Summary of the meeting of the Applied Research Forum
held on 10 December 2003

Reports of Meetings
KT workshops were held on 25 September and 1 December. The representatives have got to know each other, and have formed a cohesive group that interacts in a very open way.

Reports of Planned Activities
It was decided to make a decision on whether or not to hold a conference on nutrition following discussion at the next Chairman's Group meeting on the relationship between ARF and the Nutrition Group.

A workshop on management of manure, biosolids and straw (organic 'wastes') is planned for March-April 2004, in the Warwick area. It will be an invitation-only event.

It was agreed that ARF should commission a review on biodiversity and soil.

ARF Website
It was agreed that Prof Jellis should explore the possibilities for an ARF website.

Contractors
Dr Storey presented information on Levy Body best practices for managing projects and ensuring timely delivery against milestones. One common difficulty is in managing delivery of research outputs and tying them into KT campaigns.

Quality Assurance Guidelines
Defra, FSA and SEERAD have been developing guidelines for quality assurance in laboratories. These will be sent to levy bodies for consideration.

Database of Joint Projects
Ms Charlton is developing a database of projects involving more than one levy body. It will eventually be used on the new website.

Representation on BBSRC Agrifood Committee
Prof Jellis has written to BBSRC suggesting that it would be helpful if ARF was represented on the AgiFood Committee. He has not yet had a reply.

Presentation by Dr Bob Huggins from the Environment Agency
Dr Huggins demonstrated the prototype of a new website "Your farm on-line", designed to be user-friendly. This is the subject of an Invest to Save bid to HM Treasury.