Admission requirements: Candidates will be admitted to the call when demonstrating: (i)  a graduation and master degree in environmental sciences or related subjects; (ii) knowledge in systems evaluation through emergy method applied to silvopastoral systems of Alentejo; (iii) practical experience on working with farmers and producers at micro and small scale, in the region of Alentejo;.

Preferential factors for admission:

·         Good knowledge of the Montado silvopastoral system;

·         Experience with the quantification of farm products in a system perspective;

·         Good knowledge of small farming systems of the Alentejo region;

·         Experience in systems analysis through application of the emergy method;

·         Experience in organizing group activities as seminars, meetings, etc., and in contacting with small farmers and organizing farmers collaborations.

Fluency in English and Portuguese is an advantage.  

Work Plan:  SALSA has been designed to meet the significant intellectual and practical challenge of developing a better understanding of the current and potential contribution of small farms and food businesses to Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) in an increasingly globalised and uncertain world. The project will pay particular attention to: capturing the diversity of food systems and small farm situations in Europe and Africa; looking beyond production capacity to include all four dimensions of FNS; fully considering the gradient of socio-economic conditions in different regions of Europe and Africa, and; fully and effectively engaging with stakeholders to cut across classical boundaries in food system structures and situations, Europe-Africa relations, research, policy and practice.

The Research Fellow will be focused on the Work Packages (WP3 and WP5) ““In depth assessment of food systems in 30 regions”, and “Analysis of governance of small farmer organizations and food chains”. WP3 aims at carrying out, in the 30 reference regions selected in WP2, an in-depth assessment of local and regional food systems paying particular attention to the diversity, complexity and context-specificity of local and regional food systems and FNS. WP5 will identify and assess, within the reference regions, those governance arrangements that influence, positively or negatively, the contribution of small farms to the several dimensions of sustainable FNS. Specifically the research fellow will support the development and implementation the following tasks:

• Gathering of specific data on small farms and key features related to crop production through key informants, as also aspects such as affordability, access to food, and nutritional and health.
• Implementation of 10-15 more comprehensive semi-structured interviews with carefully selected farmers and small business operators as key informants for each reference region.
• Organization of three focus groups by region to discuss and map the local and regional food system, its specific context, as well as local particularities.
• Document analysis and analysis of existing statistics and targeted expert interviews will complement the assessment.
• Joint creation of a protocol to be followed in all regions with the procedures that must be adopted in tasks 3.2 and 3.3
• Organization of a training session for all researchers involved in this task 3.3.
• Analysis and combination of the results of the three focus groups.

Relevant legislation and regulation: This scholarship will be carried on the basis of a signed  contract between the University of Évora and the scholarship recipient, under the terms of the Research Scholarship Regulations of the University of Évora (Ordem de Serviço nº1/2011), the Scientific Research Grant Holder Statute  (Law nº40/2004 of the 18 of August and Decree-Law nº202/2012 of the 27 of August) and according to the Regulations and legislation for advanced training and qualifications for human resources of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

Place of work: The work is to be developed at the ICAAM, Polo da Mitra of the University of Évora.

Length of the scholarship: Six months, beginning in May 2016, renewable for a maximum of one year.

Payment: According to the scholarship values applied by the Portuguese Research Foundation (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores): the monthly payment is of 980, 00 Euros, not subject to taxes, and the contribution to the national social-medical insurance is paid by the project. The payment is done by cheque or bank transfer on a monthly basis.

Selection: The selection is done based on the documentation sent, mainly the analysis of the CV. an interview may be required. The interview will be used to select between candidates equally ranked. When the candidates are not available to come to Évora, the interview may be undertaken using skype.

Selection Comitee: Professor Maria Teresa Amado Pinto Correia; Professor Gottlieb Basch; Professora Doutora Maria Elvira Sales Baptista; Professor Nuno Manuel Cabral de Almeida Ribeiro; Professor Maria Paula Duarte Simões.

Announcement of results:  The results will be published through a ranked listed and disposed at the entrance of Colégio de Regentes Agrícolas do Núcleo da Mitra da Universidade de Évora. The candidates receive the information by e-mail.

Period for the call and presentation of application: The call is open in between the 4th april and the 15th April 2016, and the results will be announced until the 18th April 2016.

The submissions may be done through a motivation letter, a CV, relevant certificates, sent to Prof.ª Doutora Teresa Pinto Correia - mtpc@uevora.pt