September has been a month of focused, outcome-driven activity for SCAF, with one clear purpose: to strengthen connections, accountability, and research competitiveness to support Scotland's food system transformation. 

What better way to start the new term than with a webinar celebrating recently completed projects? On 2nd September, SCAF heard from two pump priming projects:  

  • Ana Peña del Valle from The James Hutton Institute presented on how market gardens can enhance the resilience of Scotland's agri-food system by identifying environmental, social, and infrastructural constraints limiting their expansion.  
  • Dr Oonagh Markey from Loughborough University shared findings on the sensory and consumer acceptance aspects of a yellow split pea-enriched plant-based cheese prototype, highlighting the importance of sensory-focused communication to support dietary transitions among omnivores.  

If you were unable to attend, you can watch a recording on our YouTube channel. Both projects were funded in the first round of pump priming, and we look forward to seeing what the teams achieve next. This is particularly timely, given that two more pump priming rounds have been awarded, and the evaluation of the fourth pump priming round is underway this month, with a strong pipeline of applications reviewed by a now broad and experienced panel.

On 4th and 5th September, we convened our Annual Event at the University of Glasgow's Advanced Research Centre. The hybrid conference brought together over 100 members from research, practice, and policy sectors. Thank you for taking the time to attend, contribute, chair and/or present – the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and we recognise the importance of time well spent in the company of like-minded professionals and stakeholders. The focus on day 1 spanned the themes of food supply chains, nutrition policy, and innovation in sustainable food systems, reflecting the diversity and depth of our network. The unconference was co-designed by attendees, enabling them to drive discussions and shape new collaborations organically. Across both days, we demonstrated SCAF's commitment to fostering inclusive, cross-sector dialogue that catalyses research ideas and partnerships. We are busy developing a set of notes stemming from the discussion we had on both days, and will share these shortly, alongside a set of recommendations for our governance team. 

We submitted our annual report to our funder, the Scottish Funding Council, an essential exercise in transparency, progress review, and strategic alignment. This report is grounded in our commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and delivering measurable impact across Scotland's food research and policy landscapes. Central to the report is gathering compelling data, and we are grateful for members' testimonials and feedback, collected throughout the year. To gather even more compelling data, we have launched our monitoring and evaluation survey, inviting members to contribute their experience and insights so that SCAF can better tailor its activities and measure its added value. Please consider participating – we aim to build a longitudinal picture of how the membership experiences their interaction with the Alliance, with the ultimate goals of ensuring SCAF grows smarter and more responsive, guided directly by those who make it vibrant. 

A high point of this year has been our two writing retreats – not only for the human connection, but also for their unique value in fostering creativity and supporting members with focused writing time. We have completed the selection process for the third writing retreat, with a cohort of researchers ready to dedicate time and focus to advancing their writing and funding proposals. Writing retreats are a key practical investment in capacity-building to foster success in competitive grant applications; if you could not apply this round, watch out for dates for next year. 

September's activities ended with an opportunity for SCAF to link with wider Scottish networks at the Scotland Beyond Net Zero and Scottish Funding Council event at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. The full-day event focused on tackling the climate emergency, showcasing interdisciplinary research with presentations from SCAF and partners on panels: food and nature, built environment, and energy transition, placing SCAF's mission in the broader context of Scotland's green research priorities and funding landscape. Read the event roundup published by SBNZ here. 

Altogether, a busy month, and an opportunity to start planning for activities in 2026, keeping in mind SCAF's core values: leveraging the strength of our diverse network to create real-world impact, supporting members in developing funding-ready projects that contribute to Scotland's Good Food Nation goals, and transforming our food system.

First published: 4 October 2025

<< Blog