Walking through the forested grounds that make up the spectacular setting of The James Hutton Institute’s office in Aberdeen, strange words flowed through my brain like an alien stream of consciousness.
SAGS and IKES, SEFARI, ENRA, EPIC and CREW, POPs and GHGs. The list went on and the acronyms were endless. I soon started compiling my own “acronym dictionary” to help translate this somewhat alien language.
Learning this new language was not the only reason my brain was buzzing during the first few weeks in my new role as research and communications manager at SEFARI Gateway. The sheer breadth and variety of what the tiny team I have joined aims to achieve is, to a certain extent, rather mind boggling.
With just four people making up the core team of Gateway (three of whom are part time) this is a mini organisation that defies its small stature to achieve a vast amount and variety of work.
From collaborating with a huge range of stakeholders to fund research, to organising conferences, delivering training and sharing knowledge via our website and social media channels, we have our fingers in a lot of pies.
We are one of the Scottish Government’s five Centres of Expertise within the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) research portfolio. Our area of expertise is Knowledge Exchange and Innovation.
In terms of names, the cool kid on the Centres’ block is definitely EPIC, the Centre of Expertise for Animal Disease Outbreaks, which sounds like a Marvel superhero. And we aren’t as easy to define as some of the other Centres. CREW for example is the Centre of Expertise for water. It’s pretty clear what their research focusses on!
However, where we are unique is in the breadth of our remit, which on the one hand means we do have to sometimes rein in the sheer volume of work we can take on. But it also means the scope for what we can, and do achieve, is enormous.
Charles Bestwick, director of Gateway, leads the team with a formidable mix of serious amounts of experience, huge brain power and a determination to bring about real change. He wants to actively get things done and likes the idea of being “the guerilla army of knowledge exchange”! The projects the team has successfully brought to fruition under his leadership are a testament to this approach.
One such project resulted in creating a new genetic scorecard – a world-first tool to assess and manage the risks to genetic diversity of species, another put a value on the health and wellbeing of outdoor space owned by the NHS. And there are numerous other examples.
It has been a privilege to join a team that shines bright with talent. Amy Cooper, the brilliant communications and engagement officer, takes a lead on everything from updating the extensive SEFARI website to creating social media content, writing and editing blogs and attending events. And Ioanna Akoumianaki, our impact officer, has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of her subject. She could probably write a book on the subject of impact!
Our small core-team is supported by a fantastic network of Knowledge Brokers, whose role is to build contacts and share knowledge across the SEFARI network and further afield. I like to think of us a bit like an octopus. The four-person core team is the body and the Knowledge Brokers are the tentacles probing in all directions. Find out more about our Knowledge Brokers here.
So what does SEFARI Gateway actually do? Well that’s the crux of why I wanted to join this small but mighty organisation. Every area of focus is not just important, but potentially critical. We don’t just share knowledge, we also commission research, with funding and support from the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) division of the Scottish Government.
And every area of research we commission is of key importance both to Scotland and globally. Because working within the ENRA portfolio means we are working on food production (and security), climate change, sustainability, the environment, biodiversity. All the big areas that are, basically, critical to the future of humanity and the natural world.
Crucially, we also help researchers connect with those who need to know about what they have discovered, embedding impact into the process of their work. We are here to help train and enable researchers to communicate, and create impact from, the work they are doing. Knowledge exchange is a critical aspect of research and an understanding of routes to impact needs to be embedded from day one of new project being commissioned. Gateway is here to help with this process and we are planning an extensive programme of training to help facilitate this (watch this space and please get in touch (Contact | SEFARI) if you would be interested in future training opportunities).
When finances are tight the reality is that researchers need to be able to explain and, to a certain extent, justify why their work is important, and how it can have impact.
A few months into my new role, the acronyms are slipping off my tongue as readily as they do off those around me, I have more clarity as to the variety and importance of the work Gateway undertakes and I am full of enthusiasm to play my small part in bringing about impactful research and knowledge exchange.
Blog written by Jenny Fyall, SEFARI Research and Communications Manager