Policymakers have a new opportunity to influence what goes on in some of South East England's leading research institutions with the launch today of the Rural Research and Strategy Partnership (RRSP).

The partnership comprises Forest Research (the Farnham-based research agency of the Forestry Commission), the Universities of Reading, Surrey and Sussex, and the University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester. It is supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

The RRSP's objective is to bring together researchers and policymakers to find ways to solve the South East's most pressing rural problems.

Among the topics it will collaborate on are nature conservation, wind power, nuclear energy, biofuels production, and pollution.

On behalf of the partnership, Professor Peter Bunyan of the University of Surrey explained, "The South East is the economic powerhouse of the UK, and our rural heritage and assets play an important role in that. But how can we maintain and improve rural sustainability alongside the demands of economic progress? The South East is a local exemplar of this global paradox. I believe the new partnership will lead the way to resolving this dilemma through enabling targeted, appropriate research, and in doing so, provide a model transferable to similar areas of the world."

The South East has the UK's highest density of tertiary education and research establishments but, until now, there was no formal rural research network, despite rural issues being a principal element in the South East' s distinctiveness. Although the region is densely populated, more than 80% of its land area is classified as rural. One third of its countryside is protected for its landscape quality, and 10 per cent of the UK's farms are found here.

The RRSP's specific aims are to bring together new communities and collaborations of key policymakers, rural stakeholder groups and multi-disciplinary research teams to encourage the generation and use of new research evidence to provide practical and innovative solutions to rural issues.

Welcomed the partnership, Valerie Carter, rural director at Seeda, said, "I'm encouraged that this new partnership will help provide practical and innovative solutions to rural issues, whilst allowing policy makers to be more confident and knowledgeable about the impact of their initiatives.

"The RRSP will focus on the wide range of topics considered priorities for the South East's regional sustainability. These include questions on rural land use as policymakers wrestle with the best ways to cope with climate change, to sustain biodiversity and to develop renewable energy supplies. Equally, many problems more often associated with urban areas create headaches for rural areas. And the solutions to common issues - affordable housing, waste disposal, enterprise, staying healthy - can look very different in the countryside than in the town."

The RRSP launched a dialogue between key policymakers and researchers with "A Breath of Fresh Air", an event held in London today. The event gave policymakers an opportunity to debate the most pressing concerns for the South East, and its findings will inform the regional research agenda through a series of seminars at leading research institutions this summer and autumn.

Further information is available by visiting www.forestresearch.gov.uk/rrsp

5:13pm Thursday 24th April 2008

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