Janice Jiggins is a social scientist and currently Professor of Human Ecology, Department of Rural Development Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala. She has spent much of her professional life working in interdisciplinary teams in Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia, on three related topics: agricultural research, extension, and other services for small-scale farmers; population dynamics and reproductive health; natural resource management in relation to agriculture. Gender equity, participatory process and collaborative research are important cross-cutting concerns. Systems thinking and methodological innovation are enduring enthusiasms.