Dr Hannah Greatwood1, Dr Rebecca Stone1, Dr Emma Hunter2, Dr Thomas Sawczuk1, Dr Emma Wilkins3, Dr Alice Kininmonth3, Dr Marta Lonnie4
1Obesity Institute Leeds Beckett University, Leeds; 2The School of Health, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen; 3School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds; 4Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen.
Funded by the ‘Transforming the UK Food System’ programme, the FIO Food research grant aimed to provide actionable evidence on retail strategies to address dietary inequalities among people living with obesity and food insecurity to support sustainable and healthier food choices. FIO Food are a team of interdisciplinary academics from six UK universities with a major supermarket retailer partner, as well as a team of Early Career Researchers (ECRs). A core objective of FIO Food was to foster the professional development of its ECRs, and from the outset, Principal Investigator, Professor Alexandra Johnstone, instilled this commitment having stated “ECRs are integral to the FIO Food team. Nurturing their development is a key output of our work so that we can create the next generation of researchers”.
FIO Food adopted a structured and deliberate approach to capacity building, ensuring its ECRs gained experience in academic publishing, policy engagement, and interdisciplinary research. To achieve this, authorship guidelines were introduced that prioritised ECR lead authorship and promoted equitable publication opportunities. The project also championed the use of the Open Science Framework (OSF) to enhance researcher integrity. As part of this, ECRs received systematic training in pre-registration protocols, data deposition, and preprint publication. While offering opportunities, FIO Food’s interdisciplinary team required ECRs to navigate differing methodological approaches, fostering skills in conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making.
Recognising the complexity of the UK food system, FIO Food integrated Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) throughout its research. This ensured findings remained grounded in the lived experience, whilst also equipping ECRs with essential community engagement skills, particularly when empirical project findings diverged from community expectations. ECRs also experienced collaborating with a commercial retail partner, providing firsthand insight into successful academic-industry relationships and in navigating data governance issues related to repurposing sensitive consumer data.
With the policy relevance of FIO Food findings, ECRs engaged directly in policy development by contributing to government consultations, including the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee’s prevention inquiry. This involvement cultivated skills in evidence synthesis and policy communication, which are becoming increasingly valuable in academia. FIO Food used a range of dissemination channels, including blogs, white papers, and infographics, to maximise research impact. Consequently, ECRs have developed strong skills in translating complex findings into accessible formats for diverse stakeholders, with visual communication tools proving particularly effective. Beyond research training, ECRs led biannual project meetings, gaining essential experience in communication and project management. They were also supported to participate in international conferences, which expanded their professional networks and strengthened presentation skills, which is crucial for securing future grant collaborations.
Ultimately, the success of FIO Food’s ECR development is reflected in their growing confidence to pursue independent funding opportunities. Although not all applications have been successful, taking the lead on grant proposals marks a pivotal step in career progression. By investing in transdisciplinary research training, FIO Food has enabled its ECRs to have contributed meaningfully to the transformation of the UK food system and to sustaining research capacity in this critical area.
To read more about the project: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/rowett/research/fio-food/
