The SCAF Member Map: Making Connections Across Scotland's Food Research Community
Published: 19 June 2026
By making people, expertise, and mentorship opportunities visible, the map aims to spark connections and turn them into collaborations.
One of the Scottish Alliance for Food's core goals is to showcase Scotland's food research and innovation capacity - this is also reflected in our Theme 1 on "Mapping the food system". The SCAF Member Map was developed to support this goal by making food research expertise across Scotland and beyond more visible and connected, while helping to identify where expertise exists, as well as potential gaps and opportunities for future collaboration.
Today, our broad and inclusive alliance includes over 850 members from more than 300 organisations spanning academia, industry and the third and public sectors. We are inviting all SCAF members to opt-in to appear on the map.
Whilst the map is a useful tool to visualise the breadth of disciplines, organisations and expertise within the alliance, it is also a practical resource for users to discover potential collaborators and build connections beyond their immediate networks. It can be particularly valuable for new members, helping them identify researchers working in related areas, connect with people nearby and become part of the wider SCAF community more quickly.
Beyond collaboration, the Member Map also supports professional development across career stages. Members can identify potential mentors within their field, region, or area of interest, creating opportunities for guidance, peer support, and knowledge sharing.
The Talent Finder functionality also supports career development by helping connect skilled researchers with new opportunities, strengthening career pathways while helping retain valuable expertise within Scotland's food research and innovation ecosystem.
The map can be used to:
- Search for expertise in specific disciplines, sectors, or research areas represented across the SCAF community
- Identify potential collaborators for projects, publications, and funding applications
- Find mentors and peer support
- Discover talented researchers exploring new opportunities
The Member Map is a living resource that grows in value as the alliance grows. Every new profile helps make expertise more visible, strengthens connections across the alliance and makes the map a richer and more useful resource for everyone.
All SCAF members are invited to participate and submit their profiles
If you are not a SCAF member yet, you can join the alliance here
First published: 19 June 2026