We are recruiting our next round of Champions for the AFN Network+
Are you committed to driving progress towards achieving net zero through the agri-food system by 2050?
Do you have expert practice, knowledge and know-how in agri-food?
We are looking for six Champions to bring their expertise from industry, academia and the public sector and from any point in the agri-food system to lead a series of activities and support the mission of the AFN Network+.
AFN Champions will drive progress by:
- building an inclusive community of practice across their theme and the wider AFN project;
- synthesising ideas and thinking from across their networks to ensure inclusive input into the scenarios and plausible futures work, and the pathways and roadmapping phases of the project;
- mapping the research and innovation landscape in their own and adjacent thematic areas and crucially, identifying critical knowledge and activity gaps to be addressed.
We are looking for six new Champions to act as Ambassadors for the AFN Network+ and to lead a theme within agri-food, identified by our current membership.
The six themes are:
- Policy Champion
- Industry and Supply Chain Champion
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Champion
- Bioeconomy Champion
- Carbon Financing Champion
- Just Transition and Citizen Engagement Champion
Through a series of engagement activities each of the six Champions will create a network of people committed to the drive towards achieving net zero by 2050. Champions are encouraged to look for synergies across the themes and will be expected to work together.
Closing date for applications is 12:00 on Monday 19 August 2024.
We would particularly like to encourage Early Career Researchers and people working outside Higher Education to apply, although senior academic applicants are also welcome.
The appointment is for a minimum 6-month to maximum 12-month period. Contractual period will run within the period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. Each Champion will receive a block grant of up to a maximum £90K funded at 80%, with a 20% match commitment from the applicant’s host organisation.
Saher Hasnain, current Champion for Healthy and Sustainable Diets, from the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute:
“I have been exploring how ‘resilience’ has been and can be operationalised for healthy and sustainable diets for a net zero UK food system.
“As a Champion, it is a pleasure and privilege to engage with the other Champions and the wider community, learning from everyone’s experiences and vantage points in the system and to see what a net zero future looks like for them and with them.”
India Langley, Year One Champion for New Approaches in Production, from LettUs Grow:
“It is important that we remember that a net-zero food system is not just about reducing carbon emissions. It’s about creating a food system that is sustainable, resilient, equitable, and just. Our role as Champions is not just to generate knowledge, but also to bridge gaps, to build bridges, to foster collaboration.
“I urge anyone working in industry to get involved. To create such a food system, we need all the voices we can get – the voices that echo our own and the voices that challenge us. We need the scientists and the farmers, the policymakers and the businesspeople, the academics and the activists.”
You can read India’s full blog, where she talks more about her experience of being an AFN Network+ Champion, and why it’s important to include voices from across the food system.
For any questions about this call, please contact c.pickerden@leeds.ac.uk or take a look at some Frequently Asked Questions.
Closing date for applications: 12:00 on Monday 19 August 2024.
