James Hutton Institute
The James Hutton Institute is an international interdisciplinary centre for research into land use, environment, food, and people. It is a Main Research Provider to the Scottish Government through its Strategic Research Programme (SRP). It is the largest partner (50%) in the Scottish Government Centre for Knowledge Exchange and Impact (SEFARI Gateway), coordinates 2 of the science-policy Centres of Expertise on Waters and Plant Health, and is a partner in two others (Climate Change and Animal Disease Outbreaks).
The Institute has approximately 550 staff, 325 in research, with an extensive track record in research for the EC from FP3 to Horizon Europe, producing policy analysis (e.g. CAP, landscapes, agricultural systems, waters), research on environmental and social change, and delivering public outreach.
The Institute has four research farms, providing in-house experience of pressures on land management systems and adapting to change. The farms are used for engagement and dissemination events with farmers, the public and policy-makers. It has a mobile virtual reality theatre for use in public engagement about land use and futures, and in public outreach, including with schools .
Current contributions to EU groups include EIP Agri Focus Groups, European Food Safety Authority Working Groups, and to Scottish Government policy and strategy groups its Digital Task Force on Planning, Women in Agriculture, and Agriculture Stakeholders.
Role within RURACTIVE
The James Hutton Institute is a research performer within the RURACTIVE consortium. The Institute team is from across disciplines including social sciences and humanities.
It leads the work on the conceptual and operational framework for rural community-led development. This includes deliverables of a Solutions’ Catalogue (a database providing structured information on mapped rural community-led solutions), a booklet on women-led innovation (solutions led by and/or focused on women), and a report on analysis of community-led solutions (the key characteristics and enablers for inclusive and climate friendly rural solutions).
The Institute provides research and technology infrastructure relevant to the activities, and to the work of the North-east Scotland Dynamo. This positions the Institute to contribute to the co-definition of research and market needs of smart and community-led solutions implementation, monitoring and evaluation, in collaboration with GrowBiz, the other partner involved in this Dynamo. As such it also contributes to the upgraded learning, capacity building and knowledge transfer approaches for smart rural communities.
It also provides education and training resources through leading masterclasses for science and policy and contributing to a MOOC.
