The 21st Century

The Institute in its current form was founded in April 1987 by the merger of the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research and the Hill Farming Research Organisation. Today the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, as it is now known, is the largest interdisciplinary research organisation of its kind in Europe.

The Institute mission is:
To be an international leader in research on the sustainable use of land and its natural resources for the benefit of people, their communities and the environment. The 300 staff and postgraduate students are drawn from over 25 countries, and conduct research in Scotland, across Europe and internationally, with a wide range of partner organisations.

The Institute goal is that the research undertaken provides evidence that will help shape future environmental and rural-development policy both in Scotland and internationally.

“I am delighted to say that more than three quarters of a century after it was established, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute continues to develop its research activities building on T.B. Macaulay’s vision for improving the communities and environment of rural Scotland.” Professor Richard Aspinall, Chief Executive since 2006.

Into the future