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Introduction & Background15.5% of all UK households are food insecure; either unable to afford to eat, skipping meals or reducing meal sizes despite being hungry. Drivers of food insecurity include both access to and affordability of food, with those most in need often left unable to access healthy and affordable food. Taking a place-based approach to understand the drivers of food insecurity allows for targeted support from government, third sector and private organisations to mitigate growing food insecurity in the UK.
Objectives & ApproachThis research presents the methodology for the co-production and construction of the Priority Places for Food Index (PPFI) and supporting dashboard, co-designed by the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and consumer champions Which? in response to the 'cost-of-living crisis'.
The PPFI equally weights measures of access to affordable food and indicators of barriers to affording food across seven domains; Proximity to supermarket retail facilities, Accessibility of supermarket retail facilities, Access to online deliveries, Proximity to non-supermarket food provision, Socio-economic barriers, Fuel Poverty and Family Food for support. The PPFI uses open data combing traditional census data metrics, with government data (e.g., Healthy start voucher and free-school meals uptake), digital footprints data (web-scraped delivery addresses and food bank item request data) and scaled-survey data (fuel poverty, propensity to shop online).
Relevance to Digital FootprintsDigital footprint data can complement traditional data sources to provide a more nuanced view of health inequalities. These data are typically less timely to collect than traditional data collection methods (census, survey) allowing a more reactive response to emergent issues such as the cost-of-living crisis.
ResultsThe PPFI interactive map and underlying data have been published via the CDRC https://priorityplaces.cdrc.ac.uk/.
Conclusions & ImplicationsWe demonstrate the value of data linkage across individual and population level data to provide localised insight into food insecurity and identify where digital footprints data can improve gaps in the current evidence base. We also reflect on the value of co-production and stakeholder engagement in creating a policy ready interactive map which has facilitated the lobbying of targeted practical support and policy change to address food insecurity.

Introduction & BackgroundFood production is a substantial contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. A more sustainable diet is often a healthier one, so making lower carbon food choices serves to benefit the planet and person. In order to understand the carbon footprint of food choices, linkage of recipe information to carbon footprint data and transaction records is required. To inform positive change insights from data linkage must be communicated to the target audience, in this case schoolchildren.
Objectives & ApproachSchool dinner recipe information and transaction records for school meals at five schools for a six week period were acquired. Carbon footprint estimates were calculated for each recipe, using published data. An automated dashboard was created in order that these calculations could be replicated by catering teams. Carbon footprints were appended to the school transaction records for meal choices. An interactive web game was created in 'top trump's' style using a selection of the recipes, with carbon footprint and popularity ranking, generated from the transaction records.
Relevance to Digital FootprintsTransactional meal sales data from schools are digital footprint data. In this work we link these digital footprint data to detailed recipe information with estimated carbon footprints from an open data source.
ResultsThe Consumer Data Research Centre Carbon Calculator and The Planet Plates game were created. The Carbon Calculator is being used in a number of settings to support food procurement and recipe development. The Planet Plates game has been used in Leeds Schools to empower schoolchildren to make positive changes to lower the carbon footprint of their meal choices. The children were engaged with all the activities and not only learned about sustainability of their food choices, but about how data they generate can be used anonymously for public good.
Conclusions & ImplicationsData linkage of digital footprint data is a powerful tool for behaviour change to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. Methods and insights should be shared widely and made accessible to a range of stakeholders wherever possible.

Collaborative governance is often used as a strategy to address seemingly intractable common pool resource (CPR) problems. However, significant power imbalances can constrain the creation, adoption and implementation of socially and environmentally desirable policies. This study integrates theory on power with the institutional analysis and design (IAD) framework in order to provide a conceptual framework for examining power that is not captured through the IAD's focus on action situations. We examined the use of collaboration in CPR governance contexts characterized by significant power imbalances. Two Canadian collaborative processes that involve large energy industry interests were studied. We assessed the ability of these collaborative processes to address social and environmental goals. Results revealed significant hidden power dynamics related to inaction and non-decisions. Collaboration was unable to produce progressive outcomes because of i) the restriction of the collaborative agenda by powerful actors; ii) selective enforcement of rules; and; iii) a broader neoliberal context that inherently favoured increasing resource extraction. These findings indicate that the achievement of progressive social and environmental outcomes through collaboration is constrained where powerful resource industries are present as participants.

Introduction & BackgroundOn 1 October 2022, new legislation came into force for England restricting the placement of some food and drink products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS). Products such as confectionery can no longer be placed at store entrances, ends of aisles, or at the checkout in large retail stores and their online equivalents.
Objectives & ApproachOur protocol sets out how daily sales and product data from multiple retailers will be used to evaluate the legislation's success in relation to HFSS sales, product portfolios and equitability. Food and drink sales data from 18 months pre- and 12 months post-introduction of the policy will be gained from multiple large UK retailers. Online sales are excluded.
Eligible stores were defined as supermarkets from our partner retailer brands with store areas larger than 280 square metres. From the eligible store sample, we selected 160 intervention stores (England) and 50 control stores (Scotland and Wales) from each partner retailer.
The sample provides equal store numbers across each decile of the Priority Places for Food Index (PPFI) from each retailer (n = 16), capturing food insecurity risk, and maximum coverage of store (store size) and store area characteristics (urban/rural status).
Controlled interrupted time-series will be used to estimate effects of the policy, with stores from Scotland and Wales (where the legislation has not been implemented) acting as controls.
Relevance to Digital FootprintsThis protocol sets out the first multiple-retailer independent analysis of the HFSS legislation, demonstrating how business digital footprints data can contribute to policy evaluation.
ResultsOutcomes will include sales of HFSS products and changes to available product portfolios. We will explore whether legislation impacts were equitable across stores in areas with different demographic characteristics, according to the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation and the PPFI.
Findings at the retailer and cross-retailer levels will inform sector-level insights regarding impact and potential next steps for policy and business practice.
Conclusions & ImplicationsOur conclusions will contribute to policy-relevant discussions around the effectiveness of HFSS government policy, with potential to influence future decision-making across the UK Devolved Nations.

Introduction & BackgroundSupermarket transactions leave a digital footprint which offers insight into dietary habits. Use of transactions in nutrition research has increased, but these data are rarely validated. The STRIDE (Supermarket Transaction Records In Dietary Evaluation) study compares dietary estimates from supermarket transactions with self-reported intake from an online Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ).
Objectives & ApproachWorking with a large UK supermarket, loyalty card customers were recruited to one of four waves (accounting for seasonal dietary variation). Participants completed an online FFQ and consented to sharing their transaction records for one year during the study, and one year prior. The Bland-Altman method was used to calculate agreement and limits of agreement between transactions and intake for daily energy, sugar, total fat, saturated fat, protein and sodium (absolute and energy-adjusted).
Relevance to Digital FootprintsSupermarket transactions are a form of digital footprints data with advantages over survey methods, with regards scalability and objectivity, for monitoring population-level diets.
Results1,788 participants from four UK regions gave consent. 686 participants who completed the FFQ and made purchases during the same period, were included for analysis. Participants were mostly female (72%), with a mean age of 56 years (SD 13). A regression equation for agreement is presented for estimating intake from purchases. Agreement for absolute measures was poor overall, but higher for single-person households and households reporting a higher proportion of total food purchases from the study retailer. Agreement was stronger for energy-adjusted nutrient estimates, particularly fat, with purchase records under-estimating the proportion of total energy intake from fat by just 2%.
Conclusions & ImplicationsThe STRIDE study found that household purchases from a single retailer were a poor proxy for individual-level nutrient intakes. However, close agreement on average energy-adjusted estimates suggests purchases are a good indicator of dietary composition. Supermarket transactions have utility for population dietary assessment, ecological studies, and identifying intervention targets based on dietary patterns. Digital footprint data from transactions can contribute to the design and monitoring of national and local-level interventions.

Saltmarshes are being lost or degraded as a result of human activity resulting in loss of critical ecosystem services including the provision of wild species diversity, water quality regulation and flood regulation. To compensate, saltmarshes are being restored or re-created, usually driven by legislative requirements for increased habitat diversity, flood regulation and sustainable coastal defense. Yet, there is increasing evidence that restoration may not deliver anticipated ecosystem services; this is frequently attributed to poor drainage and sediment anoxia. However, physical sediment characteristics, hydrology and the sediment geochemical environment are rarely examined in restoration schemes, despite such factors being critical for plant succession. This study presents the novel integration of 3D-computed X-ray microtomography to quantify sediment structure and porosity, with water level and geochemical data to understand the impact of pre-restoration land use and disturbance on the structure and functioning of restored saltmarshes. The study combines a broad-scale investigation of physical sediment characteristics in nine de-embanked saltmarshes across SE England, with an intensive study at one site examining water levels, sediment structure and the sediment geochemical environment. De-embankment does not restore the hydrological regime, or the physical/chemical framework in the saltmarshes and evidence of disturbance includes a reduction in microporosity, pore connectivity and water storage capacity, a lack of connectivity between the sub-surface environment and overlying floodwaters, and impeded sub-surface water flow and drainage. This has significant consequences for the sediment geochemical environment. This disturbance is evident for at least two decades following restoration and is likely to be irreversible. It has important implications for plant establishment in particular, ecosystem services including flood regulation, nutrient cycling and wild species diversity and for future restoration design.

Obesity is thought to be the product of over 100 different factors, interacting as a complex system over multiple levels. Understanding the drivers of obesity requires considerable data, which are challenging, costly and time-consuming to collect through traditional means. Use of 'big data' presents a potential solution to this challenge. Big data is defined by Delphi consensus as: always digital, has a large sample size, and a large volume or variety or velocity of variables that require additional computing power (Vogel et al. Int J Obes. 2019). 'Additional computing power' introduces the concept of big data analytics. The aim of this paper is to showcase international research case studies presented during a seminar series held by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Strategic Network for Obesity in the UK. These are intended to provide an in-depth view of how big data can be used in obesity research, and the specific benefits, limitations and challenges encountered.

In this policy perspective, we outline several conditions to support effective science–policy interaction, with a particular emphasis on improving water governance in transboundary basins. Key conditions include (1) recognizing that science is a crucial but bounded input into water resource decision-making processes; (2) establishing conditions for collaboration and shared commitment among actors; (3) understanding that social or group-learning processes linked to science–policy interaction are enhanced through greater collaboration; (4) accepting that the collaborative production of knowledge about hydrological issues and associated socioeconomic change and institutional responses is essential to build legitimate decision-making processes; and (5) engaging boundary organizations and informal networks of scientists, policy makers, and civil society. We elaborate on these conditions with a diverse set of international examples drawn from a synthesis of our collective experiences in assessing the opportunities and constraints (including the role of power relations) related to governance for water in transboundary settings.

Early protection with a high potency (>6PD50) foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) O1 Manisa (Middle-EastSouth Asia lineage) vaccine against challenge with O/VIT/2010 (O Mya98 lineage) was tested in pigs. Only two pigs that were vaccinated seven days prior to challenge had any demonstrable antibodies as a result of vaccination at the time of challenge. However, 80% and 60% of pigs that were vaccinated seven and four days prior to coronary band challenge were protected. Vaccination significantly reduced the amount of virus excreted in nasal swabs, saliva and faeces compared to unvaccinated and infected controls. Virus and viral RNA could be detected in some pigs until termination of the experiment 14 days after challenge.Antibodies to the non-structural proteins (NSP) were detected in only one pig that was challenged four days post vaccination (dpv) and transiently in two pigs that were challenged seven dpv at only one timepoint. For each vaccine and control group, a group of unvaccinated pigs were kept in the same room but with no direct contact with the infected pigs to determine whether vaccination prevented transmission. Despite the presence of live virus and viral RNA in these indirect contact pigs, the groups in contact with the vaccinated and infected pigs did not develop clinical signs nor did they sero-convert. Contact pigs in the same room as unvaccinated challenged controls did show signs of disease and virus infection that resulted in sero-conversion to the NSP. A breach of the wall that separated the two groups at nine days post challenge might have contributed to this finding. This study showed that high potency vaccine can provide protection to pigs soon after vaccination and that aerosol transmission within rooms is a rare event. ; Funding was provided in part by the livestock industries in Australia through Animal Health Australia. The AHA funds are matched through the Meat and Livestock Australia Donor Company by the Australian Government under MLA Project P.PSH 0652. ...