The MASTS Directorate (David Paterson, Mark James and Emma Defew) recently submitted a bid to the recent NERC/ESRC Call to lead the Sustainable Management of UK Marine Resources (SMMR) programme. CRMG is delighted to report that this bid was successful and work to get this programme underway will begin in earnest in the New Year.

The £12.4m SMMR programme aims to improve understanding of societal perspectives and behaviours concerning the marine environment and integrate this into systems-based approaches that support the development and analysis of interventions and inform effective decision-making for marine management and policy. The team will work with the wider research and user communities to develop the SMMR funding call and further activities to ensure that the programme delivers its objectives. The team look forward to expanding the collaborative ethos of MASTS across the UK and delivering this programme’s ambition to deliver real change. The SMMR programme should provide opportunities for the MASTS community to engage with other interdisciplinary expertise across the UK.

The £12.4m SMMR programme will be jointly delivered by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) on behalf of UKRI, and in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Marine Scotland.