The James Hutton Institute, as part of the Scottish Government’s SEFARI Gateway research programme, leads world-class research into sustainable agriculture, land use and environmental resilience. In 2022 the SEFARI team undertook research into how agroecological practices could support productive farming while delivering benefits for biodiversity, climate and rural communities.
Ping Creates was commissioned to help translate these findings into an accessible digital resource that could support learning, knowledge exchange and real-world decision-making across Scotland’s agricultural sector.
The Challenge
Agroecology is a complex and sometimes misunderstood field. The SEFARI research addressed topics such as systems thinking, knowledge co-production, sustainable land management and the social implications of agricultural change. While rich in insight, the extensive findings were primarily academic in nature.
The challenge was to:
- Communicate agroecological principles clearly to non-academic audiences
- Support learning across diverse user groups including policymakers, advisors, researchers and practitioners
- Present evidence in a way that encouraged reflection, discussion and practical application
The aim was not simply to inform, but to enable understanding and action.
Our Approach
Working from the SEFARI Fellowship digital resources framework, we collaborated closely with the James Hutton Institute to shape content around clarity and accessibility.
We began by identifying the key themes emerging from the fellowship research – agroecology as a systems-based approach, the importance of context-specific knowledge and the value of collaboration between research, policy and practice. From there, we designed a one-page website that distilled this information into easily digestible sections.
Our approach focused on:
- Translating research language into clear, confident communication
- Structuring content to support self-guided learning and exploration
- Using clean visuals and user interaction to reinforce key concepts
- Ensuring scientific accuracy while maximising engagement
The James Hutton Institute were closely involved throughout, ensuring that our interpretation stayed true to the evidence and intent of the research.
The Solution
The final website provided a dynamic platform for communicating agroecological research:
- On-scroll Information Delivery: Clear explanations of agroecological research findings triggered by user interaction.
- Contextual Storytelling: Content grounded in real-world farming, policy and land-use contexts.
- Knowledge Exchange Focus: Designed to prompt reflection, discussion and further enquiry.
The site complemented SEFARI’s wider knowledge-exchange ambitions, supporting learning across disciplines and sectors.
Impact
The website strengthened the James Hutton Institute’s ability to share agroecological research beyond academia, supporting SEFARI’s mission to connect science with practice and policy. Complex ideas became clearer, more navigable and more relevant to those shaping the future of Scottish agriculture.
For the James Hutton Institute, the project helped turn fellowship research into a practical learning asset – supporting dialogue, understanding and long-term change.
For Ping Creates, it was an opportunity to creatively amplify valuable information for a diverse audience – inspired by dreams of a sustainable, resilient future for Scotland’s agriculture sector.
Dreaming of a website that makes complex information clear and engaging?
