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

Objective 3 - Sustainability of the SEERAD Research Base

"To ensure that those parts of the research base funded by SEERAD Science and Research Group are effective and efficient."

Over 85% of the research commissioned by SEERAD Science and Research Group is currently undertaken by its MRPs. The challenges facing them and the implications of this strategy must be carefully considered.

Hitherto, considerable emphasis for the SEERAD Science and Research Group Programme has been placed on maintaining a high quality science base, which contributed to the overall UK science base. While contributing to the UK science base will remain important for SEERAD Science and Research Group, it can no longer be the primary objective. The relevance of the research is the first priority.

SEERAD Science and Research Group recognises research conducted in the environment of a Research Institute has a specific contribution to make to its Programmes. However the Institutes that exist at present in Scotland have developed over many years and must continue to develop and adapt in the light of future and emerging needs. The role performed by MRPs and the research they undertake must be demonstrably distinct from other bodies or from work supported by other funders for it to attract continuing SEERAD Science and Research Group funding.

Initial analysis suggests that expertise and facilities in the following areas will continue to be relevant to SEERAD's research needs:

• Plant health

• Animal health and welfare

• Environmental management (with specific knowledge and understanding of biodiversity and ecosystems prevalent in Scotland)

• Maintenance and exploitation of germplasm collections of national and international importance

• The links between primary food products and health

• Land use systems with particular reference to Scotland's environment

If relevant expertise were not available in these areas, there would be significant gaps in the knowledge and understanding necessary to inform Scottish Executive policy development and the conduct of its statutory functions. Some of this expertise is available widely within the research community. SEERAD Science and Research Group will encourage the best quality researchers to contribute to its Research Programme and ensure that research funding is at appropriate levels to achieve the objectives of the work. Much of that work will continue to be appropriately undertaken in an Institute environment.

Sustainability - the Future of the Research Base

Notwithstanding the continuing role for research undertaken in an Institute context, the Strategy Review examined closely whether there were more effective and efficient ways for provision of research to meet SEERAD's needs. The ROAE had highlighted particular problems of scientific critical mass within most of the MRPs. These must be considered and addressed.

The current position is not sustainable in the medium to long term. Measures to maintain value for money for the SEERAD Science and Research Group budget and to address the fundamental issue of critical mass, including reconfiguration and consolidation, are needed for long-term sustainability.

Individually, SEERAD Science and Research Group's MRPs are relatively small institutions in a UK or international context and to maintain sustainability for the future they need to seek ways of working in larger clusters. This will be necessary particularly to tackle the larger and more important problems in the biological and environmental sciences that require larger teams and inter-disciplinary approaches.

Scotland's Universities are also recognising the need to focus their efforts in a number of areas to ensure the maintenance of a high quality research base. ³ Recently, the SSAC identified the potential advantages of building on scientific strengths across the Scottish research community and have suggested particular opportunities in the formation of centres of research excellence across the Research Institute and University sectors in Scotland. ⁴

SEERAD Science and Research Group's MRPs can address the issue of sustainability in two ways:

Some or all could come together to form a single organisation. This would have the advantages of increased prestige and status at home and abroad, potential for rationalisation of facilities and support functions, better ability to attract high quality scientists and a clear system for facilitating multi- and inter-disciplinary Research Programmes. Against that is the spread of activity in the MRPs which may not lend itself to unitary management. The dispersed sites operated also limit the integration that can be achieved.

They could individually form a closer relationship with a relevant University. This would address more significantly the issue of intellectual critical mass, but could also provide efficiencies through shared Programmes, appointments and facilities.

These options are not mutually exclusive. The detailed potential of each will be explored as an urgent priority.

While there is a need to examine the underlying issues in more detail, preliminary analysis suggests that there is considerable benefit in deepening relationships between MRPs and relevant Universities.

A major study will examine the issues involved in forming closer linkages between the land based research providers (SCRI, MLURI, MRI, SAC) including the scope and potential to support common activities. It will take account of the continuing discussions on a range of deepening relationships with Universities which are also underway. Some alliances, such as the Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) development between Aberdeen University, MLURI and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory, are well advanced, while other alliances are at earlier stages. These considerations will examine a variety of relationships ranging from simple joint ventures to full embedding of research activities.

Subject to the further investigation, SEERAD Science and Research Group will encourage and facilitate the further development of these relationships and will make funding available to support such strategic alliances.

A specific stream of funding will be introduced to assist strategic and long term partnership leading towards identifiable centres of excellence.

The funding could be used in a number of ways:

• Joint appointments (at Chair or Reader level) ⁵ with a University (or Institute) in a research area(s) pertinent to the SEERAD Science and Research Group Research Programmes

• Post-doctoral or postgraduate positions attached to the joint appointment to allow the research group to build up a reputation

• Positions (Chairs, Readers or Fellows) for "Science into Practice" - supporting the desire of SEERAD to improve activity on Knowledge and Technology Transfer from the SEERAD research base

The need to continue funding for some or all of the support posts would depend on the evolution of the SEERAD Research Programmes, the requirements to build or reduce effort in the area and on the ability of the joint appointment to attract funding from sources other than SEERAD. Chairs (or readerships) could be funded for up to 10 years (reviewed at suitable intervals for both the Institute and University to ensure continued relevance to requirements) while support positions would be funded for 3 to 5 years.

Proposals for joint appointments will be sought from the MRPs and Universities and will be considered according to a set of agreed criteria including the strength of the centre of excellence being proposed; relevance to SEERAD Science and Research Group (and the University or Research Council) Strategy; and the scope for deepening the relationship between the Institute and the University over the term of the appointment and value for money.

Research Collaborations

Advances in the ability of biological research to address complex questions have been considerable over recent years. With these advances comes the need for much larger teams of researchers, with a variety of skills and expertise, to address the problems and to provide broader and more relevant understanding. The previous research strategy set in place mechanisms to encourage collaboration between researchers and to fund projects which addressed the more complex issues which required such multi- or inter-disciplinary approaches.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will require further collaborative approaches throughout the Research Programmes which will include multi-disciplinary work.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will also keep in place mechanisms to encourage effective collaboration between relevant research groups.

BBSRC, NERC and Defra have all published research strategies recently. BBSRC has also published a research strategy for Sustainable Agriculture. All of these are relevant to the SEERAD Science and Research Group Research Programmes and the opportunities for co-ordination between funders are considerable.

There are many areas of activity where the different research funders are addressing similar goals even if the focus of their research differs. The Research Councils have responsibility for encouraging research at the basic or blue skies end of the research spectrum, although NERC and BBSRC have also embraced the need to provide underpinning work directed towards areas of future needs of society such as sustainable economies, renewable energy, healthcare and lifestyle issues. Defra also published its research strategy to underpin the Government's approach to sustainable development, the central focus for Defra's role.

Many important challenges, for example climate change, are too large and the ramifications too complex for one funder alone to address. The SEERAD Science and Research Group Programmes should provide an ideal forum and a firm foundation for dialogue to co-ordinate with the activities of other funders. Organisations such as the Environment Research Funders' Forum and multi- and inter-disciplinary joint Research Programmes such as the Rural Economy Land Use (RELU) are two important ways in which funders can come together to address common goals and avoid duplication. SEERAD Science and Research Group takes part in all relevant discussions in these and the many other mechanisms for co-ordination of research activities. In addition it is the intention that relevant funders attend Programme Review Meetings to assist co-ordination and collaboration. Once the Programme system is set up, SEERAD Science and Research Group will also seek to formulate joint Programmes of research with others.

In addition to the Research Councils and Defra, there is considerable potential for SEERAD Science and Research Group to align funding with Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) Strategic Research Development Grants, particularly in response to the possibility of research 'pooling' initiatives and formation of centres of excellence within the Scottish research community. This marks a major new approach for funding in Scotland and together with other funders, such as Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, should bring considerable local benefits to researchers and to Government.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will continue to seek active collaboration with other Scottish Executive funded agencies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER) and the Food Standards Agency Scotland and will look to developing interactions with other research councils (Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council) on relevant topics.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will continue to seek opportunities to collaborate and co-ordinate funding with others within its Programmes of research. Joint activities will be formalised through overarching concordat and liaison agreements with BBSRC, NERC, Defra and developing relationships with other funders in relevant areas.

Replacement of Grant-In-Aid by Grants for Rolling Programmes

Under the previous strategy SEERAD Science and Research Group obtained the majority of its research from a small number of MRPs. Each received grant-in-aid and funds for capital investment and in return undertook a portfolio of research projects that fell within a broad remit agreed by SEERAD Science and Research Group. While sponsorship of the main providers in this way has allowed stability, it is not sufficiently flexible to meet SEERAD's future needs.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will in future commission research under a small number of Programmes that describe objectives and required outputs. SEERAD Science and Research Group will no longer focus on individual research projects but will fund packages of work within each Programme based on agreed research proposals submitted by providers.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will replace grant-in-aid for identified organisations with grant payments related to the Programme work undertaken. In doing so, it will continue to base its funding on the estimated full economic cost (FEC) of the research activity undertaken. It will also seek to incorporate provision in its payments to meet the cost of items of non-recurring expenditure as far as practicable so that MRPs have maximum flexibility to plan and manage resources.

Packages of work within Programmes will receive funding for a defined period, depending on the area and type of work within the Programme. All Programmes would be reviewed at mid-points and future funding levels and objectives agreed well in advance of completion to allow effective forward planning.

In addition, MRPs will be able to earmark an element of the grant funding for development purposes providing they can satisfy the eligibility criteria (see below).

As indicated earlier in this document, SEERAD Science and Research Group also plans to introduce funding to promote centres of excellence and end-stage knowledge transfer and, in general, will seek to use the additional funds made available by Ministers in the recent Spending Review to take forward the key initiatives in this Strategy.

Funding for Development

The future facing SEERAD Science and Research Group's MRPs is challenging. SEERAD Science and Research Group recognise the pressures on them and wishes to support them as far as possible in the process of change necessary to ensure their continued contribution to the development of knowledge and policy. It is important that they have some flexibility within the overall relationship to allow them to develop.

Previously, 5% of core funding has been used for Non-Commissioned Research. These funds have been used for a diversity of projects and Programmes including support for new staff to set up Research Programmes, to fund PhD students and visiting scientists etc.

The upper limit for such funding will rise to 10% of funding and will be renamed Development Funding.

SEERAD Science and Research Group will set criteria for how these funds could be used. The types of activity that could be funded include:

• Restructuring of MRPs Research Programmes - to take account of re-orientation of Programmes requiring staff to retrain or develop new Programmes of research as a result of SEERAD Science and Research Group changes indicated to the organisation

• To develop new techniques and ideas

• To fund visiting scientists, sabbaticals and retraining visits for MRPs staff

• To fund PhD studentships

• To allow staff to undertake relevant research funded by charities (which do not attract FEC)

The accountability for, and decisions about the level and uses for this expenditure, will lie with the Chief Executive and the Board of the research provider.

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