SECTION 2
A COORDINATED AGENDA FOR MARINE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS SCIENCE ( CAMERAS) (20011-2016) FUNDED BY THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
The Vision for CAMERAS
Our vision for the science 1 supported through CAMERAS is that it will be targeted in support of Scotland's sustainable economic growth and will contribute to the delivery of the national outcomes and national indicators and targets as set out in the National Performance Framework. The science is expected to make a particular, but not exclusive, contribution to:
- The policy environment to enhance the economic performance of Scotland's agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, food and forestry sectors within the wider context of sustainable management of our land, sea and freshwater resources, provision of ecosystem services and rural development, while safeguarding the interests of consumers and protecting and enhancing the environment;
- Support the Scottish Government in helping the people of Scotland secure a high quality of life through sensitive stewardship and sustainable development of the natural resources of Scotland; in particular by securing a clean, healthy and safe environment and improving people's enjoyment of the environment.
The science within CAMERAS will help to meet the five strategic objectives by gathering evidence to support the broad range of Government's activities and functions.
Science into Policy
Each public body supporting science relevant to the Scottish Government Marine, Environment, Rural Affairs and related policies will use the structure of CAMERAS (to be agreed by April 2009 building on the responses to this consultation) to help align their scientific activities.
The Coordinated Agenda ( CAMERAS) proposed in this consultation relates specifically to the science budgets for which Directorates within the Rural Affairs and Environment ( RAE) portfolio of the Scottish Government are responsible (see Annex 2). CAMERAS will provide a coordinated agenda for the delivery of all the scientific activities supported through the RAE portfolio.
The development of CAMERAS reflects the cross cutting approach adopted by the Scottish Government to joining up the various policy strands in support of the single purpose of sustainable economic growth.
The crosscutting approach to Government in Scotland provides a strong driver and exciting opportunity for the scientific Non-Departmental Public Bodies ( NDPBs) and agencies to work more closely with Government to co-ordinate their scientific activities in support of the purpose. This includes:
- Science Advice for Scottish Agriculture ( SASA)
- Fisheries Research Services ( FRS)
- Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH)
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA)
- Deer Commission for Scotland ( DCS)
Aims and Objectives
The aim of CAMERAS is to enhance knowledge exchange from support of statutory and regulatory functions along the 'pipeline' to the strategic research required to generate new knowledge and understanding that underpins these responsibilities and supports new policy formulation.
A key objective for CAMERAS is therefore to enable the organisations involved to progressively align and integrate their individual activities in support of high level priorities linked through to the National Performance Framework and the overarching Science and Innovation Strategic Frameworks ( Annex 2).
In addition, it should facilitate opportunities to strengthen the linkages between organisations that undertake activities ranging from the provision of scientific advice and monitoring to applied and strategic research 2.
The fulfilment of regulatory, surveillance or monitoring functions must be informed by research and the direction of strategic, applied research should, in turn, be shaped by the needs of those delivering statutory functions. Building effective interfaces between these activities and between the organisations that undertake them will help ensure that Scotland derives maximum benefit from all the separate science budgets in the Rural Affairs and Environment portfolio.
The contribution of CAMERAS to the wider Science community
The science and research that will be supported through CAMERAS could not possibly provide all the Scottish Government's evidence needs. Much of the knowledge and understanding needed to support Marine, Environment, Rural Affairs and related policies flows from the much wider UK and international scientific community. CAMERAS is therefore complementary to other sources of funding in Scotland, e.g. to the university sector from the Scottish Funding Council or from the Research Councils.
Development of the specific programmes of science and research funded by CAMERAS will take into account the needs of Scotland in the context of strategies and programmes supported by other funders of science with the objective of ensuring it contributes to the wider body of knowledge at the Scottish, UK and European levels.
Such links are already active in the UK, e.g. the Scottish Government is working with other UK agencies, Departments and Research Councils in the major interdisciplinary and policy partnership to tackle environmental change 'Living with Environmental Change' ( LWEC). Such partnership working acknowledges that individual funders cannot cover everything and that resources need to be targeted carefully to maximise synergy and achieve critical mass.
The development of CAMERAS
In 2006, the then Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department ( SEERAD) set up a high level Strategic Science Advisory Panel ( SSAP) whose remit included horizon scanning of the Department's future research needs. This expert panel proposed four headline themes which they felt would drive the future research needs for Marine, Environment, Rural and related policies. These are discussed further in the SSAP published report.
A scoping review to test out these proposals in a wider stakeholder community was carried out in 2007. Further meetings with the RAE portfolio scientific NDPBs and agencies of the Scottish Government confirmed that the headline themes readily aligned with their existing and future objectives.
The decision was therefore taken to draw up a coordinated agenda to provide a high level focus for the activities of all the scientific agencies and NDPBs that support the Marine, Environment, Rural Affairs and related areas of Government in Scotland.
The material for CAMERAS was further developed through discussions with a wide range of policy interests within the Scottish Government and relevant agencies to broadly identify future pressures on Government in Scotland and where the scientific community would be able to contribute evidence in support of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. At this stage, the process focussed specifically on identifying areas of future policy need rather than on areas where scientific advances were envisaged.
There is a clear recognition that the Scottish Government's cross cutting approach to policy development, and the Government's Purpose, Strategic Objectives and National Performance Framework provides the context for the development of CAMERAS.
Many parts of the Scottish Government recognise the need to develop policies that take into account the competing demands for the use of Scotland's natural assets, while ensuring that social development, primary production, commercial potential, trading activities and the like are able to thrive and develop. Policy makers are therefore keen to ensure that any remaining barriers between policy areas are broken down, and feel that the scientific evidence could encourage and support 'joined up' thinking and working across the Scottish Government. CAMERAS is therefore not limited to a narrow description such as 'rural', 'environment' or 'greener'.
The discussions that led to CAMERAS identified that policy questions are becoming increasingly complex and cross cutting and that a coherent evidence framework and interdisciplinary approach is needed to inform policy decisions. There was a clear recognition that science - including social science - can provide practical and realistic options for addressing some of the challenges Scotland will face in the future.