Quinquennial Review stakeholder views - Non-government organisations

 

Responses received

• RSPB
• NFU Wales
• Scottish Landowners Federation
• National Trust
• Dartmoor National Park Authority
• Wildlife Trusts
• Scottish Environment Link (a coalition of some 50 non-government organisations with a membership of approximately 500,000 in Scotland)
• Council for Scottish Archaeology.

Summary

Like others, these diverse bodies felt that Forest Research's quality of service was good (where they had direct experience), with clear objectives and outputs.

Since 1997, the organisation had improved its customer focus but had moved to a shorter-term attitude to research.

Research priorities

There was insufficient consultation on research priorities, and the research programmes of the various government bodies active in the environmental field were poorly co-ordinated at national and regional level.

There needed to be greater collaboration with other government agencies, research institutions and practitioners (or co-ordination by the UK Biodiversity Research Group).

There was an imbalance of resources within Forest Research, with too little being devoted to environmental and social forestry and too much to economic forestry (for which users should in any case pay directly).

Knowledge transfer

Better dissemination of research results was needed, since Forest Research's research conclusions were not widely known. Forest Research's published output was relevant, but poorly disseminated.

Funding

There was concern about the need to recover full economic costs, which would rule out the important research of wider benefit and would prevent Forest Research promoting research which could lead to policy changes.

Organisation

There was general support for the present form of organisation, with change being accepted only if it led to better co-ordinated research results. It was noted that the present arrangements were good at meeting wider policy commitments (for instance to biodiversity) and pursuing GB-wide ecological issues.

Aims and objectives

Suggestions were made for improved aims and objectives (including an explicit mention of sustainability) and targets which measured the balance and progress of Forest Research's research programme against the Forestry Commission's strategic research objectives.