What Happened This Month | February 2026
Published: 14 March 2026
In February, SCAF matched people and opportunities through sandpits, our newly launched data aggregator, and at in-person events to produce SCAF-related outputs.
At the very beginning of SCAF, we envisaged an Alliance that would become a close-knit community of researchers, practitioners, and engaged community members, ready to spring into action when an opportunity arises. The UKRI BBSRC/Defra “Diet and Health” call presented an opportunity to bring SCAF members together to explore synergies and potential collaborations. SCAF hosted two sandpit sessions for the call in February (NOI deadline: 3 March). These helped people connect, and teams formed to explore potential proposals across target themes, including biofortification and reformulation, consumer drivers, and supply chain resilience.
In parallel, the value of our SCAF Data Aggregator, launched on 3 February, also became apparent, since so much data remains locked in drawers when it could prime exciting collaborative projects. Building on the 2024 food landscape mapping workshop, the site now aggregates datasets from across Scotland’s food system to reduce duplication, surface existing resources, and spark collaborations, with guidance on submission options, from request-only access to full public sharing via GitHub. The online aggregator launch, which demonstrated the platform and guided initial dataset submissions, is available to watch back here.
SCAF continues to match people and data to the right opportunities, and aims to use short, intensive formats to build momentum for larger projects. The aggregator, as an output from our 2024 food landscape mapping workshop, shows how much can be achieved when SCAF brings researchers and practitioners across sectors and disciplines together in the same room. In the spirit of continuing to foster these interactions, February also focused on reviewing applications to two landmark in-person events: the fourth residential writing retreat (9-12 March at Loch Insh Outdoor Centre) and the ECN media training (17-18 March in Glasgow). Select applicants have been notified for both, prioritising SCAF-related outputs alongside manuscripts, grant proposals, and fellowship applications.
First published: 14 March 2026