The BBSRC has recently awarded £13 million to projects aimed at making UK supply chains more resilient.

The largest is the new £5 million ReImagining Supply Chains Network Plus (RiSC+) led by Queen’s University Belfast, reimagining supply chains in food, fashion and critical minerals.

Other awards include Backcasting to Achieve Food Resilience in the UK led by Prof Aled Jones at Anglia Ruskin University. Co-Investigators include AFN Network+ co-leads Angelina Sanderson Bellamy and Sarah Bridle; AFN Co-Investigator Tom MacMillan; and Elta Smith, AFN Year 3 Champion for Policy: Impact & Synthesis.

The project is focused on building evidence for interventions in the food system that support resilience against future vulnerabilities, by exploring the interplay between food system shocks, issues associated with the diversification of UK agriculture, alternatives to just-in-time supply chains and storage, and the optimal balance of self-sufficiency versus imports as well as health impacts. 

Additional awarded projects include

• Dr Zoe M Harris at the University of Surrey investigating vertical farming to boost the supply of leafy greens in the UK
• Professor Emma Roe at the University of Southampton, familiar to AFN members from her recent scoping study. She will be leading the TRI SOME CHICKEN project examining the impacts of industrialised food production on communities, animals and the environment.
• Professor Tom Oliver at the University of Reading will be analysing risks in the production, supply and consumption of fruits and vegetables to find the best interventions.
• Dr Jagjit Singh Srai at the University of Cambridge will lead the RASCAL project, studying the balance between UK food production and imports, especially in light of disruptions caused by economic, political or climate factors

Vacancy: Research Associate, UWE

As part of the Backcasting to Achieve Food Resilience (BAFR) project mentioned above, there is a vacancy for a Research Associate at UWE.

The successful applicant will conduct research both individually and as part of the team focused on food system stakeholder workshops and consultations, semi-structured interviews with supply chain actors, and literature review of crop and livestock production systems and impact on yield, sustainability, resilience and livelihoods over time. They will liaise regularly with project partners, which include WWF UK, Defra, Food Farming and Countryside Commission, Food Standards Agency, WRAP, Sustain and Trussell Trust.

Deadline: 9 February 2025