SALIENT’s aims was to co-design and evaluate interventions that supported healthier diets and to reduce the environmental impacts of our food system. We prioritised interventions and partners that had the largest reach and the greatest potential to make food healthier and more environmentally sustainable, and to narrow health inequalities (both geographic and socio-economic). We worked with partners in local government, food charities, community support teams and the food industry to deliver these interventions in real-life settings.
SALIENT consortium
The SALIENT consortium is drawn from eight universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Liverpool, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Queen Mary University of London) and two research institutes (Nesta and the Behavioural Insights Team). The consortium is led by Professor Pete Scarborough from the University of Oxford, and Professor Martin White from the University of Cambridge. We regularly meet with a Programme Board with members from the following Government departments: Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs; Food Standards Agency; Cabinet Office; HM Treasury; Department of Health and Social Care; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Department for Education.
Our funders
The SALIENT research programme was awarded £5.4 million through a commissioning process run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The funding comes from the government’s Evaluation Accelerator Fund (EAF), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and the Food Standards Agency (FSA). SALIENT will conduct work between January 2023 and November 2025. The funding call asked for a set of food system trials to encourage healthy, sustainable diets. Although we will be working with partners from the food industry to design and evaluate interventions, we do not receive any funding from the food industry.
