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SRUC – Overview and Background

SRUC is a unique organisation founded on world class and sector-leading research, education and consultancy. As a Higher Education Institution, we have specialist expertise in Education and Research and offer unrivalled links with industry through our Agricultural Business Consultants.

SRUC’s principal purpose is to advance education, science, research and environmental protection and improvement in the rural and land-based industries, both domestically and internationally. The commercial consultancy, skills training and research activities are undertaken through SAC Commercial Limited. References to “SRUC” in this specification includes both SRUC and SAC Commercial Limited.

SRUC employs approximately 1,300 staff operating from 6 campuses, 8 farms, 25 consulting offices, 6 research centres and 8 veterinary surveillance centres located primarily across Scotland.

Academic Strategy

It is SRUC’s intention to become a fully-fledged university – a new and unique kind of university for the 21st century that is regional, accessible, market-focused and responsive to a diverse range of challenges in the emerging natural economy. We will be a strong and unique anchor institution where research, skills and business converge. Such convergence will create new insights that deliver big strategic leaps and completely new propositions for business, society and government.

All of this activity is firmly rooted in our distinctive ethos of a Scotland-wide presence through regional centres of global excellence. Our objective is to deliver on shared goals with Government, business and other partners to drive forward the natural economy through inclusive growth, job creation and generation of commercial opportunities.

We will be a research-led organisation pushing on to fulfil higher, world leading goals. Our work will also deliver towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (now integrated within the NPF), including: Responsible Consumption and Production; Decent Work and Economic Growth; Life on Land; Zero Hunger; Climate Action; Good Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality.

Our regional presence in Scotland is essential to allow us to be responsive to local needs. The unique integration of our research, education and consulting specialisms are key to allowing SRUC to deliver an unparalleled service to our students and customers.

We are moving towards a business model comprising integrated regional specialisms/faculties, which maximise the potential of our people and expertise while creating new opportunities for partnerships, co-location, investment and growth. Each region has a Dean responsible for the development of their specialism, who will be outward looking as well as supporting internal development, with additional responsibility for extending the collaborative and commercial partnerships in their faculty’s area.

Each faculty’s activities will have a strong focus on, but will not be limited to:

NORTH: Rural Land Use and Veterinary & Animal Science
CENTRAL: Natural Sciences, Policy and Enterprise & Business
SOUTH & WEST: Land Use, Pasture-based Agriculture and Forestry

LOCALLY ROOTED, GLOBALLY FOCUSED

As part of our commitment to excellence in multi-disciplinary work, we are establishing a limited number of cross-faculty, outcome driven Transdisciplinary Research Centres (TRCs). These will develop research partnerships within Scotland, across the UK and internationally to tackle specific challenges.

SRUC’s Vision and Mission

SRUC’s new model will deliver to the needs of the natural economy as a new, successful 21st Century university.

VISION

To become Scotland’s enterprise university at the heart of a sustainable natural economy.

MISSION

To create and mobilise knowledge and talent. To partner locally and globally to benefit Scotland’s natural economy

Boards and Principal & Chief Executive

The SRUC Board and the SAC Commercial Ltd Board are both chaired by Sandy Cumming CBE.

The Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC is Professor Wayne Powell.

About the SRUC and SAC Commercial Ltd Boards

Academic and government funded not-for-profit business is conducted through SRUC, while commercial (for profit) activities are conducted through SAC Commercial Limited.

Current Board Committees include: Academic Board, Remuneration and Appointments, Audit & Risk and Finance & Estates. SAC Consulting business is addressed by the SAC Commercial Limited Board.

The members of the SRUC Board are listed below.

Chair

Non-executive SRUC Board Members

Executive Leadership Team (ELT)

Governance Structure

SRUC is a company limited by guarantee (SC103046) and is a registered Scottish charity (SC003712). SRUC’s principal purpose is to advance education, science, research and environmental protection and improvement in the rural and land-based industries, both domestically and internationally.

SAC Commercial Ltd (SC148684), a wholly owned subsidiary of SRUC, undertakes SRUC’s commercial activities in the areas of Consultancy, Education and Research.

SRUC’s learning activities are funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). SRUC continues to receive a proportion of its funding for its research, veterinary and advisory activities directly from the Scottish Government.

SAC Corporate Trustee Ltd operates as the trustee of the SAC Foundation, a charitable trust which receives the profits from SAC Commercial Ltd for investment in SRUC. The trustee holds the shares in SAC Commercial Limited as trustee for the Foundation.

Academic and government funded not-for-profit business is conducted through SRUC, while commercial (for profit) activities are conducted through SAC Commercial Limited.

The current SRUC Board comprises 18 non-executive directors and one executive director, including staff, union and student members.