AWARD is planning its second phase of fellowships for African women in agricultural research, with a view to completing its first five-year grant in August 2012.
“We are celebrating the success to date of our AWARD Fellows—250 African women agricultural scientists from 11 countries. We are also thankful for the 216 senior scientists—both men and women—who have volunteered as mentors to our fellows,” said Vicki Wilde, AWARD Director.
“Our extensive monitoring and evaluation results indicate that our program has been very effective in strengthening our fellows’ technical and leadership skills,” added Wilde. “Based on that data, we are now planning the next phase of AWARD, which promises to reach more women and be even more effective.”
Pending approval of its Phase II grants, AWARD anticipates the following schedule.
· Early August: Call for applications for the 2013 AWARD Fellowships to be announced on www.awardfellowships.org
· Late September: Application deadline
· October/November: Applications shortlisted and references checked
· December: AWARD Steering Committee selects and announces winners
· February 2013: Two-year fellowship activities begin
The 70 AWARD Fellows who began the program in 2011 will finish their two-year fellowships in August 2013. For a calendar of 2012 events, visit http://www.awardfellowships.org/news-and-events/award-events-calendar/cal.html
AWARD is grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the U.S. Department of State and Agropolis Foundation, for their generous support for AWARD to date, and their future commitments.