Support for Researchers
Find out more about how PPS can support UoS researchers to enhance their policy impact of their work.
Cristina spent three months on a placement with DEFRA in the Food Strategy and Innovation teams. Her role was to map the UK’s agri-tech innovation landscape, identifying and mapping all the stakeholders involved in the UK’s agri-tech sector. She then analysed their involvement in the agri-tech sector and how much funding they provide or have; assessed the different programmes and funding available for agri-tech innovation; cross-checked their relationship with the previously identified priority themes for agri-tech innovation in the UK; and researched the impact that the different funding schemes and programmes have had in the agri-tech sector, through different projects and case studies.
“Doing this placement was a challenging yet very rewarding experience, professionally and personally. I got the chance to immerse myself into different very interesting topics that were outside my area of expertise. I learned from the experience of diverse professional and highly committed civil servants. I also had the chance to engage with food industry and business entrepreneurs and to understand the role they play and how they influence policy. I realised the important role that research plays in some policy areas and themes, such as innovation and food systems.”
