For any business, making decisions on the best course of action should be informed by the best available evidence. The UK business sector is asked to integrate issues of sustainability and environmental impact into their decision-making as part of a transition to a greener economy (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/economy). In current circumstances this is inhibited by the absence of a shared and reliable evidence base from which to draw decision-making support and develop consensus on best practice. In a competitive world it will be important for business decisions to be based on a reliable evidence-base characterized by rigour in assembly , transparency and objectivity. Most importantly the evidence base will need to be synthetic and inclusive of all available primary research related to a question relevant to evidence needs of the decision makers. In environmental management, the evidence base supporting policy decisions is incipient and syntheses of the best available evidence are not readily available. This project will develop and test an open-access database of research syntheses (evidence syntheses). The database will list syntheses conducted to assess evidence on a specific question of policy or practical relevance in environmental management. The database will provide information on the reliability and transparency of the syntheses, tailored to the needs of decision makers/end users in government, non-government and private sectors. We will work with a group of end users and pilot the database format by identifying a subject area that represents an example of their evidence needs. Existing research syntheses will then be identified and critically appraised for their reliability as a source of the best available evidence. The web-based product will be presented to the end-user group for their feedback and modifications made in preparation for expansion from a pilot to a fully functional system.

Not needed for this application

Genetic markers are widely used in livestock breeding programs to select animals with superior production traits, e.g. meat quality. Fish aquaculture is a global growth industry with farmed salmon now a major UK food export. Compared with traditional livestock, fish species are relatively undomesticated and the use of genetic markers to produce superior strains for farming is in its infancy. The aim of this follow-on funding project is to strengthen a patent application for single nucleotide polymorphisms markers in Atlantic salmon that were found to be significantly associated with superior fillet yield and improved flesh quality. Studies with larger populations of fish and of the association between the genetic polymorphisms and quality traits in families of known pedigree are required for the commercial validation of the markers. The project will also screen a pipeline of other genetic markers for enhanced flesh quality and extend the approach to other farmed fish species.