The British Academy announces funding for 11 collaborative research projects tackling natures, cultures and communities

The British Academy today announces seed funding grants for 11 new projects, to support UK-Irish research cooperation and benefit early-career researchers. The new awards are funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Connecting researchers based at 11 UK universities and six Higher Education institutions in Ireland, the funding awards follow a Knowledge Frontiers symposium on “natures, cultures, communities” held in Dublin on 31 January – 1 February 2020 by the Royal Irish Academy and the British Academy.

The 11 new projects will seek to strengthen understanding and harness interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences across topics such as the coastal humanities, environmental rights, and the promotion of wellbeing in urban planning and policy.

Professor Simon Swain FBA, Vice President for Research and Higher Education Policy at The British Academy, said:

“This is a highly welcome opportunity to strengthen our partnership with the Royal Irish Academy and to support an outstanding range of new interdisciplinary research. The varied and exciting projects supported will see early-career researchers ​​working together on design and delivery and will ​underline the value of UK-Ireland research collaboration.”

The full list of funded projects includes:

• Interdisciplinary Coastal Humanities – Dr Sarah Bezan, University of Sheffield; Dr Richard Gorman, University of Exeter; Dr James Smith, University College Cork
• (Non)Spectacular Infrastructure: Enacting Resource Circulation in Stages, Studios and Communities – Dr Jeremy Brice, London School of Economics and Political Science; Dr Johanna Hofer-Robinson, University College Cork; Dr Adam O’Brien, University of Reading
• Community, Communication, and Climate Crisis; and interdisciplinary interpretation of 21st century agri-protest of traditional farming communities – Dr Eileen Culloty, Dublin City University; Dr Anthony McIntyre, University College Dublin; Dr Paul Nulty, University College Dublin; Dr Eleanor O’Leary, Institute of Technology, Carlow; Dr Andrew Phemister; National University of Ireland, Galway; Dr Sally Shinan Zhu, University of Glasgow
• Building interdisciplinary capacity for the promotion of wellbeing in urban planning and policy – Dr Sara Biscaya, University of Salford; Dr Marica Cassarino, University College Cork; Dr Sina Shahab, University of Cardiff
• Plastic Pollution, Global Trade: CrossDisciplinary Implications - Dr Treasa De Loughry, University College Dublin; Dr Noreen O’Meara, University of Surrey
• Rivers, Rights and Nature – Dr Olaf Almqvist, University College Dublin; Dr Treasa De Loughry, University College Dublin; Dr Noreen O’Meara, University of Surrey
• Communicating Climate Chaos: Tales from the Apocalypse - Dr Ailise Bulfin, University College Dublin; Dr Melissa Dickson, University of Birmingham; Dr Seán Hewitt, University College Cork
• Socialisation Technologies across the Lifespan: Imaginaries of Risk and Possibility – Dr Eleanor Bantry White, University College Cork; Dr Darragh McGee, University of Bath
• Walkshopping Ecologies in Dublin and Liverpool – Dr Sam Solnick, University of Liverpool; Dr Paula McGrath, University College Dublin
• Reflecting on ‘Swimming camels’ on the North-East Coast of England: Knowledge, translation and global challenges – Dr Patrick Cadwell; Dublin City University; Dr Andrea Ciribuco; National University of Ireland, Galway; Dr Kevin Grecksch, University of Oxford; Dr Shilpi Srivastava, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
• Prospective Anthropocenes and Speculative Environment – Dr Sarah Bezan, University of Sheffield; Dr Ailise Bulfin, University College Dublin; Dr Paula McGrath, University College Dublin; Dr Sam Solnick, University of Liverpool