A new UK-wide Sustainable Development Research (SDR) Network, funded by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) Sustainable Development Unit, was officially established today with the endorsement of the Environment Minister, Michael Meacher. Coordinated by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI), in association with the Centre for Sustainable Development (CfSD) at the University of Westminster and the Centre for the Study of Environmental Change and Sustainability (CECS) at the University of Edinburgh, the SDR-Network aims to strengthen the delivery of high quality cross-cutting research relevant to those in the UK who make decisions in the context of sustainable development. In particular, the SDR-Network will:
The Network, which has a rolling series of workshops, a user-forum and an annual conference planned for the next two years, is currently compiling a database of UK sustainable development research. This resource will be made publicly available via the Internet later this summer.
Environment Minister, Michael Meacher said:
"For sustainable development to become a reality, we must be able to understand what it involves, what is stopping it from happening now, and how to overcome those barriers. High quality research is essential if we are to meet this challenge and to achieve our goal of modernising government".
Director of the Policy Studies Institute, Professor Jim Skea said:
"The research community has an important role to play in delivering sustainable development, generating knowledge that will allow both public policy-makers and the business community to make more sustainable decisions. The SDR-Network will not only facilitate the better use of evidence and research in policy-making, it will also provide an important resource for the research community itself."
The establishment of the SDR-Network was also welcomed by leaders of the research and business communities.
Chief Executive of the NERC, Professor John Lawton said:
"Sharing knowledge between the research community, business and policy-makers is essential for finding sustainable solutions to environmental problems. NERC has been appointed to co-ordinate cross-Council collaboration to promote sustainability. I therefore welcome the establishment of the SDR-Network by DETR and its future contribution to sustainable development."
Director of Business in the Environment, Dr Belinda Howell said:
"Businesses will welcome this initiative to identify gaps and improve the quality of research. The network should prove to be an invaluable resource across all sectors working towards sustainable development"
Membership of the SDR-Network is open to all those with an interest in sustainable development research. Details are available via the SDR-Network website - www.sd-research.org.uk
Contact: SDR-Network Co-ordinator, Dr Malcolm Eames Tel: 0207 4680468 Mobile: 07930 561911 Email: m.eames@psi.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
Dr Malcolm Eames has been appointed as SDR-Network Coordinator and Research Fellow with the Policy Studies Institute's new Environment Group. Dr Eames was formerly a Research Fellow working on environmental policy issues at the University of Sussex (February 1989-March 2001), and Policy Officer with the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (July 1996-February 1998). The PSI Environment Group is headed by Professor Paul Ekins.
The SDR-Network Coordinating Office is located at PSI. The full Co-ordinating Team comprises: Jim Skea, Paul Ekins and Malcolm Eames (PSI); Andy McLeod and Kate Corcoran (CECS); and Karen Lucas and Andrew Ross (CfSD).
The Government is committed to "ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come" by meeting its four sustainable development objectives at the same time: "social progress which recognises the needs of everyone; effective protection of the environment; prudent use of natural resources; and maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment". These are recognised in the strategy for sustainable development for the UK A better quality of life (May 1999) and in the first Government annual report 2000 Achieving a better quality of life - Review of progress towards sustainable development (January 2001). Both documents are available on the new Government website www.sustainable-development.gov.uk.
Using scientific advice and research in policy and decision-making and identifying high quality sources of information are one of the Strategy's guiding principles and evidence-based policy-making is one of the themes underpinning the Government's Modernising government agenda.