In spring of 2019, Catherine Bonier and Ozayr Saloojee were invited by Project Leaders Bjarki Hallgrimsson and Dominique Marshall to support the Gendered Design in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math) project as sector experts in the built environment, public space, and infrastructure. The GDS project is a $1.1 million-dollar International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Foundations for Innovation Grant. Professor Bonier followed the project, reviewing grant applications and supervising a team research assistant. In summer of 2021, Natalia Escobar Castrillón joined as a collaborator, helping to support research teams at the National University of Cordóba and University of Buenos Aires as they complete their projects.
https://www.idrc.ca/en/project/gendered-design-steam-science-technology-engineering-arts-and-math
Abstract: This project will contribute to more inclusive technological designs in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and math) by building capacity in gendered innovations. These are new or improved products and processes designed using sex and gender analysis, generating substantial benefits for society and advancing gender equality. Responding to gaps in gendered research and design, the project seeks to: expand and enhance the community of experts and innovators in gendered innovation, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); develop gendered case studies and design projects that are driven by LMIC interests and researchers; and make gendered challenges in the design of technologies more visible to researchers, designers and innovators, particularly in LMICs. Carleton University, in close collaboration with multidisciplinary experts in Canada and LMICs, will manage and coordinate the primary activities: calls for case studies as well as prototype and process designs; the delivery of complementary training and mentoring; and knowledge synthesis. The calls will be open to a limited number of countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The project of CAD 1.1million will disburse up to 30 small grants and support both face-to-face and virtual capacity building activities. Outputs will include up to 20 case studies and 10 design prototypes, up to 60 graduate students trained, publications and a public science portal of virtual / online exhibits. The project will strengthen the community of scholars and innovators engaged in gendered innovation, leading to a new network of such actors, particularly in LMICs. The project is structured to foster mutual learning and long-lasting partnerships among institutions of higher learning in LMICs and Canada.
Duration of project: April 2019 – March 2022 (36 months)
Lead Institution: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Co-Principal Investigators:
Bjarki Hallgrimsson, Director, School of Industrial Design, Faculty of Engineering and Design
Dominique Marshall, Chair, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
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