Event Colloquium Series

INTERFACES Colloquium Series - #16

Prof. Erin McGuire from the University College Davis spoke about: “On Scaling, GenderUp approach etc.”.

The sixteenth lecture in the INTERFACES colloquium series on “Sustainable land management in sub‐Saharan Africa: Improving livelihoods through local research” was on 23 January 2025 by Prof. Erin McGuire from the University College Davis, who spoke on: “On Scaling, GenderUp approach etc.”

Colloquium Series Overview

Location: Online via Zoom
Date: 23rd January 2025
Time: 14-15 hrs GMT

Available in en

On 23 January, the INTERFACES group had the great pleasure to welcome Dr. Erin McGuire from University of California at Davis to the colloquium series. The well-attended colloquium on 23 January was entitled “Equity in Agricultural Innovation Systems” and covered a variety of equity and gender aspects often neglected in agricultural research for development (AR4D) and subsequent scaling efforts. Dr. McGuire started her talk by giving a short overview of the activities of the Feed the Future Innovation labs which are supported by the US Government.

Moving on to look at the effects of innovations on different gender groups and also highlighting situations in which innovations had negative impacts on specific groups, she introduced the GenderUp tool, which has been developed by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture at UC Davis. It is a tool designed to anticipate and address social differentiation during the scaling phase, enabling AR4D actors to achieve more inclusive and impactful outcomes. GenderUp is now widely used across the AR4D community and represents a significant shift towards scaling practices that prioritize equity alongside efficiency.

In the discussion, participants shared experience from their own research, indicating how men and women perceive intended innovations differently. Questions were also raised and debated in whether there has been any progress in gender-sensitivity across AR4D projects and how inclusiveness could be anchored institutionally to achieve sustainable change.

Papers that might be of interest:

  • McGuire, E., Ewell, H., Bailey, A. et al. Breaking biases and building momentum for transforming agricultural research for development practices: recommendations and research opportunities. npj Sustain. Agric. 3, 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00044-y
  • McGuire, E., Boa-Alvarado, M., Marina Valencia Leñero, E., Al-Zu’bi, M., Giang Luu, L., & Sylvester, J. (2024). Equity principles for social transformation. Agricultural Systems. Volume 218, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103999.
  • McGuire, E., Leeuwis, C., Rietveld, A., & Teeken, B. (2024). Anticipating social differentiation and unintended consequences in scaling initiatives using GenderUp, a method to support responsible scaling. Agricultural Systems. Volume 215, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103866.