What are the emerging drivers of change and what might future change look like? New thinking, analysis, and data can improve our understanding, and our ability to anticipate how economic, social, and environmental drivers might change in the future. How these affect the trajectory of environmental outcomes and the future state of rural communities and businesses?

Background

Measuring change enables us better target action to secure a healthy environment and support our rural communities and economies. It also helps us to evaluate the effectiveness of those actions. As well as meeting legislative and policy commitments to report on the state of our environment, both domestically and internationally.

Next steps

Get in touch with ari.comment@go-science.gov.uk

Source

This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:

DEFRA Research and innovation interests GOVUK

Related UKRI funded projects

  • Policy and Practice for Environmental Change

    The Rural Economy and Land Use (Relu) Programme is an unprecedented collaboration between ESRC, BBSRC and NERC. Running 2003 - 12 it has had a budget of £24m, with additional funding from Scottish Government and De...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: Newcastle University

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to deliver integrative, interdisciplinary research on rural areas and their relationship with social, economic, and environmental challenges, which aligns with the question's focus on understanding the drivers of change and their impact on environmental outcomes and rural communities.

  • RUSTIK: Rural Sustainability Transitions through Integration of Knowledge for improved policy processes

    The overarching objective of RUSTIK is to enable rural communities’ actors and policy makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering sustainability transitions of rural areas, through an advanced ...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to understand future scenarios of rural areas and their potentials and challenges, which aligns with the question's focus on anticipating future changes in economic, social, and environmental drivers.

  • Rural Sustainability Transitions through Integration of Knowledge for improved policy processes

    The overarching objective of RUSTIK is to enable rural communities’ actors and policy makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering sustainability transitions of rural areas, through an advanced ...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project focuses on transitions in rural areas, including socio-economic, climate change and environmental, and digital, which directly addresses the question's focus on future changes in these areas.

  • Rural Sustainability Transitions through Integration of Knowledge for improved policy processes

    The overarching objective of RUSTIK is to enable rural communities’ actors and policy makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering sustainability transitions of rural areas, through an advanced ...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: GLOUCESTERSHIRE RURAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL

  • NEC05943 Natural Capital Knowledge Exchange to Support Healthy Local Economies (Open Call)

    Two current ambitions of the Government are: to create a fairer and more balanced economy in which all parts of the country benefit from growth that is environmentally sustainable and inter-generationally fair, as set ou...

    Funded by: NERC

    Lead research organisation: UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY

  • Environmental justice analysis to advance rural landscape transformations in the face of climate change

    Climate change is forcing European countries to implement transformative changes to multiple sectors. Whilst energy and industrial production systems have dominated these agendas, there are also growing calls for transfo...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: University of East Anglia

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project directly addresses the question by exploring the societal dimensions of rural transformations in the face of climate change.

  • South West Partnership for Environment and Economic Prosperity (SWEEP)

    SWEEP brings together a unique blend of academics, businesses and policymakers to place 'natural capital' - those elements of nature producing value for people - at the heart of regional decision-making and business proc...

    Funded by: NERC

    Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

  • Poverty and ecology: developing a new evolutionary approach

    China's Premier Wen Jiabao recently commented that the sluggish development of agriculture and the slow increase of farmers' incomes constituted the nation's major problems and challenges - a view that is repeated in man...

    Funded by: NERC

    Lead research organisation: University of Southampton

  • Empowering rural communities to act for change

    RURACTIVE aims to foster a just and sustainable transition of rural areas by developing smart, community-led, tailor-made, place based and inclusive solutions within local Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems (RIEs) i...

    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE

  • Participative governance and collaborative integrated management at catchment scale for sustainable intensification of smallholder family farming.

    The research and partnership activities are framed by and will build a 'research platform' capable of investigating the following propositions: The promotion of sustainable economic development and welfare in rural regi...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: School of Oriental and African Studies

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