SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture Education) and the UC Berkeley AMR (Agriculture in Metropolitan Regions) Program seek an experienced researcher for 20 – 25 hours per week, starting July 1 or sooner. Last day to apply: August 22, 2008.

Projects will include: 

• Sacramento Region Local Market and Multi-Functional Agricultural Assessment: As part of a comprehensive Rural Urban Connections Strategy, a major initiative of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), this Assessment will help achieve a better understanding of the potential of agricultural lands in the Sacramento region to contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of the region by directly supplying more of the region’s nutritional needs, and by providing valuable ecosystem services and other public benefits and amenities, in ways that will create additional economic opportunities to increase the sustainability of agriculture itself. 

• Local Foodshed Assessments: SAGE, AMR, and American Farmland Trust (AFT) are collaborating on a feasibility study of the potential of the City of San Francisco to get more of its food from local sources as a means to increase urban public health, regional agriculture viability, and urban-rural linkages. We are studying what San Francisco consumes, what is grown in Northern California, and the linkages between the two. The San Francisco study will be completed this summer; similar feasibility studies for other California cities are in the planning stages. 

This contract position is for three months with the likelihood of a three month extension. There is also a possibility of the position becoming a full-time project-manager/researcher position. 

Responsibilities 

• Compile and analyze quantitative and spatial data on local food consumption, production, and distribution, and about agri-tourism and various scales of urban and peri-urban agriculture 
• Assist with compilation and analysis of data on alternative energy production; (biomass, bio-fuels, co-generation, solar, hydro, geothermal); and ecosystem services (climate mitigation, habitat enhancement, air and water quality improvement, flood diversion & water storage) 
• Assist with production of materials include reports, PPT presentations, and summaries for web sites 
• Coordinate meetings of the project teams 

About SAGE: 

SAGE (http://www.sagecenter.org) is a small, growing non-profit organization located in North Berkeley. Primary SAGE projects include the planning and implementation of Agricultural Parks and production of regional food-shed assessments. SAGE often works in collaboration with the UC Berkeley AMR program (http://metrostudies.berkeley.edu/agmetroedge), a new program under the auspices of UC’s Global Metropolitan Studies Center. AMR investigates agriculture as an integral system for sustaining metropolitan regions worldwide. 

Additional Qualifications:

• 3-5 years experience as a researcher or research assistant, preferably in the field of agriculture resource economics, rural land use, food systems, and/or environmental services assessments 
• Excellent research skills, with an emphasis on quantitative analysis, including: graphic and visualization skills; exploratory data analysis; and citation skills. Linear and logistic multivariate regression and spatial statistics would be useful on some projects. 
• Excellent written and oral communications skills 
• Ability to work independently and in a team 
• Interest in metropolitan sustainability, multifunctional agriculture, and/or local food systems is a plus

How to Apply:

Please send a cover letter, resume, three references, compensation requirements, and an example of a report or article of which you were the primary author to . If you are not available to start July 1, but are still interested in the project for the fall semester, please let us know. 

Deadline: Rolling interviews; position is open until filled.