About Scotland’s Future Series

Thanks to £35,000 of financial assistance from the University to support relevant research and outreach work, the Scotland’s Future Series opened its first round with applications invited for funding of up to £3000.

A number of outstanding applications were received from academics, students and professional staff.

Black and white photo of a group of students
SFS funding helped students to set up The Political Institute of Action Research, which aims to bridge the gap between academia, government, industry, and the public whilst giving students the opportunity to work on research projects

The SFS panel is chaired by Professor Brad Mackay, Deputy Principal, and comprises Professor Tom Brown, Vice-Principal (Research, Collections and Innovation); Ester Ruskuc, Vice-Principal (Strategy, Policy and Planning); Niall Scott, Vice-Principal (Communications); Stephen Gethins, Assistant Principal (International Strategy and External Relations); and Lindsey Alexander, Senior Communications Manager (Public Affairs).

The panel awarded funding to a number of projects submitted in the first round, while several other applicants were encouraged to develop their proposals and resubmit to the next funding round.

Four people stand outside an old building with pillars either side
The first event to be funded brought staff, students and members of the St Andrews community together to discuss how we can listen better and debate more collaboratively

Larger projects, which will receive funding of up to £3000, will look at a variety of issues ranging from climate change to decolonising the past to shape the future, and from local advocacy to responsible debate.

Smaller projects, awarded funding of up to £1000, include the creation of a Scotland’s Future Podcast series, the continuation of a project on rewriting gender in an age of transition, a paper on Scotland’s sub-state leadership on global climate action and the implications of this for Scotland’s constitutional debate, as well as a Chaplaincy Prize for 2023 on a Scotland’s Future theme.

Commenting, Professor Brad Mackay said: “The panel was delighted by the huge amount of enthusiasm for the Scotland’s Future Series and the standard of applications was extremely high. We were pleased to see a wide variety of contributions from staff and students, including interdisciplinary applications.

“One of the proposals was a podcast series which involves hearing from successful applicants about their projects, why they were inspired to take part and what they hope to achieve. The podcasts will also feature news and events relevant to the ethos of the Scotland’s Future Series, with the first one focussing on the war in Ukraine.

“This will be a great way for people across the University and the wider St Andrews and Fife community to engage with the wide variety of debate and discussions being promoted by the University on Scotland’s future and place in the world, in a constructive and informative way.”

The date for the next round of funding will also be announced soon. Funding for smaller projects (up to £1000) will be considered on a rolling basis.

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