About the Project
Funding
This PhD project is part of a competition funded by SRUC. This opportunity is open to UK and International students and provides funding to cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs.
The proportion of international students appointed through this competition is capped at 30%. All students must meet the entry criteria for the PhD in Agriculture, Rural and Environmental Studies.
The Project
It is expected that Scotland will see changing precipitation patterns under climate change projections (e.g. increased average temperatures, drier summers, milder, wetter, winters and more extreme weather events; Adaptation Scotland, 2021). While flooding has long been a challenge for the historically water-rich country, it is now also recognised that water scarcity and the frequency, severity and duration of drought events is likely to increase in coming decades (Kirkpatrick-Baird et al., 2023).
Despite this, there is a lack of recognition of the risks among many groups, including Scottish food and drinks producers such as distilleries, and agricultural producers of potatoes and soft fruits (Glendell et al., 2024). With an absence of recognition of these risks comes an inability to de-risk one’s business once the impacts are realised. This causes us to ask how we can engage businesses and producers to respond with anticipatory action to this challenge. Crucial to addressing this is approaching the issue from the informed perspective of the businesses and producers that need to be engaged.
The aim of this project is to establish non-monetary valuation of water resources and develop a tool for engaging agri-food businesses in the communication of water scarcity risk, with the intention of facilitating Scotland’s rural businesses (e.g. food and drinks production) to de-risk from the impacts of water scarcity.
This project will aim to achieve this through the following approaches, within the context of water use and management:
– developing an understanding of the political, economic, environmental and personal contexts in which these businesses operate
– understanding how water is managed & valued, and its contribution to business functionality
– considering what needs exist in terms of receiving new information and developing long-term plans on the basis of such information
– co-designing tools for communicating specific projected outcomes of water resource changes with relevant food producers and other businesses.
Data collection will follow a mixed methods approach which allows development of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The project will allow the candidate to develop skills in interdisciplinary and participatory research, while contributing to the knowledge fields in natural capital management, water resource management and food security. The work will liaise with SRUC’s RPC and consultants on policy issues and client advisory services. It will offer the opportunity to engage and build relationships with some of the most important agri-food businesses and sectors in Scotland’s rural economy, as well as develop academic study that is economically and politically relevant.
This project will be based at SRUC, Edinburgh.
Eligibility
For entry to PhD study, applicants are expected to have at least one of the following:
• an undergraduate degree, usually with first or upper second (2:1) class honours or equivalent in a relevant subject, or
• a relevant master’s qualification or equivalent evidence of prior professional practice.
International applicants and candidates from non-English speaking countries will need to meet the minimum language requirements for admission onto the programme of study. These can be found in the Entry Requirements section of the PhD in Agriculture, Rural and Environmental Studies webpage
How to Apply
To apply for an SRUC PhD studentship, please follow the guidance below or on the SRUC Postgraduate Research Opportunities webpage. The SRUC Doctoral College can provide you with support for your application.
Informal enquiries about the project and your application should be addressed to the project supervisor, Dr Carly Maynard – Carly.Maynard@sruc.ac.uk
After you have approached the project supervisor and discussed your application with them, you should:
1) Complete the online SRUC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey; the survey will automatically generate a completion receipt number that you should copy and paste on the relevant section of your SRUC Application Form.
2) Download and fill in the SRUC Application Form.
3) Download and send the Academic Reference Form to your two academic/professional referees, and ask them to submit the references directly to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025
4) Submit your complete application, along with academic transcripts and certificates to Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk by 31 January 2025
If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Doctoral.College@sruc.ac.uk
Funding Notes
This PhD project is fully funded for 3.5 years. It is part of a competition funded by SRUC and is open to students worldwide. Funding will cover tuition fees at the UK rate, plus a stipend to support living costs and an annual research grant of ÂŁ3,000 for the first three years of the PhD research (this is reduced to ÂŁ500 in the writing-up year of the PhD).
