Getting Involved

Relu consults widely among stakeholder organisations in the formulation of the research programme. Relu is advised by a Strategic Advisory Committee, and, stakeholder forums which bring together key stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors to act as sounding boards on research programme and project development. Relu’s food chain projects were informed by the Food Chain Forum from 2005-2008 and the People and the Rural Environment Forum from 2006-2009.  Current stakeholder engagement includes the  Animal and Plant Disease Forum.  Stakeholder Engagement Plans are in place with key stakeholders.
Projects are working with a wide range of organisations and social groups, some in an advisory capacity, others as consultees, informants or research partners.

Relu is funding work shadowing to introduce staff to the action-contexts in which their research may be used. Relu researchers are shadowing staff in a number of commercial organisations, voluntary bodies and public agencies.

The programme also funds Visiting Fellowships which enable policy makers and practitioners from the commercial, voluntary or public sector to visit a Relu research team or cluster of teams with a view to exploring the implications of the research for their work and to raising awareness of their interests among the researchers.

At their most radical, projects are sidestepping the conventional researcher/research subject divide to pursue an approach best described as the co-production of knowledge between researchers and practitioners.

Relu's approach to knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement is presented in Briefing Paper Common Knowledge? An Exploration of Knowledge Transfer.

If you are interested in becoming a stakeholder in this programme, please contact the programme office at relu@ncl.ac.uk