Are the most vivid, vital and interesting representations of the world to be found in art rather than science? Indeed, can art be combined with science to draw on the best characteristics of both: the rigour and depth of science with the expressive tools and abilities to reach new audiences that...
Social Innovation: Filling a void?
Work on a big new EU project being led by the James Hutton Institute called ‘SIMRA’ got me thinking about where social innovation comes from. To me, a ‘social innovation’ involves a change to the roles of social actors, along with the...
Before life as a research assistant in SEGS I had 15-year career in construction, when during the credit crunch a boss once said to me “you’re more interested in saving the planet than making a few quid”. The comment was partly made in jest after I had spent a ‘few quid...
As the Coordinator of the project "Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas" (SIMRA), I would like to share the latest news from a stakeholder workshop in Bratislava, 26-28 October, and to bring you up to date on our progress since we launched SIMRA in April.
Co-creation, and related terms like co-design, co-production, co-construction and co-innovation, are becoming increasingly popular. Upon closer scrutiny they share many characteristics with participatory processes. Is there a difference between the two – co-creation and participation...
In September I participated in a session entitled, “Be constructive! Situating sustainability research at the nexus of positivism and reflective positionality” during the RGS-IBG 2016 conference on ‘Nexus Thinking’. I told a story about telling a story. My story was about...
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a process by which micro-organisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen, leading to the production of biogas and bio-fertilisers. AD technologies convert the methane in biogas into (renewable) electricity and heat energy with a low carbon...
This blog was written jointly with Jane Atterton from the Rural Policy Centre of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). We reflect on current goals in rural development and the implications for how these may be tackled and researched.
Globally, societies face challenging and interconnected human and environmental problems. Many of these problems are mired in immense complexity, and involve bewildering networks of different drivers, all interacting with each other in diverse ways. Furthermore, these difficulties are compounded...
‘Source Apportionment Methods’ (SAMs) are a way of estimating sources of water pollution and so inform efforts to improve water quality. This year the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is launching a source apportionment method called SAGIS for rivers in Scotland.
Printed from /blogs/all?page=11 on 20/09/24 08:41:22 AM
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.
