Since March 2024, the GW4 Alliance has proudly awarded a further eight Development Awards to collaborative, cross-alliance research communities as part of the GW4 Building Communities Programme.
The ongoing funding scheme offers up to £5,000 for new or existing research and innovation collaborations across the GW4 institutions of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, enabling communities to progress their research by funding a single activity or resource.
These awards aim to be flexible and agile, responding to the needs of GW4 academics and staff to fund creative and exciting projects. Previously funded communities have explored topics including, human-computer interactions, the benefits of technology in finance, and determinants of mental and physical health.
The latest funded projects are:
Exploring the Role of Caste in Economic Welfare
PI Rakesh Banerjee (University of Exeter)
The caste system in India, and other countries of South Asia, limits social and economic access to a large section of the society due to inherent discrimination and bias in favour of the upper castes. In the economic domain, this discrimination leads to little access to human capital formation, occupations and markets (including labour, credit and goods markets). Similarly, in the social sphere, large sections of the society are kept out of social, religious and cultural networks. This limited access of large parts of the economy and society is likely to lead to not only unfair allocation of resources but also to inefficient allocation of resources, with adverse implications for welfare and social mobility.
The community organised a workshop, in June 2024, which brought together researchers from the GW4 community and experts from other universities in India and the UK to understand the complex linkages between the caste system and economic welfare. The workshop included diverse interdisciplinary perspectives from economics, management, humanities and industry, facilitating knowledge exchange and discussions to identify important research questions to take forward on this topic.
Universal Design for Learning: Supporting Inclusive Learning and Teaching for All
Co-Is, Vrinda Nayak & Rachel Griffiths (University of Exeter)
This project aimed to support educators at GW4 member institutions to improve their understanding of inclusive education and universal design for learning, leading to improved teaching and supervision approaches that recognise and celebrate diversity.
The community organised a staff development conference titled “Universal Design for Learning: Supporting Inclusive Learning and Teaching for All'' at the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year. The objectives were to raise awareness of the principles and practices of inclusive, universally designed learning and the sharing of good practices, during the conference, and the creation of a community of practice to support educators in the development of effective equitable learning opportunities after the conference. This will not only ensure that all students achieve their potential but would also work towards the goal of a diverse pipeline of early career researchers joining the research community.
GW4 Men’s Mental Health Research Group
PI, Tom Barry (University of Bath)
The project created a multi-disciplinary network of researchers in men’s mental health, designed to understand how to engage with men about their mental health and how to best study this group. The group used the Development Award funding to employ a Research Assistant (RA) who performed a scoring review of existing mental health engagement strategies and services for men. Following on from this, the network conducted interviews and focus groups with men affected by mental health concerns, and their support networks of informal and formal services.
The network brought together experts working in clinical, social and health psychology with expertise in the social, cognitive and gender determinants of health and treatment adherence and outcomes and the policy implications and drivers behind health inequalities. It also included several external partners and stakeholders. This multi-disciplinary approach enabled the network to provide the most inclusive examination of men’s mental health to-date, setting them up to lead on future collaborative projects in this space.
GW4-Air
PI, Hanbin Zhang (University of Exeter)
Outdoor air pollution leads to 36,000 deaths every year in the UK and this health burden is unevenly distributed in different parts of the country. Household air pollution leads to around 3.2 million global deaths per year according to the WHO (2020), and although these deaths occur more in less developed countries where complicated indoor sources of pollution (e.g. solid fuel burning) exist, in recent years issues like mould and damp, and indoor wood burning, have been increasingly reported in Southwest England and Wales, contributing to health symptoms and premature deaths.
A national air pollution monitoring network (AURN), was set up to monitor air quality in the UK but excluded Cornwall and parts of Devon; in general, Southwest England and Wales are underrepresented in this endeavour. Southwest England and Wales make a unique geographical area for air quality studies, including as they do contrasting urban and rural lifestyles, inequality in socio-economic status, differing civil lifestyles and distinctive historical roots in Cornish and Welsh mining towns.
To respond to the challenges of air quality and climate change in this unique geographical setting, this new GW4 interdisciplinary network will span built environment design, engineering, exposure science, citizen science, engagement and public health expertise and will aim to engage external partners, including Met Office, UKSHA, Cornwall Council/local councils, Natural England and businesses from Exeter Innovation.
GW4 Sustainable Finance Network
PI, Xiaohan Xue (University of Bath)
Sustainable Finance is about integrating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decision-making. The goal of sustainable finance is to minimise the environmental impact of business operations while still securing long-term financial returns. A strategic approach to finance and investment is essential for mitigating climate change and advancing the transition towards net-zero emissions. Research in this area is therefore crucial as the region and the UK continues its net-zero mission.
This pioneering GW4 research community aims to serve as a dynamic hub for the region and beyond, uniting key players across the sectors of academia, industry, local communities, and government. It features researchers from both finance and environmental science to create a multidisciplinary approach offering unique research insights. The community will organise a two-day conference in Bath, exploring specific themes in sustainable economics and finance, and identifying potential collaboration for research and further funding. The aim is to create the first resilient, long-term sustainable finance research community within GW4.
GW4 Animal Replacement Network
PI, Asme Boussahel (University of Bristol)
The GW4 Animal Replacement Network is a network led by early career researchers aimed at consolidating expertise from GW4 institutions in the realm of animal replacement technologies. The network brings together researchers from various disciplines spanning health and life sciences as well as engineering, computing and AI.
Leveraging the research strengths and opportunities within the GW4 consortium, the network aims to promote the widespread adoption of animal replacement technologies across various domains, including tissue engineering, in-vitro modelling, stem cells and regenerative medicine, mathematical modelling, organ-on-a-chip, 3D cell culture, and 3D bioprinting, among others.
As part of this network, members will convene a one-day launch symposium, bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds to exchange knowledge, showcase research findings, and foster collaborative ventures. This event will specifically spotlight the research expertise of early career researchers, providing them with avenues for collaboration and networking opportunities. Additionally, the network will establish a centralised web-based platform for GW4 researchers to disseminate expertise, share resources, and research updates related to animal replacement technologies.
Forcibly Displaced Students in Higher Education
PI, Nick Gill (University of Exeter)
Forcibly Displaced Students (student refugees and asylum seekers, or FDSs) face multiple challenges associated with HE, including getting in, getting on, and getting out. While Universities have begun to give much more attention to getting in (i.e. accessing university), and academic literature has attended to getting on (i.e. supporting students’ learning), almost no attention has been paid to effectively supporting FDSs to exit HE effectively into their desired careers. FDSs themselves report their experiences of being rejected as overqualified, not fitting the job sectors allowed by the British government, struggling to meet specialised language skill requirements for their sector, alienated by the requirements of the job market, and frustrated by paperwork delays.
Building on the successes of a previous GW4 Generator Fund award in 2023, this Development Award will allow the community to conduct a full literature review and hold a two-day, off-campus, in-person writing retreat to prepare a major funding bid. This will allow them to scale up their work and secure greater impact. Furthermore, promoting dialogue across HE institutions makes it possible to use the Universities of Sanctuary network to overcome siloed approaches and duplicated work in individual institutions, and generate economies of scale in addressing this important challenge. The ultimate aim will be to further GW4 research in this area, create a stronger network, clearer ideas of ongoing funding opportunities and robust mechanisms to maintain the network.
PI, James Hodge (University of Bristol)
The GW4 Epilepsy Community are building a multi-disciplinary cross-alliance community researching, modelling, diagnosing and treating epilepsy.
Epilepsy is the most common primary neurological disorder worldwide, with 10% of people experiencing a seizure during their life and ~1:100 people with epilepsy. Epilepsy causes include inherited mutations in ion channels and receptors. Diagnosis can be by symptoms, electroencephalograms (EEGs), brain imaging, and genotyping. Treatments include anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and surgery to remove brain seizure foci. AEDs modulate ion channels and receptors to prevent the excessive firing of neurons during seizures. However, many epilepsies are drug-refractory due to a lack of effective drugs.
The community’s research aims to understand better the role of ion channels and receptors in epilepsy helping the development of better AEDs. They aim to address the lack of fundamental understanding of epilepsies, improve (epi)/genetic diagnosis, animal, cell and computational epilepsy models facilitating testing of better targets, screening for novel genetic and drug therapies facilitating the development of better devices for diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.
We’re absolutely delighted to see the breadth and depth of projects funded via our recent Development Awards, demonstrating the innovative and collaborative spirit of our research community.
These projects span a diverse range of disciplines, tackling pressing global challenges and fostering new partnerships across our institutions. We look forward to seeing the impact of these initiatives as they develop and contribute to advancing knowledge and societal benefit.”
