https://bbsrc.ukri.org/funding/filter/transforming-the-uk-food-system/
Deadline: 26 November 2019
Amount: £25m total budget, Projects of up to £6m (@80% fEC)
Duration: Up to 5 years

The Food Systems SPF is an interdisciplinary programme of research that will help transform the UK food system by placing healthy people and a healthy natural environment at its centre.
It will address questions around what we should eat, produce and manufacture in the UK and what we should import.
In doing so it will consider the complex interactions between health, environment and behavioural factors, while taking into account wider needs for different groups in society.
This will enable a joined-up approach across healthy and accessible diets and sustainable food production and supply, delivering coherent evidence to enable concerted action from government, business and civil society.

Proposals are invited for interdisciplinary research consortia to develop evidence to enable food system transformation, linking healthy and accessible diets with sustainable food production and supply.
This will require a food systems approach and collaboration across multiple disciplines, for example: agri-food, environmental, public health, nutritional and social sciences (including for example expertise in soil science, crop and animal production, aquaculture, biodiversity and ecosystem services, systems engineers, data science, agricultural economics, food science, food manufacturing and processing, food markets, nutrition, biomedical and clinical science, epidemiology, economics, behavioural, social and political science).

As well as being scientifically excellent, the research must take account of and balance the needs of key food system actors, who have a central role to play in delivering transformation.
This includes government, business, and civil society organisations, and it is expected that these groups (and other relevant stakeholders) will be fully engaged in the co-design and the co-delivery of projects to ensure food system transformation can be achieved.

Proposals must address two major themes:
1) Defining a transformed UK food system that places healthy people and a healthy natural environment at its centre; and
2) Delivering food system transformation in the UK.
All projects should address aspects of BOTH themes.

This programme is looking for ideas and evidence for transformational change and how it can be delivered, rather than more research into the problems.

Workshops
Two workshops will be held to communicate more details about the research call and facilitate networking.
Attendance at the workshop is not mandatory for applicants to the research calls.
Workshops will run from 10:30 – 16:30 on both days.
• Manchester (city centre) Monday 21 October
• London (central) Friday 25 October
Expression of interest for workshop participation closes: 13 October 12:00pm

Timeline
Launch of call 8 October 2019
Call Launch Workshop – Manchester 21 October 2019
Call Launch Workshop – London 25 October 2019
Closing date for outlines 26 November 2019
Assessment Panel January 2020
Full proposals invited February 2020
Full proposal deadline April 2020
Decision communicated to applicants September 2020
Grants must start before this date 4 January 2021

Please could those interested ensure they read the full call details and guidance documents provided via the link above