African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD): Can Capacity Building Be Measured?

Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, PhD, Director

Apollo Nkwake, PhD, Senior Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation

© AWARD | African Women in Agricultural Research and Development

Locating African Women in the Agricultural Landscape


African Women Scientists Driving Agricultural Innovation


African Women in Science Empowerment Model (AWSEM)


Power From Within: Increasing inner strength, self confidence, and motivation to pursue a higher vision for herself

Power To Do: Increased capabilities and opportunities to accomplish and achieve professional autonomy

Power Over: Overcoming resource and power constraints to grow in influence

African Women in Science Empowerment Model (AWSEM)


Power With: Initiating and leading collaborations to make contributions to agricultural science for the greater good

Power to Empower: Motivated champions inspiring others and promoting gender responsive agricultural research

The AWARD Fellowship


2 year-long, non-residential fellowship

Advancing Science skills

Developing Leadership capacity

Fostering Mentoring relationships

Global Partnerships to Build Advanced Science Skills

Investing in Africa’s Leading Agricultural Scientists

Increasing African Women’s Visibility and Networking


http://www.google.co.ke/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=bBDvYAFZcu_xxM&tbnid=Js6CvcJZTgUpLM:&ved=0CAgQjRw4bg&url=http://www.firedog.co.uk/thinking-space/news-opinions/creativity/going-viral-with-the-society-of-general-microbiology/&ei=UmP7UpqpHsLL0QXIy4BY&psig=AFQjCNFXo_0k46xnQrqmf38iFVTMAt4I0g&ust=1392293074550966

Mentoring

Fellow’s Mentee


AWARD Mentor

AWARD Fellow

Mentoring


Are Leaders Born or Made?


Nurturing Confident, Powerful, Motivated Women

• Negotiation skills• Managing conflict• Time management

• Public speaking • Sustaining team performance• Building alliances


Disciplinary Diversity

Agroforestry Agronomy Animal & LivestockEconomics

Aquatic & Fisheries Entomology

Engineering

Natural Resources

Virology

Biodiversity Crops Sciences Ecology

Extension Education Molecular BiologyHorticultureFood /Nutrition

Veterinary Sciences Water/Irrigation OtherSoil Sciences


Our Current Reach

Fellowship program in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Pilot with fellows from 5 francophone countries


Growing Demand for AWARD Fellowships

AWARD has debunked the myth that there are no African women agricultural researchers out there!

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

708

1069

1652

2190

2948

3483

4261


Applications from 4,261 unique women in 500+ institutions

Exploring Opportunities for AWARD Phase III


Sustainability of AWARD Outcomes

‘Natural’

‘Engineered’

‘Ecosystem’

ARD ecosystem trajectory without AWARD’s natural sustainability

ARD ecosystem trajectory with AWARD, but without engineered sustainability

Impact and capacity

Time

ARD ecosystem trajectory with engineered sustainability, but without other external

positive change

Opportunities for Increased Impact


Vision

Mission

A robust, resilient, and gender responsive agricultural innovation system working to drive prosperity and food and nutrition security

for Africa

Investing in African women scientists and institutions to deliver innovative, sustainable, gender responsive Agricultural Research

Development

Capable, confident, and influential African

women scientists lead critical advances and innovations in African

ARD

African women scientists and gender responsiveness and inclusivity become embedded in the

culture and practice of African ARD

African ARD institutions emerge as

gender responsive spaces that are

receptive to women’s leadership

Measuring Impact: The AWARD Difference


Defining Empowerment


Agency:

• What people are free and able to do and achieve in pursuit of their goals or values

• Emphasis on an individual’s assets and attributes

• An opportunity structure

Measuring empowerment


Compelling Impact story gives more than one verifiable example of the change, and gives a clear indication that AWARD has contributed.

Convincing Impact story gives at least one verifiable example of change, indicating that AWARD has contributed.

Lackluster Impact story does not give clear, verifiable examples, and/or does not connect change to AWARD’s influence. It may appear to “parrot back” what was said in courses or elsewhere

Quotes from 2 impact stories

• “…In response to an advertisement on the AWARD website, I applied for a Netherlands fellowship program (NFP) in 2012 to do a short course in Agriculture in transition, and I won…”

• …The science attachment with NOVUS gave me a chance of having hands-on training and supervision by well known scientists… I assessed and quantified the mycotoxins contamination in samples from Ethiopian (animal) feeds…This will make an impact to improve (animal) feeds production”


% of fellows demonstrating gain in powers


Power ‘from Within’

Power to do

Power ‘Over’Power ‘With’

Power ‘to Empower’

0%

50%

100%

% gaining in the expression of power (convincing/compelling stories)% attributing gains to AWARD to a great extent

Have consulted literature and experts on how to integrate gender in our research

Have proposed changes on how my team and others can intergrate gender

I have integrated gender dimensions across my research workHave engaged female farmers in planning my research work

My institution has actively created space for mentoring

0.0%

50.0%

100.0%

Start of fellowship End of fellowship

Gender Responsive Agricultural Research

Most helpful activities by levels: Power from within


Leadership training

Mentoring Orientation Workshop

Scientific writingMentorship

Conference

0%

50%

100%

Post-master’s Post-Doctoral

Most helpful activities by levels: Power to do


Scientific writing

Research attachment

Leadership trainingConference


0%

50%

100%


Most helpful activities by levels: Power with


Leadership training

Research attachment


Scientific writingConference

Mentoring

Networking

0%

50%


Most helpful activities by levels: Power over


Post-bachelor’s Post-master’s Post-Doctoral All fellows0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Leadership training Mentoring Orientation WorkshopMentoring Role modeling

Factors associated with gaining expression of powers


Leadership Courses

MOW/mentoring/PRM

Science/proposal writing

Personal factors

Work experience

Support from the organisation (an enabling org environment)

0%

50%

100%

Power ‘from Within’ Power to do Power ‘Over’ Power ‘With’

Next steps in measuring AWARD’s success

• Develop a theory of change that links fellow empowerment with organizational and eco system engagement

• Building on the work of other actors, use the rich empowerment narrative from fellows to construct a mixed methods measure of empowerment (AWSEM index)

• Used the AWSEM index to measure correlations between fellows’ participation and expression of gains in power



THANK YOU

www. awardfellowships.org

Theory of change


PreconditionFellows are empowered through AWARD

strategies

Precondition AWARD is well implemented using appropriate

strategies, a high quality, informed management team and adaptive management

PreconditionFellows, mentors, trainee trainers and

implementing partners are drawn from the best available

PreconditionMentors, trainee trainers and fellows’ mentees are informed, inspired and

inspiring

PreconditionTransformative changes are reflected and made visible in fellows’ work and life, and in

some of those they aim to influence

SPHERE OF CONTROL

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

SPHERE OF INTEREST

PreconditionAWARD produces and effectively shares

relevant knowledge

PreconditionKey individual, organizational and sector actors respond appropriately to AWARD participants’

increasing visibility, influence and knowledge

Precondition Actors within and outside acknowledge and

use AWARD knowledge

Precondition A critical mass of women start to self-organize,

influence and lead

Precondition AWARD influence spreads beyond the program

VISION OF SUCCESS

Critical advances and innovations in agricultural development for Africa, led & influenced by capable, confident and influential African women

Fellow’s influence multiplies and ripples out

Career advancement and achievements

Scientific/technical

achievements and innovation

Visibility

POWER FROM WITHIN

Confidence

POWER TO DO

Leadership skills

Fellowship make-up and temperament/ Enabling environment– family, community, institutional, sector, national context

•Leadership courses

• MOWs

• Science/ proposal writing

• Mentoring• Conferences

•Science/ proposal writing

•Research attachments

•Leadership courses

• Conferences

• MOWs• Short

courses

Transformative moments

Boundary spanning collective

action

POWER WITH

Drivers for program design

Input

BMGF and other funding

Strategic section process

Top talent among

women scientists

AWARD team

management

Quality implementati

on

Institutional support

(laptop, internet access)

POWER OVER

POWER TO EMPOWER

Sharing and inspiring gender- responsive

knowledge and approaches

Motivation Science

skills

Vision/ direction

Access

Self-knowledge

• AWARD information

• Special events• Opportunities to apply and

practice(conferences, associations and networking, role modeling, mentoring)

•Opportunities to apply and practice(conferences, associations

andnetworking, role modeling, mentoring)

•Research attachments

• Short courses

• eResources

• Short courses

Expression of gains in power (compelling/convincing impact stories)

Power ‘from Within’ Power to do Power ‘Over’ Power ‘With’ Power ‘to Empower’0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Government & Nonprofit

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD): Can Capacity Building Be Measured?