The world’s researchers have been working to understand and solve societal challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change for decades. However, decision makers in government, NGOs and business need to have this information available to them in the format they need and at the moment that they are making critical policy choices.
The Agile Initiative at the Oxford Martin School aims to put this essential knowledge in their hands, and revolutionise how world-class, high-impact research supports policymaking.
Related Projects
Is “Nature” a Policy Solution to Mental Health in Schools?
The aim of this Sprint is to provide evidence to support or challenge the value of Nature-based Programmes for mental health and wellbeing in young people, delivered through schools.
Coordinating Research Around Biodiversity Net Gain
At its heart, BNG frames a challenging question: in a world where new housing, workplaces and other land use needs are deemed essential; is it possible to provide this infrastructure without Nature bearing the brunt of the costs?
Equitable distribution of nature-rich accessible green space: An Oxfordshire case study
Investigating the distribution of freely accessible green space in Oxfordshire in relation to socio-economic status to inform local green space planning.
How do we account for biodiversity?
Restoring nature in a socially just way, in the context of economic development activities.
How do we scale up nature-based solutions in the UK?
Working with its partners and stakeholders, this project is assessing the potential for nature-based solutions to contribute to national climate, biodiversity and economic targets, understand the social and practical obstacles to NbS, and strengthen tools and guidance for decision makers. Outputs are aimed at supporting key policy processes including net zero strategy, nature recovery, economic recovery, levelling up and climate change adaptation.
Environment and National Security: Exploring Policy ‘Demand Signals’ and the Science Response
This 6-month research project is exploring urgent evidence needs and use in response to the climate and biosphere emergency and its implications for UK national security.
Related Outputs
Advancing nature-based solutions through enhanced soil health monitoring in the United Kingdom
This paper examines challenges and opportunities in selecting suitable soil health metrics. We find that standardization can facilitate widespread monitoring of soil health, with benefits for stakeholders and user groups
An integrated approach to above- and below-ground ecological monitoring for nature-based solutions
As the development of nature-based solutions (NbS) increases globally, it is important to ensure that projects meet the objective of benefiting biodiversity, alongside tackling societal challenges. However, most NbS projects do not directly monitor ecological outcomes, and those that do often focus on a limited set of metrics. It is therefore challenging to assess whether projects fulfil the aim of benefiting biodiversity.
