We are the Scottish Alliance for Food
Our Vision & Aims
Reimagining a healthful, equitable and sustainable food landscape is a priority now more than ever. With food also being central to identity, culture, and economy, the transformation required to achieve a sustainable food future asks for a genuine transdisciplinary approach, embracing input from all disciplines and sectors. The Scottish Alliance for Food (SCAF) brings together different perspectives from social, natural, formal and applied sciences, and arts and humanities to understand and address the complexity of food systems, helping bridge the gap between food producers, scientists, and consumers.
We envisage an environment of collaboration and shared responsibility to formulate and tackle critical emerging research questions linked to how to build a better food future for all, addressing the combined imperatives of improving health, sustainability and equity. Developing greater visibility of the food research and innovation capacity in Scotland is vital. We showcase best practices, know-how and expertise, capitalising on the shift to Scotland becoming a Good Food Nation and emerging funding opportunities in that space, within and beyond Scotland. Briefly, our aims include:
- Mapping out the Scottish research capacity and excellence to develop a database of experts, case studies and best practices.
- Showcasing our members' expertise to facilitate innovation and new connections that extend beyond disciplinary areas.
- Co-producing research that underpins the development of policy and practice aligned with an increased pace and scale of progress towards sustainability, health and equity.
- Connecting stakeholders across sectors and disciplines to facilitate collaborative research.
How will we achieve success?
Alongside our stakeholders, we have defined a set of four intersecting priority focus themes for SCAF:
- Theme 1: Mapping the food system
- Theme 2: Innovation-led food systems research
- Theme 3: Culture, heritage and behaviour
- Theme 4: Food security
We also have two cross-cutting workstreams:
- Workstream 1: Food systems
- Workstream 2: Academy of Citizens
What does a successful SCAF look like?
A successful SCAF will have been instrumental in instigating multiple collaborative research projects seeking to answer crucial questions related to increasing the healthiness, sustainability and equitability of the Scottish food system. Ideally, many of these projects and stakeholder connections will become self-sustaining and grow beyond the initial scope of the project.
We will have facilitated knowledge and skills exchange across stakeholder groups, with a particular focus on fostering mutual respect for research traditions across disciplines and sectors. Our commitment to the future of food research in Scotland will have connected early career researchers to the food system landscape, facilitating their retention and progression in the field, and movement towards job security.
Ultimately, success will be the creation and maintenance of cross-disciplinary communities that have a deepened appreciation and understanding for the challenges facing others, and who are able and enthused to come together to solve research challenges and trigger transformation in the Scottish food landscape.