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Reading Joins New Partnership To Bring Fresh Air To Rural Policy And Research In South East England – University of Reading

Policymakers have a new opportunity to influence what goes on in some of South East England's leading research institutions, including the University of Reading, with the launch today of the Rural Research and Strategy Partnership (RRSP).

The partnership comprises Forest Research (the Farnham-based research agency of the Forestry Commission), the Universities of Reading, Surrey and Sussex, and the University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester. It is supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Welcoming the formation of the partnership, Professor Gordon Marshall, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: "I very much welcome this initiative, which capitalises on the rich mix of research skills and talents that we have at Reading, and will enable our highly skilled researchers to contribute in a meaningful way to the region's

development.

"The RRSP intends to make the dialogue between the research community, policy makers and rural community groups deeper and more vibrant, which will really help our researchers to form new, multi-disciplinary research consortia focused on rural issues."

The RRSP's objective is to bring together researchers and policymakers to find ways to solve the South East's most pressing rural problems.

Professor Peter Bunyan of Surrey University explained,"The South East is the economic powerhouse of the UK, and our rural heritage and assets play an important role in that. But how can we maintain and improve rural sustainability alongside the demands of economic progress? The South East is a local exemplar of this global paradox. I believe the new partnership will lead the way to resolving this dilemma through enabling targeted, appropriate research, and in doing so, provide a model transferable to similar areas of the world."

The South East has the UK's highest density of tertiary education and research establishments but, until now, there was no formal rural research network, despite rural issues being a principal element in the South East's distinctiveness. Although the region is densely populated, more than 80% of its land area is classified as rural. One third of its countryside is protected for its landscape quality, and 10 per cent of the UK's farms are found here.

The RRSP's specific aims are to bring together new communities and collaborations of key policymakers, rural stakeholder groups and multi-disciplinary research teams to encourage the generation and use of new research evidence to provide practical and innovative solutions to rural issues.

Valerie Carter, rural director at Seeda, also welcomed the partnership, saying, "I'm encouraged that this new partnership will help provide practical and innovative solutions to rural issues, whilst allowing policy makers to be more confident and knowledgeable about the impact of their initiatives."

"The RRSP will focus on the wide range of topics considered priorities for the South East's regional sustainability. These include questions on rural land use as policymakers wrestle with the best ways to cope with climate change, to sustain biodiversity and to develop renewable energy supplies. Equally, many problems more often associated with urban areas create headaches for rural areas. And the solutions to common issues - affordable housing, waste disposal, enterprise, staying healthy - can look very different in the countryside than in the town."

The RRSP launched a dialogue between key policymakers and researchers with "A Breath of Fresh Air", an event held in London today. The event gave policymakers an opportunity to debate the most pressing concerns for the South East, and its findings will inform the regional research agenda through a series of seminars at leading research institutions this summer and autumn.

ENDS

Further information is available by visiting www.forestresearch.gov.uk/rrsp, or from Dr Anja Ueberjahn-Tritta, the partnership co-ordinator, at Forest Research's Alice Holt Lodge research station near Farnham, tel: 01420 22255; e-mail:anja.ueberjahn-tritta@forestry.gsi.gov.uk.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Rural South East England is an area for action identified in the Regional Economic Strategy, which means there will be change that impacts the whole of the rural South East. The RRSP aims to be a rural research network to assist in the process of planning, delivering and managing the changes, and to co-ordinate collaborative thinking between regional stakeholders and the wider research community.

2. The RRSP will bring together new communities and collaborations of key policymakers, rural stakeholder groups and multi-disciplinary researchers to encourage the generation and use of new research evidence to provide practical and innovative solutions to rural issues. It will support the research community to collaborate and produce high-quality research from which everyone can learn.

3. Forest Research is an agency of the Forestry Commission that undertakes world-class scientific research and technical development relevant to forestry. For further information visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk. The Forestry Commission is the government department for forestry in Great Britain. For further information visit www.forestry.gov.uk.

4. SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency, is the Government-funded agency responsible for the sustainable economic development and regeneration of the South East of England. It aims to create a prosperous, dynamic and inspirational region by helping businesses compete more effectively, training a highly skilled workforce, and supporting and enabling communities while safeguarding the region's natural resources and cherishing its rich cultural heritage. For further information visit www.seeda.co.uk.

5. The University of Reading is one of the UK's top research-intensive universities and one of the top 200 universities in the world, with a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise. Important achievements include being the first university to win the Queen's Award for Export Achievement (1989) and twice receiving the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education (1998 and 2006). For further information visit www.reading.ac.uk.

6. The University of Surrey, in Guildford, is a leading professional, scientific and technological university, with a world-class reputation for excellence in teaching, research and creating improvements in health, medicine, space science, the environment, communications, defence and social policy. For further information, visit www.surrey.ac.uk.

7. The University of Sussex is ranked among the top 150 research and teaching institutions in the world. Much of its research is devoted to finding solutions to real-world problems, including global warming, sustainable energy and conservation. It has counted three Nobel Prize winners on its Faculty. For further information visit www.sussex.ac.uk.

8. The University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester is one of Europe's largest specialist colleges of art, design, architecture, media and communication. About 6500 students study on a wide range of courses in a highly creative environment. The College is working towards university title status.

Visit www.ucreative.ac.uk for further information.