InnovATE (CIRED)
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InnovATE works to achieve sustainable food security, reduce poverty, promote rural innovation and stimulate employment by building human and institutional capacity. The program focuses on all aspects of agricultural training and education including: youth, gender, and workforce development, at the primary, vocational/technical, university and post-graduate levels.
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- InnovATE Work Plan FY 2015(Virginia Tech, 2015)As the InnovATE project moves into Year 3, the LEARN, DESIGN and TRAIN components of the project are starting to bear fruit. These project elements have motivated the implementing team to continuously reflect on how InnovATE is attaining the core goal of creating vibrant Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). In Year 3, we will work to develop the human and institutional capacity needed to promote innovation and meet workforce demands to achieve sustainable food security while reducing poverty, conserving natural resources, and addressing related cross-cutting development problems. InnovATE will define and disseminate strategies and approaches in support of vibrant value chains across food systems via agricultural education and training (AET) reform and investment that may or may not involve traditional AET institutions. InnovATE will focus on what support is needed to strengthen local value chains to foster a vibrant food system. InnovATE will work to develop investments that are focused on how best all levels of education (youth, primary and secondary educational systems, vocational/technical levels, and the university and post-graduate levels) and private sector training can be combined to provide support within the value chains that create a food system. InnovATE will engage institutions and individuals, both within and outside of the formal education and training systems, who are involved in rural workforce development to create and reinforce linkages between rural workforce development and value chain innovation. The work plan for Year 3 was prepared with input from collaborating faculty and staff of the Management Entity (ME) Virginia Tech (VT), the InnovATE consortium partners: the Pennsylvania State University (PSU); Tuskegee University (TU); the University of Florida (UF); the Program Advisory Council (PAC) and the USAID Agreement Officer Representative (AOR) and colleagues in the Bureau for Food Security (BFS). As work throughout the year progresses, lessons learned will be incorporated into the project implementation strategy. Program adjustments and re-orientations will be managed through subsequent annual work plans approved through the AOR in USAID/BFS. This is the work plan for the third year of the InnovATE project. This introduction is followed by a short overview of Year 3 activities. Next, the activities for each of the project’s three components during Year 3 are described in detail. In the appendices we provide a summary table of performance indicators (A) and present a Gantt chart for Year 3 activities and tasks (B).
- InnovATE Work Plan FY 2014(Virginia Tech, 2014)The goal of the Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education (innovATE) project is to develop the human and institutional capacity needed to promote the innovation necessary to achieve sustainable food security, reduce poverty, conserve natural resources, and address related development problems. We will define and disseminate strategies and approaches in support of agricultural education and training (AET) reform and investment. InnovATE will focus on all levels of education: youth, workforce development programs, primary and secondary educational systems, vocational/technical levels, and the university and post-graduate level. This is the work plan for the second year of the innovATE project. This introduction is followed by a short overview of Year 2 activities. Next, the activities for each of the project’s three components during Year 2 are described.
- InnovATE Semi-annual Report FY 2016(Virginia Tech, 2016)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID semi-annually which describes the project’s activities during the first two quarters of the year.
- InnovATE Work Plan FY 2013(Virginia Tech, 2013)The goal of the Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education (innovate) project—formerly referred to as the Modernizing Agricultural Education and Training Systems (MAETS) Project—is to develop the human and institutional capacity needed to promote rural innovation necessary to achieve sustainable food security, reduce poverty, conserve natural resources, and address other rural problems. We will define and disseminate strategies and approaches in support of agriculture education and training (AET) reform and investment. Innovate will focus on all levels of education such as: youth, workforce development programs, primary and secondary educational systems, vocational/technical levels, and the university and post-graduate level. This is the first year work plan for the Innovate project. This introduction is followed by a short overview of the Year 1 activities. Next, the activities for each of the project’s three components during Year 1 are described next. Each component’s section will also include a synopsis of the LOP for that component. We also have included a summary for the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP). The full project PMP for Innovate will be submitted separately.
- InnovATE Semi-annual Report FY 2017(Virginia Tech, 2017)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID semi-annually which describes the project’s activities during the first two quarters of the year.
- InnovATE Work Plan FY 2016(Virginia Tech, 2016)The work plan for Year 4 was prepared with input from collaborating faculty and staff of the Management Entity (ME) Virginia Tech (VT), and the InnovATE consortium partners: the Pennsylvania State University (PSU); Tuskegee University (TU); the University of Florida (UF); the Program Advisory Council (PAC), the USAID Agreement Officer Representative (AOR), and colleagues in the Bureau for Food Security (BFS). During the annual partners meeting, at the mid-point in project implementation, the InnovATE team reviewed progress, successes and challenges. As a consequence of that review, InnovATE determined that some of its initial project assumptions were unfounded and that adjustments in project objectives and implementation were necessary. This work plan reflects those changes. As work throughout the year progresses, lessons learned will continue to be incorporated into project implementation.
- InnovATE Work Plan FY 2017(Virginia Tech, 2017)This is an overview of year 5 activities for the InnovATE project.
- InnovATE Semi-annual Report FY 2014(Virginia Tech, 2014-04)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID semi-annually which describes the project’s activities during the first two quarters of the year.
- InnovATE Annual Report FY 2014(Virginia Tech, 2014)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID annually which describes the past year’s activities, including managerial information and work plan activities.
- InnovATE Annual Report FY 2016(Virginia Tech, 2016)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID annually which describes the past year’s activities, including managerial information and work plan activities.
- InnovATE Semi-annual Report FY 2015(Virginia Tech, 2015)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID semi-annually which describes the project’s activities during the first two quarters of the year.
- InnovATE Semi-annual Report FY 2013(Virginia Tech, 2013)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID semi-annually which describes the project’s activities during the first two quarters of the year.
- InnovATE Annual Report FY 2013(Virginia Tech, 2013-10-31)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID annually which describes the past year’s activities, including managerial information and work plan activities.
- InnovATE Annual Report FY 2015(Virginia Tech, 2015)InnovATE and its partners submit a technical progress report to USAID annually which describes the past year’s activities, including managerial information and work plan activities.
- Preliminary Study: Gender, Higher Education and AETZseleczky, Laura; Van Houweling, Emily; Christie, Maria Elisa (Virginia Tech, 2013-09-17)Agriculture education and training (AET) is important to increase human capital in agriculture, promote knowledge, raise agricultural productivity, and realize the potential of women in agriculture. This paper focuses on gender in higher education agricultural training programs. Female farmers play a vital role in agriculture around the world, yet they are poorly represented in agricultural programs in higher education. The objectives of the paper are to review global and regional gender data on AET in higher education, outline the major gender issues in AET, and initiate a discussion of good practices for addressing gender disparities in AET higher education programs. Following this introduction, Section 2 presents the background material and summarizes some of the global issues related to gender, higher education, and AET. Section 3 takes a regional look at these issues. Section 4 presents a case study of AET in three universities in Bangladesh and Cambodia to bring to life the experiences of women in AET programs. The paper concludes with a summary of good practices.
- Mainstreaming Gender in AET: Overcoming challenges through policies and practicesVan Houweling, Emily; Christie, Maria Elisa; Abdel-Rahim, Asha (Virginia Tech, 2015-09)Women’s education has a high positive impact on society and higher education can help empower women to enter social, economic and political roles in their communities and countries. While progress has been made in terms of access to education overall and higher education in particular, women continue to face specific challenges that limit their access to and success in higher education. Case studies from around the world reveal multiple gender issues that keep women out of higher education institutions and prevent them from graduating. This research builds from this existing literature, but looks specifically at gender issues within higher education agricultural programs.