The Relu Programme and
Animal and Plant Disease Management
The Relu Programme
Relu is promoting interdisciplinary research collaborations to advance understandings of the social, economic, environmental and technological challenges facing agriculture and rural areas
UK venture involving Economic and Social Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council (plus Defra and the Scottish Government) Budget = £25 million 2004-2011
Rural areas have encountered change and upheaval in recent years. Key public challenges include:
Restoring trust in food chains
Tackling animal disease in a socially acceptable manner
Sustaining agriculture in a liberalised economy
Promoting robust rural economies
Mitigating threats from climate change and invasive species
Reducing stress on water catchments
Key Public Challenges
Joined-up science (committed to interdisciplinary
research between social and natural sciences)- 65 projects, 450 researchers, over 40 disciplines
- Aim to build capacity for interdisciplinary research
Socially accountable science
- Two-way exchange between researchers and users
- Building networks between research, policy and practice
- Building capacity for knowledge exchange
- Diverse forms of engagement
- Active partners in setting priorities of research
New ways of doing science
Re-Framing Science
The management of animal and plant diseases
There are environmental risks and social and economic consequences of narrowly based technical decision making
Interdisciplinary research brings together different perspectives and methodologies to reframe such problems
The research will consider how the constraints on, and options for, disease prevention and management are being altered by changes in the countryside, shifting social, economic, environmental and ethical concerns, technological developments and globalisation
Reducing E coli risk in rural communities The governance of livestock disease Assessing and communicating animal disease risks for countryside
users Assessment of knowledge sources in animal disease control Lessons from Dutch Elm Disease in assessing the threat from Sudden
Oak Death Assessing the potential rural impact of plant disease Overcoming market and technical obstacles to alternative pest
management in arable systems Interdisciplinary Fellowships:
Reinventing the wheel? Farm health planning 1942-2006 Science communication on badgers and TB
The Projects
Defra has provided additional funding to support the work of Relu projects, to: enable additional research and analysis to be carried out support a programme of knowledge exchange (work
shadowing, visiting fellowships, briefing and policy notes etc.)
Interaction between teams and policy staff will be supported by Dr Abigail Woods, Relu Research Fellow
Defra Funding
Knowledge exchange: the history
• Consultation on parameters of call for projects• Stakeholder evaluation of bids• Stakeholder engagement plans – each project
develops its own• Relu-wide engagement workshops (e.g May
2008)
Knowledge exchange: plans for the future
• Events run by project teams (eg animal welfare seminar in May)
• Relu engagement workshops (2nd planned early autumn 2009)
• Relu Animal and Plant Disease Stakeholder Forum• Work shadowing and visiting fellowships• Web-based communications• E-newsletter• Relu publications (eg policy and practice notes,
special issue of journal)• Specialist and mainstream media coverage