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Our Science

Our research topics

Through the development and application of a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods, we provide new insights into complex problems relevant to contemporary environmental and rural issues in Scotland, Europe and beyond.  Regardless of our research methods and questions, we share a commitment to engagement and dialogue outside of academia, sharing and often co-creating insights with stakeholders ranging from policy makers to community groups.

We contribute insights to discourses on sustainability, social and economic dimensions of rural development, culture & social norms, local food, agriculture and wider food systems, transport, land management and transitions, energy, natural resource use, human-environment relationships, valution of natural resources, governance & institutions, risk, communities and health.  We achieve this through 'free-standing' social science, interdisciplinary work with natural and data scientists, and also transdisciplinary work with a range of stakeholders. 

For further detail about the topics and issues that we work on, visit our description of the two research groups that comprise SEGS, whilst the staff pages of individuals within SEGS, will indicate their specific research expertise and interests.

Our collaborators and partners

Much of our research is carried out within collaborative projects. This can involve teams collaborating within SEGS, and in interdisciplinary collaborations with all the other departments of the Hutton. As an example, we collaborate with colleagues in EBS to understand natural flood management, and with colleagues in ICS on spatial analyses and agent-based modelling. 

We also have many external collaborations, with peers in Scottish and UK universities, often reflected in PhD supervisory teams. We also have many contacts and collaborators across the world. This is especially the case in Europe, relating to our Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, where we have contacts and active collaborators everywhere from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) to the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).

Our research is funded from a variety of sources.  A significant proportion of our work is carried out for the Scottish Government as part of its Strategic Research Programme. We are aso involved in the Scottish Government Centres of Expertise on: Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC); Climate Change (CXC); and Water (CREW).  Other funders of our research include Leverhulme, UKRI, UK and Scottish government agencies, and European Commision funding mentioned above, and ESPON. 

Further information

You may like to see more information about and examples of our research methods, or more information about our research interests can be found via the page describing our staff and structure.  An overview of all our current and recent research projects linked to SEGS can be found via automatically generated lists of Current SEGS projects and  Recent SEGS projects.

Click here to return to our main SEGS page.

To view our twitter feed visit: https://twitter.com/HuttonSEGS

Research

Areas of Interest


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The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.