![Be passionate and patient: AELA 2022](https://aenweb.blob.core.windows.net/aenweb/articles/AELA_2022_social_media_posts_X2WFVvg.png)
Eucharia Oluchi Nwaichi, is the recipient of the Africa Evidence Leadership Award 2022 in the Evidence Producer category offered by the Africa Evidence Network. We caught up with Eucharia about receiving the award and asked her some questions about what the Africa Evidence Leadership Award means for her work.
AEN: How did you feel and respond when you were told that you had received the award?
EON: I felt elated and informed my team and network to rejoice with me.
AEN: What role do you think the Africa Evidence Leadership Award plays in the evidence-production and -use ecosystem in Africa?
EON: This Award will spur the receiver into more work in the field and cause in the long run, generation of more believable evidence set.
AEN: Name three ways you believe that you or your work will benefit from receiving the award? Why are these three things important to your work?
EON: A growing reputation, encouragement for people in the field, and wider reach. These are important to me because a great reputation enhances the chances for uptake of produced evidence, reward system in form of recognition encourages other people in the field to put in more effort in design and implementation of research activities, and incorporation of evidence in policymaking.
AEN: What is the one thing that you are most looking forward to about attending EVIDENCE 2022?
EON: I look forward to connecting with like minds.
AEN: What one piece of advice do you have for new colleagues coming into the evidence-informed decision-making space in Africa?
EON: Be passionate and patient because the terrain is not smooth as people are on the busy lane and may not listen at the first or second time. Grow your networks to increase the chances of connecting effectively the intermediaries and users of evidence.
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The views expressed in published blog posts, as well as any errors or omissions, are the sole responsibility of the author/s and do not represent the views of the Africa Evidence Network, its secretariat, advisory or reference groups, or its funders; nor does it imply endorsement by the aforementioned parties. Acknowledgments do not imply endorsement of the content.