In December, we announced the eight projects selected for funding in the second round of SCAF pump-priming awards. The projects bring together twenty-four researchers and practitioners from different institutions and sectors, showcasing perspectives and expertise from nutrition, plant and agricultural sciences, microbiology, pharmacology, food media and communications, food systems management, public health, community development, animal nutrition, law, artisan baking and history. Read more about the projects in our dedicated blog. 

We opened the third round of pump priming awards last month (deadline: Friday 14 February 2025). All SCAF members are invited to apply to carry out collaborative research exploring food in the context of health, sustainability, or equity. These awards have a high suggest rate (70% across round 1 and 2) are designed to kick-start new collaboration, or de-risk future larger projects. You can find out more and apply on our website. 

As a way to stimulate new collaborations and for members to get to know each other, we held our first online networking session in early December. This is part of a series of 1-hour monthly networking meetings (next meeting: Wednesday 22 January, 6pm - Register here to join). One of the topics discussed during this first meeting included plans for the Academy of Citizens (AoC), which will be supported by new member Sophie Gardiner, a research associate at the Glasgow School of Art with AoC workstream co-lead Dr Michael Johnson. 

Michael also led a planning meeting with SCAF leadership team members to develop a pilot AoC panel. The panel will include members of the public to steer the development of research and explore strategies to increase public understanding and input in widely debated food topics.  

SCAF was also represented at the Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ) meeting by SCAF director, Prof Emilie Combet, to collectively discuss Scotland’s response to COP29. SBNZ, a coalition founded by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow which now spans Scotland's major research institutions, catalyses research collaboration across climate action. SBNZ's collaborative platform offers opportunities to strengthen the integration of food sustainability within Scotland's climate response through future cross-institutional research initiatives. The meeting brought together academics from across Scotland's university community and practitioners, who had been closely involved in both biodiversity COP16 and climate COP29, with discussions centring on climate finance, nature-based solutions, and technology transfer.  

Wrapping up the first twelve months of SCAF, our special issue of the December newsletter reflected the diversity of events and activities held so far. You can read it here. 

 

SCAF Hexagon Infographic - December newsletter and blog

First published: 9 January 2025

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