NERC High level Policy Placement with Welsh Government

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The aim of this placement is to support and enhance the processes that ensure that the wide range of science research that is undertaken by and through the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is effectively transferred to Scottish Government (and its partners), and so forms the evidence base for effective development of relevant policies and practice. At the same time, it looks to influence the focus and scope of NERC research to better meet the distinctive needs of Scotland.The Scottish Government is a major funder of science in the area of rural affairs, food and the environment,. With an investment of over £50 million a year, it supports a broad range of research topics which underpin and inform the development of Scottish policies, ranging from the land use strategy to urban air quality. This impacts on the lives of everyone, with the core focus in this context being the support for research in agriculture, food, environmental change, wildlife, and rural communities.NERC is the leading funder of independent environmental science in the UK, spending some £330 million per year through universities and Research Centres. It is committed to working in partnership with others to ensure that its focus and priorities for research spending meet the needs of those who are developing and reviewing polices and practices in these areas of science.The post being established in this project will act as a conduit between these two organisations, working with key persons in each to improve the the links between the science delivered by NERC and the evidence needs of those developing policies in Scottish Government and its partner organisations in the public sector. Key to this will be a number of specific objectives and outputs:1. Aligning the focus and contents of Scottish Government's and NERC strategies, including their approaches, priorities and opportunitiesThe initial stage in objective 1 will involve a review of the Scottish Government and their partners current evidence plans against the current NERC science programmes and priorities2. Support the development of the science evidence base for policy development. As part of these investigations, a review will also be undertaken of what sources RESAS and CAMERAS leads have utilised to create their policy positions - what is the evidence base that most informs the current policy? and from where do policy leads get their knowledge?3. Broker links with NERC-funded scientists and relevant data and evidence sources to inform Scottish Government engagement with wider evidence programmes. NERC and Scottish Government already have some well-developed areas of joint activity, supporting specific projects and programmes in key areas. Scottish Government also developed innovative ideas to bring academics and policy makers together through their Centres of Science Expertise in such areas as Climate Change and Water. An initial stage of this objective will therefore be to review these existing partnerships in order to capture best practice and identify where any barriers to engagement and uptake of science may be occurring and thus hindering effective knowledge transfer.4. Act as a strategic link between NERC and Scottish Government to scope and initiate measures to ensure a long-term sustainable strategic framework for how NERC and Scottish Government (and their agencies and Centres of Expertise) can work together. The final objective will bring together the findings of the first three objectives to explore mechanisms for engaging the NERC community with Scottish Government policy evidence needs and vice-versa on a more permanent and sustainable basis, through the development of a joint strategic framework.Impact:The immediate beneficiaries of this work will be policy-makers and science thematic leads in both Scottish Government and NERC, leading ultimately to more effective and timely delivery of relevant science to support policy and practice.