SEFARI Gateway is delighted to be able to offer a Fellowship in collaboration with Highland and Islands Enterprise, UHI Orkney. We are seeking an individual researcher or small team of researchers to help with supporting the ability of the Island to better shape research for its economic and social resilience.

Background

The origins of this proposal arise from concerns around the distinct challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in Orkney.  During discussions between HIE and various partners, it was noted that Orkney could potentially benefit from a more locally driven approach to research to inform how industry adapts in the face of the multiple but often interrelated changes, climate/extreme weather, disease, invasive species, peatland management, stocking density, demographics, energy security/cost and consumer behaviours.  While the issue extends beyond agriculture, agriculture was seen as a useful focal point for a SEFARI Fellowship

Agricultural research has been frequently conducted in the Island’s by a range of organisations, but this often arrives with no lead-in and with externally driven outcomes.  Therefore, there has been a sense that it has been done to the Island rather than with the Island.  There was a view that more can be gained by ensuring a place-based approach, which would lead to closer academic-industry-community linkages and more enduring relationships that would result in more research becoming applied.

Orkney has proven well suited to being a test bed for research or ‘living laboratory’ given we are small, but not too small, distinct boundaries allow Orkney to measure what flows in and out and the Island has examples of being progressive early adopters of agricultural technology and new practice. The Islands have a variety of farm unit size and mode of operation, an engaged/proactive NFUS branch, strong network of island development trusts (14 islands each presenting their own challenges/opportunities), community-based agriculture initiatives plus localised veterinary practices undertaking research, local processors/small value-add businesses and backed by a supportive local public sector. There is also significant volume of research and innovation already happening around the aligned energy and fisheries sectors and decarbonising in general (European Marine Energy Centre, Scottish Aviation Test Environment and the Islands Deal supported International Centre for Net Zero all established and operational locally). There are three universities present, as well as strong links and research being conducted SEFARI organisations and these are potential linkages across rest of Highlands and Islands area and more nationally offer a wider geographic spread of input and value to research outputs.

Proposal

The Institute for Agronomy and Agriculture at UHI Orkney is currently rethinking its strategy for the future. So far, the Institute’s focus has been on developing Northern crops and markets for them in the Highlands and Islands. It was very successful at doing this and its activities have supported the production of both a diverse range of high provenance food and drink products and the development of supply chains. However, funding opportunities for this type of research are limited and we recognise how difficult it is to sustain a research centre with no teaching, although there is agricultural vocational training at UHI Orkney (the presence of FE and HE at UHI Orkney offers cross-over opportunity in itself).  The thinking is that perhaps the Institute could position itself as a partner to facilitate a Northern test bed working in collaboration with the SEFARI institutes and other universities from the region, across Scotland or UK. The potential for this has already been demonstrated in the past through very successful collaborations between the Agronomy and Agriculture Institute and both the James Hutton and Rowett Institutes over many years facilitated by Scottish Government funding.

The ultimate aim, supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is for Orkney to offer a community-island test bed based on its own research needs for innovation in technology use and new practices, initially focused to agriculture and allied business but ultimately to expand to a range of research to enhance community economic and social research needs.  In time, there is the prospect that permanently based research staff, would work across a range of disciplines and with a variety of institutions.  This might, for example, run commercialisation projects seeking partners/funding to overcome barriers to the practical adoption of existing science. Orkney also welcomes the high-value jobs research can bring even when that research itself is focused on solving remote challenges.

Fellowship

The Fellowship is an opportunity for an early career through to established researcher or a small research team to contribute platform information for a novel area of community/ regional based research development. The successful Fellow(s) will be supported by SEFARI Gateway, HIE, UHI Orkney and OIC. Together we will ensure direct linkages across relevant island organisations and groups as well as to Scottish Government. Findings will also be connected, where relevant, through SEFARI Gateway with those from its other related Knowledge Exchange partnerships.

The aim of the Fellowship is by working in collaboration with Highland’s and Island’s Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council (OIC) UHI Orkney to:

• Collate and summarise current and recently completed research on agriculture and land use within Orkney. Within this a focus on crops (inc. grass) and soils is required.
• Liaise with local government (OIC), agencies, farmers and land managers (and communities) on current and projected research needs.
• Identify, with current research partners in Orkney, future plans for research that will focus to the Island’s agriculture and land use.
• Identify barriers (and potential routes to overcome them) that have previously limited/prevented industry adoption and/or failed to generate desired impact for Orkney’s agricultural sector.
• Contribute to recommendations as to a how research need might be strategically commissioned and coordinated.

In conducting the research, the Fellow(s) will need to ensure awareness of work on how subsidy reform could impact Orkney and for opportunities to align funding towards research and development, supporting the necessary evolution of the industry and specific areas of current interest including healthy, productive and resilient soils and crops (including grass), climate adaptation and mitigation, other regenerative/sustainable agricultural practices.

The Fellow(s) will provide a report and SEFARI Case Study to the partners by 28^th February 2025.

Practicalities

The details of the final Fellowship work plan will be iterated and agreed with the successful Fellow(s).

The Fellow should expect to spend the equivalent of up to 28 days (to a maximum funding of £18,000 for time) on the project, although the exact number of days, their timing, and their pattern through the working week will depend on personal circumstances. We anticipate the Fellowship running for a maximum of 4-6 months.

Please note that costs should be submitted net of VAT recovered by the applicant. Applicants should seek advice on appropriate VAT treatment of proposed funding. Travel and subsistence and to support any workshop costs will be funded separate to the FTE costs and up to a maximum of £5,000.

Further Details

• 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 (whether SEFARIs, Centres of Expertise, or Higher Education Institutes).
• 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 should be made aware.
• The taking up 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 Institute/portfolio-organisation/HEI 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 for SEFARI Gateway (support will be offered on this).

Applications

Applications should 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(s).

The cover letter should include:

• Why are you interested in this opportunity and what you would hope to get from it?
• What skills and experience would you bring to this role?
• How would you use your current work to underpin the project?
• What would you do to take the learning back into your organisation?

Team-based applications should demonstrate how they propose to manage individual contributions to satisfy the degree of multi-disciplinary integration required and clearly identify a Fellowship Team Lead.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 18th October 2024 with interviews to be held within two weeks following from that date. The Interviews will be conducted by a panel of SEFARI Gateway, HIE and UHI Orkney representatives.

If you have any questions on this, or any general aspect of the SEFARI Fellowship scheme, please contact Michelle Wilson Chalmers, Manager, SEFARI Gateway at: michelle.wilson@sefari.scot