Quinquennial Review stakeholder views - Government departments

 

Responses received

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEForest ResearchA) - two sections
• Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)
• Highways Agency
• National Assembly for Wales
• Northern Ireland Forest Service
• Scottish Executive.

Summary

Their responses made it clear that Forest Research was ‘well-linked’ to the government machine.

In general, other departments were very impressed with the quality of its work, regarding it as an authoritative source of research and advice, producing good up-to-date publications.

The strong "commissioning" link to the Forestry Commission was seen as generally helpful, but it was important to reflect the needs of users, and practical foresters, as well as policy imperatives.

Forest Research had become more customer-focused than formerly.

Aims and objectives

Forest Research's aims and objectives might be strengthened by a reference to the achievement of scientific excellence or being the leading research provider in its field.

The link between the objectives of the Forestry Commission and Forest Research was not strong enough. Forest Research (particularly its Northern Research Station) was seen as too production-orientated, at the expense of broader biodiversity research. However respondents welcomed the recent change of emphasis particularly towards environmental research.

Partnerships

There was scope for more linkage with other government-sponsored research and opportunities for Forest Research to bid for more government-funded work to which its skills were relevant. This linkage (particularly Forest Research's contributions in kind) would be more difficult if it were not part of a government department.