Reports and Policy Briefs

Our research helps shape government policies in key areas such as public health and climate change. We regularly publish briefings, giving a concise overview of the particular challenges to which individual research projects offer a solution, and a range of other reports designed to aid policymakers in their decision making. Here is a selection of recent publications.

Policy Brief: Nutrition in Social Prescribing

Problem: Multiple barriers prevent people in the most disadvantaged areas accessing support to eat more healthily, making them still more vulnerable to overweight, obesity and associated health risks.

Solution: Make nutrition a core element of social prescribing by providing link practitioners a tool to encourage self-help by signposting to the most relevant of a suite of non-clinical interventions related to healthy eating.

Policy Brief: Hemp Cake as a Feed Source for Scotland

Problem: The UKs over-reliance on imported soya at a time of significant risk

Solution: Hemp cake as a home-grown alternative to soya cake offering multiple benefits

Policy Brief: Hemp-based growing media as a sustainable replacement of coir for Scottish soft fruit

Problem: The UK’s heavy dependence on imported coir for food production poses economic, environmental, and supply chain risks
Solution: Locally produced hemp-based growing media offers a sustainable, homegrown alternative to both coir and peat—reducing overall carbon footprint, cutting waste, and strengthening the UK’s food system resilience

Policy Brief: Towards a sustainable food future: public readiness for hemp products in Scotland

Issue: The Good Food Nation Plan’s aim to “shift the diet” in Scotland towards one that better meets both national dietary goals and climate change targets.

Solution: Better exploiting the health and environmental benefits of hemp as a staple ingredient by identifying consumers’ preference and acceptance towards hemp-based products,

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