The award recognizes scholars who spend some of their time directly involved in engaged work beyond scholarship, through activism, organization, or advocacy, whether in local communities, public or private institutions, or through transnational networks. “Engagement” and “activism” include efforts by scholars to participate in community-based or policy-oriented engagement, advising, social organizing, and/or societal transformation, beyond having their academic work read by those outside academia.
The Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) was founded in 1983. The section seeks a better understanding of feedbacks between human and natural systems within global, regional, and national contexts. ESS supports innovative research, theoretical diversity, interdisciplinary perspectives, and the application of a wide array of methodologies for analyzing international environmental issues and global environmental governance.