The purpose of the BIFAD Awards for Scientific Excellence in a Feed the Future Innovation Lab is to recognize individual researchers and/or a team of researchers for significant achievements originating from work performed through a United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Feed the Future Innovation Lab. Two awards will be given annually: one for an individual researcher or a team of researchers and one for a student researcher.

The full nomination instructions can be found under "Resources" at right. The nomination deadline is September 7, 2018, 5pm ET.

RESEARCHER AWARD

Award Criteria:
1. Demonstrated creativity in bringing about long-lasting, sustainable improvements in international food and agriculture,
2. Evidence of sustainable increases in food security and economic growth without degradation to the environment, and
3. Success in communicating and disseminating the results to other peoples and places.

Eligibility of Nominees: Nominees must be a former or active member of the USAID Food Security Innovation Lab and achievements upon which nominations for the award are based must have been completed in substantial part in a Feed the Future Innovation Lab. Only publications, honors, and awards dated within the last 10 years will be considered by the awards committees. Nominees for the Award for Scientific Excellence must be living at the time their nominations are submitted. Research teams are eligible for the BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence provided the following conditions are met: (1) at least one member of the team belongs or belonged to a Feed the Future Innovation Lab, (2) where non-Feed the Future Innovation Lab partners are a part of the team, the Innovation Lab part of the team must have contributed 50 percent or more of the team effort, and (3) the nomination must show that the team effort was critical to the outcomes.

Eligibility of Nominators: Eligible nominators include all Feed the Future Innovation Lab researchers, beneficiaries of Feed the Future Innovation Lab innovations, scientific peers, donor agencies, partners from the private sector, or any individual or group wishing to recognize Feed the Future Innovation Lab contributions to food security and agricultural development. BIFAD members are not eligible to submit nominations.

STUDENT AWARD

Purpose: The Student BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence is given to the student researcher who has made significant contributions to a Feed the Future Innovation Lab research project. A student is defined as registered undergraduate, graduate or professional student at any accredited institution of higher education in the world. This contribution will be evaluated based on its contributions to the accomplishment of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab research project’s stated goals, objectives and desired outcomes.

Eligibility of Nominees: Nominees must be a former or current member of a Feed the Future Innovation Lab Research Team. Achievements must have been completed within the past ten years. Only publications, presentations, honors, and awards dated within the past 10 years will be considered by the Awards Committee. Nominees for the Award must be living at the time of their nominations are submitted.

Eligibility of Nominators: The student nominee must be nominated by the student’s immediate research advisor (preferred nominator), a researcher that is a part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab and has knowledge of the student’s accomplishments, or the Feed the Future Innovation Lab project director.