The GB Strategy requires a data-led framework to allocate research, biosecurity and management funding for invasive species at the UK-level. Without expert input, there is a significant risk of the government attempting to ‘eradicate’ species that are already too established or ignore ‘sleeper weeds’ that are currently in a lag phase but poised for rapid expansion.
Brief
Dr Jones was formally invited as a subject matter expert to the 2025 Prioritisation Exercise to:
Conduct a review of established terrestrial Invasive Non-Native Plants (INNPs) with limited distributions.
Score and rank INNPs against criteria of risk, environmental/economic impact, and the likelihood of successful national-level eradication.
Address critical data gaps, particularly around INNP distribution uncertainty, the identification of ‘sleeper weeds’ and specification of effective, sustainable and evidence-based treatment approaches.
What we did
Over the two-day exercise, Dr Jones applied proprietary R&D to the national framework:
Evidence-led scoring – used ai:LAB field data to challenge anecdotal assumptions about the ‘eradicability’ of certain terrestrial INNPs, ensuring that national priorities are rooted in successful field outcomes rather than theory.
Sleeper weed identification – provided the technical evidence to highlight ‘sleeper’ species-those that have been present in small numbers for years but are now identified (through Advanced Invasives R&D) as having high invasive potential due to changing climate or habitat conditions.
Feasibility auditing – evaluated the feasibility of eradication for high-priority species, distinguishing between those requiring a ‘Early Detection & Rapid Response’ and those where ‘Maintenance Management’ over the long-term is the only viable strategic outcome.
Expert elicitation integration – contributed to the ‘Horizon Scanning’ list of the top 20 species most likely to arrive and become invasive over the next decade.
Key Outcomes
Advanced Invasives contribution has directly shaped the next five years of UK invasive species policy:
Validated priority list – assisted in the creation of the formal 2025 Eradication Priority List, which dictates where national resources (funding and human resources) will be focused.
Policy alignment – ensured that the GB Strategy remains on track to meet its goal of a 50% reduction in establishments, by focusing efforts onto the species where eradication is most likely to succeed.
Technical benchmark – established a new standard for "expert elicitation" in the sector, where commercial-scale management data is used to inform national-scale legislative priorities.
Risk mitigation – by identifying high-impact sleeper weeds early, government can move toward a ‘prevention’ and ‘early detection’ model, which is significantly more cost-effective than reactive long-term control.
Summary
Dr Daniel Jones served as a subject matter expert for the 2025 Eradication Prioritisation Exercise, a critical component of the UK’s commitment to reduce new invasive establishments by 50% by 2030. By applying over 15 years of academic and commercial R&D data, Dr Jones provided the ‘expert elicitation’ necessary to challenge anecdotal assumptions and rank terrestrial invasive plants based on the biological reality of their ‘eradicability’ versus potential for long-term management. This data-led framework identified high-impact ‘sleeper weeds’ and established a new national benchmark for legislative priority-setting, ensuring that government funding is directed toward the species where eradication is most likely to succeed, thereby shifting the UK toward a more cost-effective, prevention-first biosecurity model.