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Strategic Research for SEERAD 2005-2010: Environment, Biology and Agriculture

Objective 1 - Relevant Research

"To procure scientific research that is of high quality and strategically relevant to Scottish Ministers' policy, legislative and enforcement functions."

Research Needs and Priorities

There are many complex and challenging issues facing Scotland and its people. Many of these are amenable to solutions informed by appropriate scientific research.

While current Research Programmes are generally addressing areas of scientific interest and relevance, the focus for SEERAD policies and priorities is changing and will need to change further in the future to align with the needs of society. Among the main driving factors for these changes is the need to address environmental sustainability; EU legislation in environment, food and public health; Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform; climate change; biodiversity including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); health and lifestyle issues.

In addition, scientific advances now allow research to address much more complex and relevant questions. The need for larger multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches to investigate such issues requires greater co-ordination and collaboration among the researchers in the design and implementation of research projects.

The research funded by SEERAD Science and Research Group needs to respond to all these factors. In principle, all work carried out on SEERAD funding must relate to the policy interests of SEERAD and their related stakeholder communities.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will seek to maximise the policy relevance of the work it supports.

Over the years from 1999 to 2003 the proportion of funded research which could be classified as policy relevant increased from 25% to 54%. Over the next 5 years to 2010 SEERAD Science and Research Group will expect this figure to increase to at least 75%.

The main areas of policy interest for the SEERAD Science and Research Group's Programme relate to sustainable land use (including agriculture), environment, biodiversity and conservation, diet and health. The focus of research within these areas is set out in more detail in the Programme descriptions in Annex 2.

The test of policy relevance will be an important guide to SEERAD Science and Research Group particularly where choices must be made for limited funding. The increased focus on policy relevance is of critical significance but it does not imply that research should only be applied or short term; SEERAD recognise that research of a strategic nature in relevant areas can be needed to develop the knowledge base which underpins policy formulation in the future.

However, in the period of this strategy, SEERAD Science and Research Group will expect the proportion of funded research, classified on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Frascati system ( www.oecd.org/publications) as applied (strategic and specific), to increase. The policy relevance of any basic and strategic underpinning work to the critical scientific problems facing SEERAD must be clearly demonstrated. Where that relevance is not clear, or where basic science is being carried out elsewhere, such work will not be duplicated by activity funded by SEERAD.

SEERAD Science and Research Group also recognise the wider importance of the scientific research that has traditionally been supported by them, in particular to the Scottish Executive Health Department. Understanding the impact on human health of food and food production systems is important to the Scottish Executive's health improvement policy, as well as to SEERAD's stakeholders. SEERAD Science and Research Group will therefore work in close consultation with colleagues in the Health Department to ensure that the work supported through SEERAD's Programme provides the best possible contribution to the respective policy priorities of each Department. Where that contribution cannot be identified it will no longer be appropriate for SEERAD Science and Research Group to fund this work and funding will be withdrawn.

The Programme Approach

In the past, research funded by SEERAD Science and Research Group has aligned to changing needs through changes to the remits, missions and scientific disciplines employed by the MRPs. Although the remits were agreed by SEERAD Science and Research Group, they reflected the views of the MRPs themselves and their capability and aspirations rather than being primarily informed by SEERAD's overriding concerns. This approach is no longer appropriate.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will adopt a Programme Approach to funding research. This will represent a fundamental change in the way in which research needs are determined, developed, managed and funded.

Research Programmes will focus on the areas of policy priority to SEERAD and the needs of end-users. They will concentrate on the outputs and outcomes of research, not on the detailed management of the resource inputs to the process (which tended to be the focus of the previous system).

The type of work contributing to a Programme will vary depending on the research area. Some Programmes may have a significant proportion of oriented basic or applied strategic research, while others may contain more applied specific or developmental work. A number of providers may contribute to a Programme.

There will be 4 main Research Programmes. In addition there will be 3 Cross-Cutting Themes (CCTs) to which each of the main Programmes will contribute.

The desired outcomes of the Research Programmes will be specified by SEERAD Science and Research Group. These will focus on the needs of key stakeholder groups, and in particular, on the policy priorities of the Scottish Executive.

Within each Programme a number of objectives will be identified and work will be commissioned through a series of work packages. Outputs and outcomes will be required at the Programme level and will need to integrate the outputs of the component work packages. Programme outcomes will require synthesis, interpretation and knowledge transfer activities. Programmes will include outcomes that address CCTs.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Cross-Cutting Theme 1: Responding to Climate Change

Climate change is widely recognised as one of the most serious environmental threats facing our planet. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the burning of fossil fuels and from environmental sources are already making a significant impact on the world's climate through effects on global concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere and ozone depleting substances. Consequences for Scotland's land use, environment and rural communities need to be better understood, as do the drivers for climate change and how they can be mitigated. This CCT will integrate outputs from the 4 Programmes in order to generate products and knowledge that enable Scotland to respond to climate change, and which help mitigate the release of GHG.

Cross-Cutting Theme 2: Protecting Biodiversity

Biodiversity has economic importance through the supply of food, natural products, environmental services and natural heritage. It also enriches our lives and is a measure of the sustainability of our society. Global concerns over the loss of biodiversity are reflected within Scotland where, as elsewhere, biodiversity is under threat from many factors including development, intensive agriculture, climate change and pollution. This CCT will integrate relevant outputs from the Programmes in order to generate knowledge and products that enable Scotland to protect and enhance the biodiversity found in rural areas and consider the implications of change.

Cross-Cutting Theme 3: Environmental, Social & Economic Sustainability of Rural Scotland

This theme aims to produce knowledge and capability for the development and implementation of evidence based policy and practice that ensures the environmental, economic and social sustainability of rural Scotland. Rural Scotland is an essential part of Scotland's economy and quality of life and the sustainability of rural Scotland is addressed by many key Executive policies. This CCT will interact with the outputs of the 4 Programmes in order to inform an integrated holistic approach to land management. This includes the human dimensions of land management and rural communities. Many of the outputs that the theme aims to achieve will require an inter-disciplinary approach.

Main Programme Areas

Programme 1: Profitable and Sustainable Agriculture - Plants

This Programme aims to deliver outputs such as knowledge and technology which help develop successful Scottish crop production in a changing environment. Future research will exploit novelty in genetics resources (plant and pathogen) and will develop an improved understanding of how plants and pathogens react with their environment. Opportunities will be sought to link the science funded by SEERAD with that of other funders in order to achieve a coherent Programme of crop science within the UK. A number of initiatives already underway in Scotland, the UK and Europe seek to maximise added value to the UK's investment in plant science. These include the implementation of the report from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's (BBSRC) Crop Science review, the ERANet Plant Genomics Programme and efforts within Scotland aimed at encouraging networking and closer working of plant and crop scientists.

Programme 2: Profitable and Sustainable Agriculture - Animals

This Programme will help Scottish livestock enterprises deliver high quality primary food products derived from animals that optimise benefits for human health and are produced in systems that promote the health and welfare of animals and enhance the environment.

Programme 3: Environment - Land Use and Rural Stewardship

This Programme will help develop an appropriate balance between various land uses such as agriculture, environmental services, recreation and the preservation and enhancement of natural heritage. The Programme will study the impact that different types of rural land uses have on natural heritage and the environment. Much of the work to be undertaken in this Programme will involve integrative research on different systems such as farming systems, soils and the natural environment to determine key factors linked with function and resilience and which lead to sustainability. The Programme also aims to improve our knowledge on hazard identification and the threat that various risks represent for the Scottish rural environment.

Programme 4: Impacts on Human Health

This Programme will contribute to the delivery of information on how the food we eat and the way it is produced and consumed affects human health. Outputs should provide a robust basis for dietary and nutritional advice, and provide underpinning scientific evidence and sources of innovation for the health improving properties of our food. It will also consider the environmental health impacts of existing food production systems and changes in them. Outputs from this Programme should also inform the production of desirable food quality traits and be relevant to food processors.

A fuller description of the proposed Programmes and Programme Objectives (POs) is given in Annex 2. Although the exact content of Programmes of research will be subject to discussion and alteration at the component work package, the main focus of the research areas is not expected to change in any significant way over the period of this Strategy.

Also included in this Annex is a description of the process through which these Programmes will be commissioned.

Research on International Plant Biodiversity

In addition to the Scottish-focussed research described above, SEERAD also funds taxonomic and systematics research, plant conservation and collections which focus on overseas plant biodiversity, carried out by RBGE. Although primarily directed at supporting international biodiversity policies, this research will complement work on Scottish biodiversity. Support for this international research will continue to be managed through the sponsorship funding arrangements for the RBGE, as opposed to the Programme approach outlined above. More detail of this work is given in Annex 3.

Integration and Collaboration

The importance of multi- and inter-disciplinary research has already been stressed. The central importance of sustainability to the CCTs makes this fundamental to the focus of research activities and their outcomes. There is therefore an increasing underlying unity in the overall research activities that SEERAD Science and Research Group will support. Interaction and collaboration will be increasingly important and relevant. The Programme descriptions ( Annex 2) show how the areas of research focus relate to each other and where the areas of important interaction lie. They also emphasise the significance of inter-disciplinary studies to the underlying policy issues facing SEERAD. Many key areas of interest are in the overlaps between the main areas of scientific enquiry. Adopting the Programme approach will ensure that proper focus is applied to these overlapping areas.

Work no longer part of Programmes

The Programmes as set out in Annex 2 describe the future research requirements. To a significant extent they reflect activity that is currently supported. However, some work that has been supported hitherto will no longer be relevant and continued funding will no longer be justified. In introducing the Programmes, these areas will be fully identified and transitional arrangements to terminate the activities will be put in place.

New Work - Increasing Competition

A study undertaken during the review identified that there are potential alternative suppliers to the MRPs in most areas of science of interest to SEERAD Science and Research Group. Competition could therefore have a role to play in raising the quality, relevance and efficiency of the overall Programme and SEERAD Science and Research Group will over time increase the amount of competitively tendered work in the Programmes.

The Research Needs and Priorities Review (RNPR) identified a number of areas of research that will require greater investment in the future. These have been subsumed into the Research Programmes described in Annex 2.

Where appropriate, these areas of research will be developed by SEERAD's current MRPs. However, in a number of areas other providers may already have sufficient or better expertise, facilities and critical mass to carry out the required research. Competition in these areas will assist the greater efficiency of the overall Programme, and the improvement of quality but it will be introduced as funding becomes available and to give current main providers time to adapt.

Quality Assessment

Assessment of SEERAD's MRPs was carried out through the Research Organisation Assessment Exercise (ROAE) which was completed in October 2003. Care was taken to ensure comparability of systems of assessment with those applied by other funders to similar research organisations. This exercise found a range of performance with some organisations achieving a "high national" (strong) or "international" (very strong) rating and a number of the research groups within organisations scoring at the "international" (very strong) level. These positive assessments reflect well on the organisations themselves and bring merit to Scotland.

SEERAD Science and Research Group wishes to maintain and improve on the high level of performance in its current MRPs.

Of greater concern, however, were the lower assessments given to some areas of activity. SEERAD Science and Research Group would not expect work funded by it to fall short of the high national (strong) standards and where that has proved to be the case the immediate challenge to the management of those organisations is clear. Such a poor performance will provide an indication where SEERAD Science and Research Group should consider withdrawing funding.

Future assessments of research funded by SEERAD Science and Research Group will continue to rate quality using accepted peer review mechanisms and standards as an integral part of a broader assessment of overall performance. However, this will not be given greater priority than the assessment of relevance.

Of significant importance in moving to a Programme approach will be a wider role for peer review at the research appraisal stage. This is essential to ensure the relevance, quality and efficiency of the Research Programmes. SEERAD Science and Research Group will set up a mechanism for obtaining appropriate peer review advice. Programmes will only be fully commissioned following peer review ( see Annexes 1 and 2).

Strategic Advisory Panel

The review process advised that SEERAD Science and Research Group should consider how it can best obtain independent scientific and research advice on the overall balance and structure of its research activities. Currently neither SEERAD nor SEERAD Science and Research Group has any form of standing committee which provides strategic or scientific advice to the Department or Group. A number of ad hoc groups have advised SEERAD Science and Research Group on various issues and the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) provides advice on a range of scientific policies across the Scottish Executive, including matters relevant to SEERAD.

Most other funders look to standing committees to provide strategic advice. Perhaps the most sophisticated of these are the Research Councils where in addition to the Council itself, there is a suite of committees to advise on Research Programmes, strategy and funding. Recently Defra have set up the Scientific Advisory Council to provide high level strategic scientific advice. SEERAD can tap into these sources of advice particularly on matters which have UK relevance, for example, the need for investment in new scientific approaches, technologies or facilities. However, they are unable to address issues of particular Scottish relevance or the overall balance of SEERAD's activities and needs for science.

The change to a Programme approach, the need to open the funds further to competition and to strengthen the relevance of the research funded by SEERAD Science and Research Group all confirm the need for independent advice at a strategic level.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will therefore establish a Strategic Advisory Panel to advise on such issues as the continuing relevance and overall balance of the Programmes.

The Panel will consider and advise on the allocation of resources between Programmes, whether new Programme Objectives or approaches are justified. SEERAD will also look to the Panel for advice on how to take forward horizon scanning activities to inform the future development of the work that it funds. Its membership will be drawn from end-users, the research community and other funders. Appointments will be made in accordance with the procedures of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (CPAS).

Although SEERAD Science and Research Group would initially set up this group to advise on its research portfolio, consideration will also be given to the contribution such a group could make to the overall approach to, and use of, science across the entirety of SEERAD functions. For example, this could include the environmental, land use and rural policy and fisheries Research Programmes. Such a group might advise on overall effectiveness by identifying areas of common interest and collaboration. Co-ordination of Research Programmes will feature in early discussion with the Strategic Advisory Panel.

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