
- Engendering Agricultural Research -- Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Agnes Quisumbing, Julia Behrman, Patricia Biermayr-Jenzano, Vicki Wilde, Marco Noordeloos, Catherine Ragasa, and Nienke Beintema
- A Review of Empirical Evidence on Gender Differences in Nonland Agricultural Inputs, Technology, and Services in Developing Countries -- Amber Peterman, Julia Behrman, and Agnes Quisumbing
FUNDING: M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) announces a Ph. D. position in Social Sciences/Gender Studies
The person should work in a research programme at Wayanad district of Kerala titled ‘Social transformation knowledge of gender relations in agrobiodiversity management’ in close collaboration with the BioDIVA research group at the Leibniz University Hannover in Germany.
The project will work in the frame of socio-ecological research to generate transformation knowledge towards a gender-equitable and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity at the case of ricesystems in Kerala State. Gender serves as a central category to systematise, focus and integrate disciplinary findings. BioDIVA provides inter- and transdisciplinary research team.
Deadline: June 4, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: OECD Economist/Policy Analyst
The OECD is looking for an Economist/Policy Analyst to contribute to the work of the Committee on Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). S/He will contribute to several projects under the aegis of the CIIE, primarily related to the Committee’s work on innovation and globalisation. The selected person will work under the supervision of a Senior Economist and under the direction of the Head of the Structural Policy Division (SPD) in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (STI).
Deadline: June 12, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS: Advanced Analytics for Green and Sustainable Economic Development: Supply Chain Models
The green and sustainable development trend has been centric in all the hearts in major economies. Sophisticated green analysis for sustainability demands advanced analytics to cope with large volumes of data dispersed in every corner and to help deal with the risks and identify opportunities in the sustainable economy development. Advanced analytics are essential to high-value decision management towards building a sustainable competitive advantage in the green economy.
Advanced analytics will call for the innovative concepts, methods, software tools, and application development to drive better decision making with practical relevance to the green and sustainable economy development.
This book on advanced analytics is calling for contributions to develop innovative techniques and tools to help clarify/answer some urgent questions in this global trend for sustainable economy development.
Deadline: June 15, 2010
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Certificate of Advanced Studies in Disaster Risk Reduction Vulnerabilities and Capacities in the Context of Climate Change
This 2x2 week programme aims to train professionals in both Southern and Northern countries in the field of natural disaster prevention, especially related to climate change. This course proposes an integrated and interdisciplinary approach and focuses on populations at risk, reduction of vulnerabilities and the strengthening of capabilities.
The course is based on the North-South scientific partnership. It gives participants an opportunity to improve their knowledge in the field of risk reduction directly linked to reality and actual experience. India is one of the countries most affected by natural disaster, but also with vast scientific expertise and local know-how. The training provides a chance to share the different standpoints and experiences of Europe and Asia in this domain. The programme combines theoretical courses, workshops, case studies and field visits.
6-17 September 2010 // EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
8-19 November 2010 // IISc, Bangalore, India
Deadline: 30 May 2010
ONLINE RESOURCE: Agriculture and Food Security Program (IDRC)
On April 1, 2010 IDRC launched a new and exciting program, Agriculture and Food Security (AFS). Many of the staff members from IDRC's Rural Poverty and Environment Program (RPE), which has recently completed its 5 year program, are current members of AFS. You are encouraged to visit the new AFS website, learn about the new staff members, and subscribe to the AFS newsletter, which will continue to provide useful information on funding opportunities, resources and events related to research on agriculture and food security.
You may also wish to visit the site of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund to learn about upcoming funding opportunities and research activities.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
This Week’s Posts
- EMPLOYMENT: Senior Lecturer/Researcher in Development Policies and Agricultural Innovation, Swiss College of Agriculture
- Deadline: open
- EMPLOYMENT: IFAD Program Specialist Vacancies, Innovative Migrant Remittance Systems
- Deadline: June 12, 2010
- FELLOWSHIP: CV Raman International Fellowship for African Researchers
- Deadline: May 31, 2010
- FELLOWSHIPS: FAC’s Early Career Fellowship Program
- Deadline: June 30, 2010
- CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Asia Pacific Network
- Deadline: May 23, 2010
- CALL FOR CASE STUDIES: Adaptive Collaborative Management in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management
- Deadline: June 15, 2010
- CALL FOR CONCEPT PAPERS: Secretary's Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls (US Department of State)
- Deadline: June 21, 2010
- CALL FOR PAPERS: International Academic Conference on ‘Global Land Grabbing’
- Deadline: October 31, 2010
- PUBLICATION: The Use of Agrobiodiversity by Indigenous and Traditional Agricultural Communities in: Adapting to Climate Change
- PUBLICATION: Donor Approaches to Governance Assessments: Guiding Principles for Enhanced Impact, Usage and HarmonizationNEWS: Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture
- NEWS: Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture
PUBLICATION: Donor Approaches to Governance Assessments: Guiding Principles for Enhanced Impact, Usage and Harmonization
A new OECD brief on Donor Approaches to Governance Assessments:
This guide to donor governance assessment is aimed at governance specialists in donor agencies working on assessments and donor agency staff working in other sectors who encounter the realities of governance in their every day work. The document points out the risk of frequent duplication and overlap between donors’ governance assessment tools, as well as the need to improve practice with regard to greater reliance on partner country assessment processes. The authors also shed light on why, and how, donors make their own assessments and on the possibility of harmonising donor approaches to assessing governance.
CALL FOR CONCEPT PAPERS: Secretary's Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls (US Department of State)
The Secretary’s Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls seeks to find and bring to scale the most pioneering approaches to the political, economic and social empowerment of women and girls around the globe. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the award is part of the State Department’s continuing emphasis on public-private partnerships, and is administered by its Office of Global Women’s Issues. The award, and the office, are founded on the premise that the major economic, security, governance and environmental challenges of our time cannot be solved without the full participation of women at all levels of society. The Rockefeller Foundation, as part of its mission to expand opportunity and promote more equitable growth, seeks to identify innovative approaches that can be scaled to address these challenges.
The purpose of this announcement is to invite interested parties to submit a concept paper that describes innovations that have proven to have a positive impact on the lives of women and girls politically, socially, or economically. The concept paper should: (1) describe the innovation, (2) how it has been successful, and, (3) how it can be supported and enlarged with additional financial support to empower women and girls in their communities.
Deadline: June 21, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: Senior Lecturer/Researcher in Development Policies and Agricultural Innovation, Swiss College of Agriculture
The Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL) is a faculty of the Bern University of Applied Sciences and offers BSc courses in Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science & Management (food technology) as well as MSc studies in Life Sciences. SHL is known as an innovative and flexible research and service institution working in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
In an interdisciplinary team, the Senior Lecturer/Researcher in Development Policies and Agricultural Innovation will develop his/her own projects of applied research in the area of agricultural economics, development policies and institutions, and agricultural innovation systems and carry out respective mandates. In these fields, s/he will develop and deliver teaching modules and supervise thesis work of Master and Bachelor students.
Download the full announcement (pdf).
Deadline: open
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: IFAD Program Specialist Vacancies, Innovative Migrant Remittance Systems
IFAD currently has two vacancies for Rome-based Program Specialist positions for their program, “Promoting Innovative Migrant Remittance Systems”, launched through the creation of the multi-donor Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) to maximize the development impact of remittances in rural areas. The goal of this initiative, co-financed by the governments of Spain and Luxembourg, the European Commission, UNCDF, CGAP, and IDB, is to promote remittance services that are cost-effective, easily accessible (with strong focus on rural areas), as well as other financial services (saving, insurance, lending) and that widen overall the economic opportunities of the rural poor.
The two positions are:
Deadline: June 12, 2010
PUBLICATION: The Use of Agrobiodiversity by Indigenous and Traditional Agricultural Communities in: Adapting to Climate Change
On 18 May 2010, during a SBSTTA14 side event, the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR) released a Synthesis Paper titled “The Use of Agrobiodiversity by Indigenous and Traditional Agricultural Communities in: Adapting to Climate Change“.
Over the past two years the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research has been collecting information on the ways in which indigenous peoples and rural communities have been using agrobiodiversity to help cope with climate change. The information comes from over 200 different stories, reports and articles from many different sources. Here we present an analysis of the information and identify the most important adaptation strategies adopted. We also set out some of the ways in which agrobiodiversity can be used to help improve the adaptability and resilience of the farming systems managed by rural communities and indigenous peoples around the world.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
FELLOWSHIP: CV Raman International Fellowship for African Researchers
The objective of the C V Raman International Fellowship is to provide an opportunity for African researchers to conduct, under the guidance of their host in India, collaborative research with leading research groups in universities and other Indian institutions in various areas of Science & Technology. The programme allows researchers to advance their own research while contributing to the progress of research in India and counterpart countries.
Deadline: May 31, 2010
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Asia Pacific Network
The APN is inviting proposals under two Focused Themes of Activities. Key Focus Area 1 takes the theme of Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Land Use, particularly Forestry and REDD‐Plus; while Key Focus Area 2 looks at Resources Utilization and Pathways for Sustainable Development. The kinds of activities supported under the Call for Proposals are regional scientific research activities in line with the key objectives of the ARCP program and scientific capacity development activities in line with the key objectives of the APN’s CAPaBLE program. Average awards for scientific regional research are in the region of US$45,000 per year for up to 3 years. Average awards for scientific capacity development are in the region of US$30,000 per year for 1 to 2 years.
Deadline: May 23, 2010
FELLOWSHIPS: FAC’s Early Career Fellowship Program
The Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) is proud to announce the launch of a new grant programme to support talented young researchers working on African agricultural policy: FAC’s Early Career Fellowship Programme (ECFP).
The ECFP is available to early career professionals working in Africa and the UK. Both full-time and part-time appointments are available and all fellowships will include a senior FAC researcher affiliated with a FAC partner institution. The awards will support original field-based and policy-oriented research on African agricultural policy.
The Programme has three types of awards available:
- Africa-based one-year full-time post- Masters or post-doc fellowship
- Africa-based part-time post-Masters or post-doc fellowship over one year
- UK-based six-month full-time postdoc fellowship
Deadline: June 30, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
CALL FOR CASE STUDIES: Adaptive Collaborative Management in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management
This call invites proposal for case studies to be included in an edited book that seeks to tell the story of how adaptive collaborative approaches have emerged and played out in different contexts of Agriculture and Natural Resource (ANR) management and governance. Six case studies will be selected from different contexts to highlight opportunities and challenges as to how diverse sources of knowledge – formal research, indigenous knowledge, practical sense, tacit knowledge – can be blended (or what constraints they face) to inform effective system of innovation in ANR sectors. The six case studies provide in-depth accounts of how traditional practices of research and development have been subjected to external pressures for adaptive collaborative approaches to management, and how ANR actors have responded to the changing contexts of resource governance. Key questions to be addressed by the case studies are - how did adaptive collaborative approaches have emerged and put into use (marking a shift to ‘research into action’ from ‘research and extension’ approach), what were the challenges along the way, what helped, and what held it back, over time how did this family of approaches mature, and what outstanding challenges remain?
For more information contact Dr Hemant R Ojha (ojhahemant1@gmail.com).
Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2010.
CALL FOR PAPERS: International Academic Conference on ‘Global Land Grabbing’
The Journal of Peasant Studies, in collaboration with the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is organizing an international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ to be held on 6-8 April 2011 at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
The focus of the conference will be on the politics of global land grabbing and agrarian change. Papers are expected to address some of the most urgent and strategic questions around global land grab. Some suggested topics are below:
- What changes in broad agrarian structures are emerging? Are these new forms of agrarian capitalism or repeats of the past?
- What is the nature and extent of rural social differentiation – in terms of class, gender, ethnicity – following changes in land use and land property relations as well as organizations of production and exchange?
- Have land deals undermined local level and national food security – or not? How, whose and to what extent?
- To what extent have agrarian political struggles been provoked by the new land investment dynamics? What are the issues that unite or divide the rural poor, organized movements, and rural communities around the issue of land deals?
- What are the various competing policy and political narratives and discourses around the multiple crises of food, energy, climate and finance, and how have these shaped and been reshaped by the land deal politics?
- How have competing frameworks and views on land property been deployed by various camps around the contested meanings of ‘marginal lands’ (or, idle’, ‘waste’, ‘unoccupied’ lands)?
- What are the emerging trends around dynamics of power, elites and corruption, and land as a source of patronage?
- Have global land policies of different overseas development agencies (World Bank, FAO, EU, IFAD, and so on) contributed to facilitating/encouraging or blocking/discouraging land deals? What are the strengths and limitations of ‘code of conduct’, certification, regulation, information dissemination, and capacity-building strategies?
- What are the dynamics of international politics of land grabs in the broader context of energy, mining, forestry and conservation; and the role of big capital and powerful interests?
- What are some of the relevant emerging alternatives from key actors?
The organizers invite papers that offer rigorous analysis of the identified issues from various critical perspectives including agrarian political economy, political sociology and political ecology. They also encourage comparative studies. They welcome proposals for thematic panels.
Download the full call for papers (pdf).
Deadline: October 31, 2010
NEWS: Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture
The International Land Coalition’s Commercial Pressure on Land blog highlights recent remarks by Olivier de Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, on the topic of “Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture”.
Thesis # 1. The public policies that aim at guiding investment should be primarily focused not on the need to boost production, but on the urgent need to contribute to rural development and to the increase of incomes in the rural areas
Read all seven principles and download the full remarks here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
This Week’s Posts
- EMPLOYMENT: Impact Assessment Program Leader, The WorldFish Center
- Deadline: May 21, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: FAO Climate Change Officer (Bangkok Based)
- Deadline: June 11, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Economist (Food Policy/Food Security)
- Deadline: October 8, 2010
- FELLOWSHIPS: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) Doctoral Fellowships
- Deadline: May 21st, 2010
- CALL FOR PAPERS/EVENT: 2010 Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) Meeting
- Deadline: May 30, 2010
- CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Advanced Scientific Tools for Desertification Policy
- Deadline: May 31, 2010
- FUNDING: Tree Planting in The African Sahel or Saharan Africa from the International Tree Foundation
- Deadline: June 30, 2010
- FUNDING: AWF Grants for Water Resources Development Activities in Africa
- Deadline: open
- EVENT: IAMO Forum 2010: Institutions in Transition - Challenges for New Modes of Governance
- PUBLICATION: Social assessment of conservation initiatives: A review of rapid methodologies
EVENT: IAMO Forum 2010: Institutions in Transition - Challenges for New Modes of Governance
The primary objective of the 2010 IAMO Forum is to provide the opportunity for multidisciplinary discussion of the theme, Institutions in Transition and Challenges for new modes of governance for transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central and East Asia. Young researchers from all over the world, and especially from transition countries, are offered a forum for discussing achievements, options and future needs related to scientifically supporting agricultural and rural policies. Traditionally, the IAMO Forum organises keynote sessions with high-ranking speakers who share their experience in the field.
Register for the conference here. Note that registration fee increases after May 14th.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Advanced Scientific Tools for Desertification Policy
The International scientific conference on Advanced Scientific Tools for Desertification Policy will be held in Rome, September 28-29, 2010. Authors wishing to participate to the Conference with a contribution should submit an abstract on one or more of the following topics:
- Assessment and monitoring desertification, land degradation and drought (status and forecasting)
- Mitigation of desertification threats
- Knowledge and information management and exchange. Requirements for implementing surveillance and mitigation programs. Capacity building (knowledge management, training, institutional roles)
Deadline: May 31, 2010
PUBLICATION: Social assessment of conservation initiatives: A review of rapid methodologies
New publication from IIED reviews methodologies for assessing social impacts:
Areas of land and sea are increasingly being marked out for protection in response to various demands: to tackle biodiversity loss, to prevent deforestation as a climate change mitigation strategy, and to restore declining fisheries. Amongst those promoting biodiversity conservation, the impacts of protected areas on resident or neighbouring communities have generated much debate, and this debate is raging further as new protection schemes emerge, such as REDD.
Despite widely voiced concerns about some of the negative implications of protected areas, and growing pressures to ensure that they fulfill social as well as ecological objectives, no standard methods exist to assess social impacts. This report aims to provide some.
Some 30 tools and methods for assessing social impacts in protected areas and elsewhere are reviewed in this report, with a view to understanding how different researchers have tackled the various challenges associated with impact assessment. This experience is used to inform a framework for a standardised process that can guide the design of locally appropriate assessment methodologies. Such a standard process would facilitate robust, objective comparisons between sites as well as assisting in the task of addressing genuine concerns and enhancing potential benefits.
EMPLOYMENT: Impact Assessment Program Leader, The WorldFish Center
The WorldFish Center seeks a creative and experienced scientist to lead development of an Impact Assessment programme within WorldFish and help create an organizational climate that is focused on the development impact of the Center’s research. The Programme Leader will work with scientists at all levels of the Center to improve capacity and approach to assessing performance at project and programme levels.
Download the full announcement (pdf).
Deadline: screening of applications begins May 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
FUNDING: Tree Planting in The African Sahel or Saharan Africa from the International Tree Foundation
The International Tree Foundation welcomes applications for projects in tree planting for poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and environmental justice. Current geographical priorities are Mali, Mauritania, northern Ethiopia, Sudan, northern Ghana, northern Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. [more information]
Deadline: June 30, 2010
FUNDING: AWF Grants for Water Resources Development Activities in Africa
The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative led by the African Ministers' Council on water (AMCOW) aimed at mobilizing resources to finance water resources development activities in Africa. The African Development Bank (AfDB) hosts the Facility on the request of AMCOW. The recipients of AWF could be: i) Central or local African Governments; ii) Africa municipalities; iii) NGOs and CSOs; iv) Community-based organizations CBOs; v) Regional, sub-regional and sectoral organizations (e.g. Regional Economic Organizations, River Basin Organizations, etc). [more information]
Deadline: open
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS/EVENT: 2010 Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) Meeting
The 2010 LACEA meeting will take place in Medellín, Colombia, on November 11-13, 2010. The Meeting will be hosted by Banco de la República, Centro de Pensamiento Social of Proantioquia, Universidad de Antioquia and Universidad Eafit.
Registration and paper submission information (pdf).
Deadline: May 30, 2010
FELLOWSHIPS: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB)
The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) has several vaccancies. Four Doctoral Fellowships are available:
- Human security, gender and development in post-war/post-conflict contexts
- Natural resources, Security, Development and International relations
- Resource rights, structural inequalities and local power relations
- Vulnerability, resilience and adaptation of rural livelihood to climate change
Click on the links above for more information.
Deadline: May 21st, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Economist (Food Policy/Food Security)
FAO has a vacancy for the Rome-based position of Senior Economist, Food Policy/Food Security, in the Agricultural Development Economics Division. Under the general supervision of the Director, ESA, will:
- lead and coordinate the work of a task team in the areas of food policy and food security;
- plan and conduct analytical work on current and emerging food policy challenges for food and agriculture with a focus on food security;
- undertake analytical work in the areas of improving the linkage between food security information, analysis and decision making;
- prepare topical articles, policy briefs and reports and contribute to the broader global dialogue on food policy and food security;
- provide analytical support in food and/or food security policy formulation to relevant field programmes;
- synthesise and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from food security policy work;
- represent FAO in relevant international and national fora on food policy and food security;
- develop and maintain contact with other international agencies and academic institutions working on food and food security issues and policies; mobilize resources in support of the Division’s programme of work in the subject area;
- perform other related duties as required.
Download the full announcement (pdf).
Deadline: October 8, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Climate Change Officer (Bangkok Based)
FAO has a vacancy for the Bangkok-based position of Climate Change Officer in the regional office for Asia and the Pacific. Under the overall management and administrative supervision of the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific and with technical guidance from Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, in close cooperation with the interdepartmental mechanism on climate change in HQs, the incumbent will:
- coordinate the identification, development, mainstreaming and implementation of FAO regional priorities, work plans and programmes/projects on climate change adaptation and mitigation and liaise with relevant units in RAP, HQs and decentralized offices;
- conduct studies on subjects relating to climate changes and food security in the region;
- organize meetings and workshops to promote capacity building at both regional and national level on climate change adaptation and mitigation;
- provide policy advice and technical support to FAO sub-regional offices and country offices in Asia and the Pacific on climate change related activities;
- advise FAO member countries of the region in strategy formulation, sector planning, policy innovation, institutional reform, technology dissemination and capacity building on climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture and natural resources management;
- in collaboration with HQ technical divisions, identify, test and pilot suitable methodologies, technologies and tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture, forestry, fishery, livestock and land and water management;
- contribute to the FAO corporate knowledge sharing on climate change, including good practices and successful experiences on climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture, forestry, fishery, livestock and land and water management;
- represent the Regional Office at national, regional and international policy dialogues, cooperation networks and technical events related to climate change adaptation and mitigation;
- perform other related duties as required.
Download the full announcement (pdf).
Deadline: June 11, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
This Week’s Posts
- EMPLOYMENT: DFID Scheme Strategic Advisor
- Deadline: May 28, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: IWMI Post-Doc opportunities
- Deadline: May 31, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Economist (Global Perspectives)
- Deadline: June 14, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Economist (Right to Food)
- Deadline: June 23, 2010
- FELLOWSHIPS: Marie Curie Individual Fellowships (FEEM)
- Deadline: June 1, 2010
- CALL FOR PROPOSALS: New IRD partner team / Jeune équipe associée à l’IRD – JEAI
- Deadline: May 10, 2010
- EVENT: World Bank Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration
- EVENT: USDA ERS Conference on Causes and Consequences of Global Agricultural Productivity Growth
- PUBLICATION: Rethinking Forest Partnerships and Benefit Sharing
- PUBLICATION: Perspectives on Partnership: A Literature Review
- PUBLICATION: Who has influence in multistakeholder governance systems? (IFPRI discussion paper)
EMPLOYMENT: IWMI Post-Doc opportunities
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has 2 vacancies for Africa-based postdoctoral fellows.
- Post-doctoral fellow in Agricultural Economics to perform economic analysis of the potential implications of investments in agriculture and water on economic growth and development in Southern Africa. This position will be based in IWMI Southern Africa office in Pretoria, South Africa and reports to the Project Leader based at this office.
- Post-doctoral fellow in Social or Institutional Science to work within the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded project ‘Improving Sustainability of Impacts of Agricultural Water Management Interventions in Challenging Contexts.’ The position will be based in IWMI East Africa office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and reports to the Senior Social Scientist based at this office.
More information on both positions can be found here.
Deadline: May 31, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Economist (Right to Food)
FAO has a vacancy for the Rome-based position of Senior Economist, Right to Food, in the Agricultural Development Economics Division.
Under the overall supervision of the Director, ESA, and as a leader or member of one or more task teams, the Senior Economist will contribute to the work programme on the Right to Food. Specifically s/he will:
- lead analytical work linking right-to-food principles (accountability, governance, transparency, focus on the poorest) to food security policies and institutions;
- provide policy assistance on integrating right-to-food principles into national food security policy frameworks, including food security and poverty reduction strategies, agricultural and rural development policies, social development strategies and others;
- provide analytical support to field activities aimed at strengthening the governance of food security, including the analysis of institutions relevant to food security;
- develop, implement and backstop technical assistance programmes for countries to improve food security, nutrition and poverty information systems and the inclusion of human rights-based indicators to monitor policy/programme implementation and impacts;
- analyze country experiences and best practices related to the above;
- undertake analytical work on the links between the right to food and the political economy of hunger, and contribute to awareness and capacity development in this area;
- represent FAO in relevant international and national fora and develop and maintain contacts with other international agencies and academic institutions working on the right to food, food security governance, and food security issues and policies;
- mobilize extra budgetary resources in support of the Division’s programme of work related to food security and the right to food;
- perform other related duties as required.
Download the full announcement (pdf).
Deadline: June 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
PUBLICATION: Rethinking Forest Partnerships and Benefit Sharing
A World Bank publication offers insights on factors and context that make collaborative arrangements work for communities and landowners.
This study uses an evidence-based approach to provide insights into developing and maintaining collaborative arrangements in the forest sector. It aims to inform discussions and approaches to forest partnership and benefit-sharing arrangements. It also offers guidance on how to implement key factors that influence contract-based forest partnerships and benefit-sharing arrangements.
Download the full report (pdf).
PUBLICATION: Perspectives on Partnership: A Literature Review
A 2009 CIP Working paper reviews the literature on partnerships and collaboration and highlights the relevance for international agricultural research:
This paper reports on a wide-ranging review of the literature on partnerships and other closely related forms of collaboration. It aims to contribute to knowledge of the actual and potential roles of partnership in international agricultural research for development. The paper summarizes conclusions and insights from four distinct professional literatures: research studies; professional evaluation literature; practitioner-oriented reviews, guidelines and assessment tools; and CGIAR-related reviews, evaluations and policy documents. It identifies and analyzes key cross-cutting themes and success factors, highlights gaps in current knowledge, and identifies high-potential areas for further study. A wide range of research-based publications is reviewed, including studies in such fields as management and organizational development, public administration, economics and international development. Work in these fields covers such diverse topics as the role of inter-organizational collaboration in strategic management, public–private and cross-sector partnerships, North–South partnerships, roles of partnership in linking research with action, networking and transactions costs. The different literatures talk little to each other and are highly self-referential. Nevertheless, some common patterns, themes and concerns emerge related to definitions, partnership drivers and dynamics, trust and mutuality, power asymmetries and inequities, and success factors. It is noteworthy that empirical studies of partnerships are rare, particularly in-depth case studies. Theoretical pieces seldom present empirical tests of hypotheses, and practical guidelines are seldom grounded in theory. There is a clear need for more systematic and in-depth empirical research on partnership experiences. Although partnership is now considered an essential way of working in many fields, several authors caution that the costs of working in partnership may often exceed the benefits. Before establishing a partnership, one should identify a clear value-added proposition. Many reports on partnership prepared for the CGIAR are available only in grey literature, leading to difficulties in accessing them and risking a loss of knowledge. Gaps in knowledge are identified at the level of individual partnerships, the level of the organizations that participate in or manage portfolios of partnerships, and the level of research or innovation domains that are characterized by networks of partnerships.
Monday, May 03, 2010
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: New IRD partner team / Jeune équipe associée à l’IRD - JEAI
Groups of researchers from developing countries who are willing to become a “research team” and who already have a partnership with an IRD research unit may wish to consider applying to become a New IRD partner team (Jeune équipe associée à l’IRD - JEAI). IRD’s Department for training and capacity-building for research in developing countries (DSF) offers a support up to €60 000 to these teams as well as regional and thematic support in the form of annual workshops for a period of up to 3 years. [more information—French only]
Deadline: May 10, 2010
EVENT: World Bank Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration
Last week the World Bank hosted their Annual Conference on Land Policy and Administration at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The conference sessions were organized around three themes: (1) large scale agricultural investment, (2) land governance, and (3) research and capacity building. The conference proceedings, along with many of the presentations given, are now available online.
The World Bank, GLTN, FIG, and FAO have also published a joint discussion paper on “Innovations in Land Rights Recognition, Administration, and Governance” (large pdf) that draws on the Conference proceedings from 2006 to 2009.
FELLOWSHIPS: Marie Curie Individual Fellowships (FEEM)
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), an Italian leading research institute devoted to the study of sustainable development and global governance, welcomes Marie Curie Individual Fellowship applications for its research programs in Sustainable Development, Institutions and Markets, and Global Challenges.
FEEM conducts research on a wide range of economic, environmental, and energy issue covering a considerable number of key research topics. Applicants should have a PhD degree or research experience of more than 4 years, strong analytical skills and ability to conduct research independently, publication record proportional to their research experience, and previous experience from international research projects would be a strong asset.
Marie Curie opportunities vary according to the country of residence:
- Researchers from a Member State or Associated Country may opt for an Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development (IEF)
- Researchers from third countries may opt for an International Incoming Fellowship (IIF).
- Female researchers and candidates from International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC) are particularly encouraged to apply.
Promising candidates will be actively helped and assisted in developing project proposals for the Marie Curie Individual Fellowships within the EC FP7 People Programme. FEEM will offer a truly international and multi-disciplinary workplace, and the strong ties with a world-wide network of research will allow a continuous fruitful exchange of experience.
If you are interested in exploring the opportunities offered by the Marie Curie Actions to work at FEEM, please submit to martina.marian@feem.it and alessandra.mazzai@feem.it the following:
- Motivation letter, including research interests and experience
- Detailed curriculum vitae and list of publications
- Abstract of the research proposal (max 1 page)
Deadline: June 1, 2010
EVENT: USDA ERS Conference on Causes and Consequences of Global Agricultural Productivity Growth
The USDA Economic Research Service is holding a Conference on Causes and Consequences of Global Agricultural Productivity Growth on May 11-12, 2010 in Washington DC.
The purpose of this conference is to share new research findings on agricultural productivity measurement and analysis from different countries and regions of the world. The papers and presentations will address the measurement of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP), analysis of the factors driving TFP change, and consequences of TFP growth on welfare, competitiveness, poverty, environment, etc. Another topic we will discuss at the conference is forming a global network of economists who are doing research on agricultural productivity issues. The purpose of the network will be to promote sharing of results, methods, and data, in order to further understanding of agricultural productivity changes in the world agricultural economy.
The conference is free and open to all, but registration is required. [more information]
PUBLICATION: Who has influence in multistakeholder governance systems? (IFPRI discussion paper)
A new IFPRI discussion paper uses the net-map method to analyze social networking in watershed management in northern Ghana.
As multistakeholder governance has emerged as an important feature in development, new governance structures that foster the participation of multiple stakeholders from the public sector, civil society, and the private sector have emerged in various fields, ranging from the management of natural resources to the provision of public services. To make such governance structures work, it is essential to understand how different stakeholders influence decisionmaking and what determines their influence.
The full paper is available through the IFPRI website.
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