EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  1.  IGER carries out research in support of land-use within grassland-dominated landscapes.

  2.  The European Framework Programmes (FPs) have been very effective at fostering collaborations between IGER scientists and other research and research-industry partners within the EU.

  3.  The number of visiting scientists at IGER has increased with some support from Marie Curie Fellowships but also from OECD and Royal Society Fellowships.

  4.  There is some concern that the FPs have become more narrow and prescriptive in relation to defined policy objectives with less emphasis on scientific discovery.

  5.  The UKRO office (and BBSRC International Office) is useful as a conduit for information from EC and as a source of advice on FP regulations but with better resources they could be more proactive in early stage work programme development and in establishing research priorities.

  6.  Matched funding for FP projects within IGER has traditionally involved support from Defra but increasingly in future it will need to be sought from other research funders.

  7.  The ERANET programme has some advantages over the Framework Programme with stronger links to the Research council (BBSRC).

  8.  Developments with regard to the European Research Council appear promising in the support of basic research.

  9.  IGER is also involved in a number of other European funding programmes such as Interreg III B and the European Regional Development Fund Objective 1.

  10. Outside Europe IGER scientists have been involved in DFID Plant Science Programmes and have a proposal in the DFID-BBSRC sustainable agriculture initiative.

DETAILED COMMENTS

  1.  The Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) carries out research aimed at determining viable options for grassland-dominated landscapes and land use systems that lead to a sustainable rural economy, a healthy environment, and a safe and high quality food chain. IGER's Mission also emphasises the dissemination and exploitation of the results of basic, strategic and applied research in order to sustain and extend the effectiveness of grassland related agriculture and related bioscience and environmental industries.

  2.  The European Framework Programmes (FPs) have been very effective at fostering collaborations between IGER scientists and other research and research-industry partners within the EU. During the last ten years IGER has been a partner in 15 FP5 and three FP6 projects, five of which IGER coordinated, and all of which included private sector partners.

  3.  IGER has also hosted several Marie Curie Fellowships and an increasing number of visiting scientists from Europe and beyond based on support, for example, from the OECD and the Royal Society. The BBSRC ISIS scheme is also a very effective mechanism for facilitating interaction with scientists from other countries. However it would be valuable to have further support from BBSRC and others for visiting fellowships, both inward and outward.

  4.  Compared to FP5 the priorities of FP6 moved away from agricultural production but IGER maintained a significant input such as being a major partner in a project on "Improving the safety of beef and beef products for the consumer in production and processing". The Work Programmes for FP7 appear to mark a return to potential support for agricultural research in the "Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology"" programme. This should provide greater scope for IGER project proposals of which several are in preparation with a broad range of European Partners.

  5.  There is some concern that the FPs have become more narrow and prescriptive in relation to defined policy objectives with less emphasis on scientific discovery. Details of the calls for proposals are subject to intense political lobbying and there is considerable bureaucracy attached to the application and approval procedures and in reporting. Scientists tend to feel that they are part of a "political game" in which projects and partners are selected for other than scientific reasons. They also feel that UK lobbying in Brussels is less strong and effective compared to other European partners, eg Ireland, and that the lines of communication with scientists are less direct than in some other countries.

  6.  The UKRO office (and BBSRC International Office) is useful as a conduit for information from EC to Research Institutes and as a source of advice on FP rules and regulations. However UKRO could be better resourced so that they are able to be more proactive in liaising with Institutes, understanding research priorities, proposing mechanisms for lobbying at very early stages of work programme development and helping to arrange trips by institute scientists to hold the necessary discussions with the relevant EC officials. Defra should also be more active in this respect.

  7.  Matched funding for FP projects within IGER has traditionally involved support from Defra in the areas of Sustainable Agriculture/Quality of Life rather than the Research Council (BBSRC). However Defra's financial support for many areas of science associated with agricultural land-use is declining and matched funding will increasingly need to be sought from other research funders. This is made easier to some extent by an increase in the proportion of European support from a maximum of 50% to 70% in FP7.

  8.  The ERANET programme has some advantages over the Framework Programme in that it uses national funding for international collaboration, has a lighter touch and is much less prescriptive. However, it is dependent on national sign up and therefore is not really EU-wide. Links with the Research Council (BBSRC) are much stronger through ERANET.

  9.  Developments with regard to the European Research Council seem promising. We understand that this will fund more basic science in responsive mode. This would suggest that the EU is moving closer to having a range of tools that will go some way to meet objectives re the Lisbon Agenda and maintaining Europe's competitive position.

  10.  IGER is also involved in the Interreg III B programme as part of the ECAS (Energy crops in the Atlantic Area) project. The main objectives of this "Atlantic Area " programme are to encourage the coherence and cohesion of the Area and to improve its economic competitiveness and its efficiency, in order to overcome the handicaps of a peripheral location compared to the more central regions of the European Union. It seeks to promote sustainable development projects through integrated strategies and territorial development that harmonise social, economic and environmental objectives, by respecting conservation issues and the cultural, historical and environmental assets of the Area.

  11.  Other European funding for IGER includes Regional Development Fund Objective 1 support for a project to develop heat and power from short rotation coppice willow. Prior to 2001, IGER also established a "Grassland Technology Transfer" project in Wales funded under the European Structural Funds 5b project. Subsequently the project continued as the "Grassland Development Centre" within the Farming Connect network funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and Wales Objective 1 European Funding. IGER was also involved in a similar programme in Cornwall (the "Grassland Challenge" project) funded by Defra and the European Regional Development Fund Objective 1.

  12.  With regard to work outside Europe, IGER scientists have been involved, together with researchers at ICRISAT and other institutions in India, in the successful transfer of downy mildew resistance and drought tolerance genes into commercial pearl millet varieties that are now being used by farmers in India and Africa. This was supported by a long-term research investment strategy through the Plant Science Programme (DFID-PSP) which produced considerable benefits. However recent emphasis of DFID Plant Science has been on the use and uptake of existing research results with little new research investment. The recent DFID-BBSRC sustainable agriculture initiative aims to support new basic research in tropical agriculture but its long-term future appears uncertain.

27 April