Professional Services Award 2022
Dr Marla Fuchs
Department of Plant Sciences
School of Biological Sciences
The Vice-Chancellor's Awards
for Research Impact and Engagement
About the researcher
Dr Marla Fuchs is the Chief Operating Officer for TIGR2ESS, a £7.8M collaborative research programme funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Grow Call to tackle key research issues and their translation, with the goal of bringing resilience, equal opportunities and diversity to the food system in India. She is responsible responsible for the successful delivery of the programme.
In her role, Marla manages a portfolio of complex, multi-partner, international programmes around food security, policy, water resource management, nutrition, and sustainability.
Marla is currently the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account coordinator in the Research Strategy Office at the University of Cambridge. In this role Marla provides a central role supporting impact activities across the University. She helps facilitate impact with external partners and across disciplines.
The Vice-Chancellor's Awards
for Research Impact and Engagement
About the researcher
Dr Marla Fuchs is the Chief Operating Officer for TIGR2ESS, a £7.8M collaborative research programme funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Grow Call to tackle key research issues and their translation, with the goal of bringing resilience, equal opportunities and diversity to the food system in India. She is responsible responsible for the successful delivery of the programme.
In her role, Marla manages a portfolio of complex, multi-partner, international programmes around food security, policy, water resource management, nutrition, and sustainability.
Marla is currently the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account coordinator in the Research Strategy Office at the University of Cambridge. In this role Marla provides a central role supporting impact activities across the University. She helps facilitate impact with external partners and across disciplines.
Marla Fuchs’ leadership of TIGR2ESS has been integral to the success of the interdisciplinary collaborations and events that have taken place across the programme. She has shown grace under the pressure over the last several months of the programme, while managing unprecedented cuts at short notice, taking care to ensure external partners felt equitably supported.
Dr. Jagjit Singh Srai, TIGR2ESS Flagship Project Lead, Head,
Centre for International Manufacturing, Univesrity of Cambridge
What is the research?
TIGR2ESS (Transforming India’s Green Revolution by Research and Empowerment for Sustainable food Supplies): UK-India Collaboration is Driving High-level Policy Engagement and Positive Outcomes for Rural Communities in India
TIGR2ESS is composed of 6 flagship projects, ranging in disciplines from archaeology to engineering and plant sciences. The programme has 15 academic leads and over 30 post-doctoral researchers spread across the UK and India.
Marla has worked to facilitate collaboration among the 20 independent international organisations, support over 30 post-doctoral researchers and coordinate 15 academic leads in the pursuit of finding sustainable ways forward for agriculture in India through academic exchanges, engagement with rural communities, female empowerment and translation into policy.
The programme has shaped policy to support smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, supporting 2 million farmers to access markets in Punjab, saved 58 billion litres of water through more efficient irrigation practices, and facilitated ECR capacity building activities.
Through agile and experienced management of the programme, Marla enabled the programme to grow and thrive. She prepared and orchestrated programme wide events including a general assembly in India.
Marla elected to bring the programme manager and senior collaborative leads from our sister project, MillNETi to India for the TIGR2ESS general assembly. This enabled their first face to face meeting, as they were not eligible for visas to visit the UK and created the opportunity for south-south connections between researchers working in India, Ethiopia and The Gambia..
The impact of this project is truly epic in scale and importance. The project has had a huge influence on people and communities in the developing world. This was demonstrated through the exemplary and very large scale of engagement that has been managed and undertaken, working in close collaboration with partners.
The judges
Quick fire Q&A
Dr Marla Fuchs
1
Have you ever had a Eureka moment?
The realisation that there was no singular solution to the environmental crisis we’re currently a part of, but that I wanted to spend my life working towards those solutions
2
What motivates you?
Knowing that to improve the outcomes for the planet and people on it, we have all the tools we need
3
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new skill, what would it be?
To speak and understand another language
4
What advances would you like to see in your field within your lifetime?
Equitable representation of those most affected by climate change, at the table, helping to solve it
5
What bit of your role gives you the most satisfaction?
Facilitating a new outcome at the intersection of two disparate disciplines
6
What did you want to be growing up?
An astronaut – until I went scuba diving. Then I became even more fascinated with the planet I was already on.
7
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Weaving a career together in a rare space that values women, the environment and science simultaneously
Find out more
TIGR2ESS - Shaping the Future of Indian Farming
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