Research and training program in Andean agroecological systems – second cohort

The Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) of the McKnight Foundation and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) invite advanced master's or doctoral students who are conducting their theses in Andean agroecological systems in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, in sites located above 2500 meters above sea level, to participate in this Call for Proposals.

The purpose of the call is to support research (fieldwork) and training in agroecology studies.

Much of the world's food is grown by producers who own two hectares or less. Globally, half a billion small-scale farmers and producers provide food for 2,2 billion people.

Small-scale producers face the challenge of maintaining or improving their productivity in the face of rising costs, limited market access, climate variability, competing natural resources, and extractive economic development models. The living conditions of small-scale producers are heterogeneous, varying according to their biophysical environment and cultural and socioeconomic contexts.

Research and extension perspectives often replicate the hegemonic models of biophysical or agronomic sciences, omitting the ways in which knowledge is produced and shared.

Transdisciplinary research from the social sciences allows for the promotion of intercultural learning and knowledge production that co-participates in the transformation of complex and heterogeneous realities.

We maintain that integrating agroecological principles into production and management systems leads to improved agricultural development. This development is locally defined and can potentially encompass productivity, nutrition, resilience, and sustainability. These principles are relevant to various forms of small-scale or peasant production, whether for market purposes, to improve the quality of life for families and communities, or both.

Emerging developments in participatory methods can contribute to promoting innovative strategies that allow addressing options by context—diversification strategies, seeds and varieties, agronomic practices and fair market practices, among others.

Agroecology has the potential to play a significant role in promoting productive, sustainable, and inclusive food systems. Promoting the principles and benefits of agroecology is a way to help policymakers, researchers, and farmers themselves apply this approach to contribute to sustainable rural development, strengthen family farming, ensure sustainable food and nutritional security, and increase resilience to climate change. Agroecology is an interconnected movement, practice, and science. This program aims to contribute research that strengthens the evidence base of agroecology and the discipline's movement and practice.

This project aims to fund fieldwork and foster collaboration between students and program tutors, forming a community of practice (CoP). The fieldwork and the CoP will support the development of postgraduate studies and strengthen local communities and the field of agroecology, expanding its current boundaries.

The proposals submitted are expected to address some of these dimensions of agroecology:

• Environmental: Explicit recognition of the climatic, biophysical and ecosystemic characteristics and the way in which they influence (and are influenced by) Andean agricultural systems.
• Socio-cultural: Analysis of the ways in which different cultural aspects of small farmers interact with Andean agriculture, considering, at least, the family and community levels.
• Socio-economic: Understanding the interrelationships of Andean agroecological systems with both the socio-demographic characteristics of families and communities and with the different combinations of subsistence and market economy that households have.
• Socio-political: Understanding the different forms of social organization that small farmers have as well as the institutions (i.e., norms) for the governance, use and control of resources.

APPLICANT PROFILE

Applicants must be advanced master's or doctoral students in the social, natural, environmental, or earth sciences who have fulfilled all their institutions' requirements for conducting fieldwork and whose graduate thesis proposals address topics related to Andean agroecological systems in Bolivia, Peru, or Ecuador, at sites located above 2500 meters above sea level. Preference will be given to applicants affiliated with a member center belonging to the CLACSO network (this is not mandatory). The database of member centers can be found at: https://www.clacso.org/institucional/centros-asociados/

SUPPORT TO BE GRANTED

Up to 8 (eight) proposals (3 master's and 5 doctoral) will be selected to be supported with:

1. A monetary grant equivalent to USD 10.000 (ten thousand US dollars) for doctoral students and USD 6.000 (six thousand US dollars) for master's students will be awarded to carry out fieldwork and training activities in agroecology. This includes two in-person meetings of all grant recipients with their respective advisors/supervisors and the tutors assigned by the program, plus 30 hours of online training. The grant will be disbursed in installments via bank transfers to the recipients, who will be required to submit progress reports.
2. The support of a research tutor assigned by the organizing institutions who will guide the scholarship process and provide guidance in fulfilling the proposed work plan.
3. The prize will cover the winner's travel and accommodation expenses to participate in two in-person international training seminars. The date and location of the event will be determined by the organizers. Winners are responsible for possessing the necessary personal documentation to participate in the event, as well as personal health and other insurance.
4. The call also anticipates that the directors or advisors of the thesis students will also be involved in the program by participating in virtual and face-to-face work spaces and interacting with the scholarship recipients, tutors and the Program team.
5. The scholarship recipients will be required to participate in virtual meetings on the program's Virtual Platform to present their progress in their research projects and other complementary activities for the expansion and exchange of knowledge on topics related to the scholarship (forums, reading and analysis of documents, etc.).
6. The publication of the final version of the research work in digital print format or support for the production of audiovisual products.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted individually. Each researcher may only participate with one proposal in this competition.

• The scholarships support two inseparable components: fieldwork and training in agroecology. Therefore, research proposals must explicitly and detail in their design the methodology of the fieldwork they will carry out, a monthly work plan, and also consider the analysis of the data.
• Students must be at an intermediate or advanced stage of their postgraduate studies. Doctoral students must have passed their exams, and master's students must be eligible to conduct fieldwork. Proposals must be based on ongoing postgraduate research, but final projects must be original and unpublished works developed within the timeframe established by the call for applications.
• Members of the Steering Committee or officials of the Executive Secretariat of CLACSO and members of the McKnight Foundation may not participate.
• Proposals from researchers who are currently scholarship recipients under research competitions, scholarships or essays organized by CLACSO will not be accepted.
• Applications will be accepted from researchers who have received a research grant awarded by CLACSO, provided that the beneficiary has fulfilled the obligations undertaken in a timely manner.
• Texts written in Spanish will be accepted.
• Applicants must include in their online application a letter signed by their thesis advisors, stating their suitability to conduct fieldwork and endorsing their application to this program. They must also attach a document certifying their affiliation with their current postgraduate program and confirming that the submitted work plan is indeed part of their postgraduate studies (doctorate or master's).
• Proposals must be submitted through the registration system and should not exceed 10 A4 pages (excluding the bibliography), using 12-point font and single spacing. They must address the following points: 1. Research objectives and questions, 2. Rationale. Develop the following dimensions: Environmental; Socio-cultural; Socio-economic; Socio-political, 3. Background and conceptual framework, 4. Methodology, 5. Work schedule, 6. Bibliography. Proposals will be reviewed for formal and administrative compliance with the competition rules.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH WORK

• The research grants to be supported by this call will have a duration of 16 months between December 2019 (first in-person working meeting) and June 2021 (delivery of the revised version of the report and final article).
• The main activities to be funded are fieldwork and participation in agroecology training.
• At the end of the scholarship, students must submit a publishable research article to the organizing institutions that addresses the work carried out. The text should be 20 pages long, in Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced. This is an approximate guideline, and the organizing institutions reserve the right to accept revisions or exceptions if they deem it necessary.
• The structure of the text will be free, respecting the conventions of presentation of an academic text and the editorial standards of CLACSO.
• Only texts written in Spanish will be accepted.
• The presentation of research results in audiovisual format (photographic series or documentary videos) will also be accepted, which must be supported by a written text.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PROPOSALS

• The evaluation of the presentations will be carried out by an International Committee whose decision will be final.
• A technical review will be carried out on the submitted projects, which must comply with the rules established in the call for proposals.
• The evaluation of the projects will consider the following dimensions: 1) Environmental Dimension, 2) Socio-Cultural Dimension, 3) Socio-Economic Dimension, 4) Socio-Political Dimension, 5) Relevance, 6) Research Method, 7) Feasibility, 8) Fieldwork,
• 9) Diversity, 10) Impact beyond the project.

Dimensions	Definitions
Environmental	Explicit recognition of the climatic, biophysical and ecosystemic characteristics and the way in which they influence (and are influenced by) Andean agricultural systems.
Socio-Cultural	Analysis of the ways in which different cultural aspects of small farmers influence Andean agriculture, considering the family and community levels.
Socio-Economic	Understanding the interrelationships of Andean agroecological systems with both the socio-demographic characteristics of families and communities and with the different combinations of subsistence and market economies that households have.
Socio-Political	Understanding the different forms of social organization that small farmers have, as well as the institutions (i.e., norms) for the governance, use and control of resources.
Relevance	Usefulness of the research questions or objectives, how this project will fill an important gap in knowledge and address problems of Andean agroecological systems.
Research method	How appropriate is the overall research design? The consistency between the research questions and the methods will be considered.
Feasibility	To what extent are the project objectives viable within the scheduled timeframe and available resources?
Field work	Feasibility of fieldwork.
Diversity and heterogeneity	The research design recognizes the heterogeneity of farmers and communities (more suitable options for biophysical and social contexts).
Impact beyond the project	Potential relevance of the research for other actors beyond academia (politicians, farmers, opinion leaders, etc.).

• The student's academic background and career path will also be evaluated.
• The evaluation and selection of the winners of this call will take into account gender equity and the diversity of regional representation.
• Students must be at a stage prior to fieldwork. Proposals must be based on their postgraduate research project; final papers must be original and unpublished and developed within the period established by the call for proposals.
• A selection process will be carried out, based on the evaluation performed, considering the following criteria: geographical, thematic, and gender.
• The competition may be declared void or a smaller number of beneficiaries may be selected, if the proposals submitted do not meet the required quantity or quality.
• The winners of this competition will be announced in November of 2019.

Situations not covered in this document will be resolved by the convening institutions.

PUBLICATION OF THE WINNING WORKERS

• The final versions of the research articles to be supported will be published in open access by the organizing institutions.
• CLACSO and McKnight reserve the rights to publish, reproduce, and/or exhibit the final products developed within the framework of this call for proposals in any format. Authors may also publish their results through other channels, provided they acknowledge the support received for the research and inform the organizers beforehand.

Registration must be completed through the online system provided by CLACSO. Printed or emailed submissions will not be accepted. Applications that do not comply with the established guidelines will be rejected. It is recommended that you access the online system to review the registration form.

1. Login to registration system.
2. Register in the CLACSO Single Registration System (SUIC). Each time the applicant wishes to access the system to consult, modify, add or send information in this or any other CLACSO activity, they must log in with their personal username and password.
3. Identify the proposal by indicating the title, the theme under which it falls, and the pseudonym chosen for the application. Applications whose pseudonyms correspond to the applicant's first and/or last name will not be accepted.
4. Complete the sworn statement indicating whether or not the applicants are affiliated with a member center belonging to the CLACSO network. Consult the database of member centers at: https://www.clacso.org/institucional/centros-asociados/
5. Complete the personal and academic information form and attach the required documents.
6. Complete the research project form. The form's structure is standardized in the online form.
7. To finalize your registration for the competition, click the CLOSE REGISTRATION button. The system will generate an electronic certificate that will serve as proof of your successful submission. The system will only consider valid applications that have been successfully completed.