An exciting opportunity for an individual researcher, or small team of researchers, is available in the form of a new Fellowship. With funding from SEFARI Gateway, and working in collaboration with Scottish Government, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and others within the Co-ordinated Agenda for Marine, Environment and Rural Affairs Science, this Fellowship will produce a strategic route map to enable use of DNA and other biomolecules to monitor, assess and understand the environment.
Background
SEFARI (Scottish Environment Food & Agriculture Institutions) Gateway (“the Gateway”) is the Centre of Expertise for Knowledge Exchange and Innovation for the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Portfolio for Environment, Rural Affairs and Agriculture (ENRA) 2022-2027.
The Gateway provides access to the Strategic Portfolio’s expertise, such as from SEFARI Institutes themselves and via the commissioning of wider expertise across Scotland and the UK. We ensure scientific evidence helps inform policy and practice across Scotland’s environment, land use, agriculture, food, and rural communities.
SEFARI Gateway Fellowships are bespoke, responsive opportunities aiming to develop a shared understanding between researchers and stakeholders, and to prioritise areas for common effort in addressing key priorities within Scotland’s National Outcomes.
The Co-ordinated Agenda for Marine, Environment and Rural Affairs Science (CAMERAS) is a partnership initiative between various publicly-funded organisations. It aims to align and co-ordinate the scientific activity of the partner organisations to ensure best use of existing resource and provide enhanced support to Scottish Government policy development and delivery, primarily in the rural, environmental and marine areas.
Many of the partner organisations are engaged in developing and using DNA and other molecular based methods to monitor, assess and understand the environment.
The CAMERAS board have taken an increasing interest in this area, and have previously supported a research project that was managed through the Scottish DNA Hub, and successfully demonstrated the potential for DNA-based methods to provide a practical means of monitoring biodiversity at a landscape scale in Scotland.
This study, alongside many others, demonstrates that DNA and other molecular based methods have great potential, and in some cases are already being used, to provide more cost-effective solutions for environmental monitoring in Scotland.
They can also provide new insights into biodiversity and ecosystem health, to better inform policy and regulatory decision making. However, if this potential is to be fully realised, there is a need to accelerate the tools from the research stage into operational tools and to identify key areas where these tools can be effectively adopted to support decision making.
The Fellowship
We require a Fellow(s) to produce a strategy and roadmap to support the development and expansion of DNA and other molecular based methods for environmental monitoring in Scotland.
They would describe the main areas where environmental evidence is needed to support key policy priorities and identify the major practical opportunities for DNA and molecular methods to support these through providing greater efficiency and relevant new insights.
They would assess current capabilities in developing and using these methods across the Scottish Government and its agencies, academic institutions and commercial companies, and compare these with developments in the field, both elsewhere in the UK, Europe and globally.
Gaps in existing capacity will be identified, as well as opportunities for strategic co-ordination and sharing of joint resources among Scottish partners.
Opportunities for alignment with wider initiatives, such as the development of international standards, would be identified to ensure that Scottish method development proceeds effectively and efficiently.
Approach
The successful applicant(s) will compile the evidence base and draft the strategy under the direction of a project steering group. This will be chaired by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and composed of members from CAMERAS Partners, SEFARI Gateway and the Scottish Government.
They will iterate a final approach in agreement with the steering group and SEFARI Gateway but this is anticipated to follow the following format:
Stage 1: Initial evidence gathering
This initial stage is expected to involve one, or possibly two, one-day workshops to gather input from a wide range of relevant research providers and users.
This evidence gathering stage will identify and describe:
Key environmental policy needs, and associated evidence requirements.
Main existing monitoring approaches and associated requirements for policy and regulatory decision making.
Current developments and targets in Scotland for using DNA and other molecular methods across the key organisations.
“State of play” for use and integration of molecular methods in environmental monitoring globally.
Existing relevant capabilities and resources across Scottish institutions. This will include facilities, equipment, skills and expertise.
Stage 2: Producing the strategic route map
A second stage will synthesise the evidence to provide a strategic route map for accelerating the development of operational methods which:
Identifies strategic gaps and opportunities for shared services, efficiency in alignment and coordination.
Assesses resourcing needs, supports necessary training and development, and facilitates access to skills.
Facilitates establishment of appropriate baselines and methods for reliable and repeatable reassessment.
Supports efforts towards standardisation and harmonisation of sampling, laboratory methodology, data analysis and data management at UK and international levels.
Facilities incorporation of sensitivity analyses and understanding sources of variation as new methods come on-stream.
Recognises requirements for open access to methods and data following the FAIR principles.
Accommodates integration with existing techniques and other emerging technologies.
Required Outputs
A report following the initial evidence-gathering stage / workshop(s) that provides progress on the work listed under Stage 1, above.
A final report at the end of Stage 2 that describes in detail the strategic route map that has been produced.
A case study to disseminate findings across stakeholders, which will be published on the SEFARI Gateway website, that will link to the above reports.
Duration and Time
The deadline for final report from the Fellowship is 28th February, 2026.
The distribution of time on the project will be jointly agreed by the Fellow(s), the project Steering Group and SEFARI Gateway.
Resources
The Fellowship supports up to a maximum of 28 days FTE (funding up to a limit of £22,000) for an individual or team of (maximum 3) researchers.
Given the strategic scope of the work, additional funding (to a limit of £8,500) will be provided from SEFARI Gateway’s IKE (Innovative Knowledge Exchange) budget to support the creation and delivery of workshops and other stakeholder in-person meetings.
Costs should be submitted net of VAT recovered by the applicant. Applicants should seek advice on appropriate VAT treatment of proposed funding.
Practicalities
The details of the final Fellowship work plan will be developed, and agreed, between the successful Fellow(s) and a project management team involving two representatives from SEFARI Gateway, and representatives from CAMERAS and Scottish Government. This will include such details as the number of days to be worked and work pattern through the week.
The project must report by 28th February 2026.
Eligibility and further details
The central focus of this Fellowship is to the ENRA Portfolio. The Fellowship is open to applicants from staff:
from any SEFARI Organisation
ENRA Portfolio Centres of Expertise
Staff within any UK Higher Education Institution (or Research Institute)
Please note, you do not need to have been previously funded by Scottish Government via the Portfolio to qualify for SEFARI Gateway funding.
Applicants must have the support of their organisation
Sign-off should be at the level deemed appropriate for each organisation (please talk to your line manager), but Directors/Chief Executives of your Institute (or University school as appropriate) should be made aware.
The taking of such an opportunity should not result in a candidate going beyond the end of any agreed contract they may have with their employer.
It is recognised that individual circumstances are different and support levels will vary depending on salary, distance from the opportunity and so on – the support level will be kept under review to try and maintain a fair and equitable competition and process. The organisation of the successful fellow(s) should not expect to meet any costs beyond that paid for by SEFARI Gateway.
The successful candidate(s) will be expected to contribute to relevant meetings or outputs for the project partners as the Fellowship progresses and to generate knowledge exchange related content, including a case study, for SEFARI Gateway.
Applications
Applications must be made to: info@sefari.scot and should include a cover letter (two pages of detail on your suitability or that of the team) and a two-page CV (or up to 6 pages for a team). Decisions on who to interview will be based solely on this letter and CV.
The cover letter should include:
why you are interested in this opportunity and what you hope to get from it;
what skills and experience you would bring to this role;
how you propose to address the objectives of the Fellowship;
what you would do to take the learning back into your organisation and to maintain links with the project’s stakeholders, SEFARI Gateway and the ENRA Portfolio.
Team-based applications should demonstrate how they propose to manage individual contributions to satisfy the degree of multi-disciplinary integration required.
The deadline for applications is 17th October 2025 with an expected start date of the end of October.
If you have any questions on this, or any general aspect of the SEFARI Fellowship scheme, please contact Jenny Fyall, research and communications manager, SEFARI Gateway, at: jenny.fyall@sefari.scot
