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GW4 Crucible Seed Projects

Participants of the GW4 Crucible leadership development programme are offered the opportunity to apply for funding of up to £5K to enable them to pursue collaborative projects that have emerged from the programme.

Proposals are favoured which are ambitious and bold and seek to generate innovative, multifaceted responses to global challenges. The project may include (but are not limited to) network building and co-production, collaborative working and stakeholder engagement, scoping studies, experimental data collection, prototype design, and trialling new methodological approaches. Proposals must reflect the theme of that year’s Crucible. We encourage both discrete projects and projects designed to act as a stepping stone to large-scale collaborations.

Past activities have included literature reviews and gap analysis, survey design and delivery, stakeholder identification, workshops and sandpits, lab and desk research, game or app design, and away-days and grant writing.


Explore our projects:

All communities are listed below in alphabetical order, and can be searched using key words or fund type.

40 results found
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Funds
Digital Equity and Circular Systems (DECS)
Crucible 2026
Overview
Led by Dr Patricia Dos Santos Rodrigues (Cardiff University), this project will explore varied approaches to digital equity and circular systems (DECS), including sustainable technology reuse, community partnerships, tailored digital skills support, and other forms of practical assistance.
Community lead

University of Bath: Jo Davies, Michael Woodley

University of Bristol: Phoebe Xu

Cardiff University: Patricia Dos Santos Rodrigues (PI), Nina Jacob

University of Exeter: Diego Bermudez

Awarded
September 2026
Mapping Displacement Futures: Towards a GW4 Centre on Displacement
Crucible 2026
Overview
Led by Dr Kinan Noah (University of Exeter), this project will explore what a future GW4 Centre on Displacement could offer, identify regional priorities, and co-develop a shared vision for future research and impact.
Community lead

University of Bath: Katherine Arrell, Aidan Barlow, Jo Davies, Yuchen Wang 

University of Bristol: Phoebe Xu 

Cardiff University: Nikoleta Daskoulidou, Nina Jacob, Liam Lewis, Omar Nawaz 

University of Exeter: Kinan Noah (PI), Anna Conzatti 

Awarded
September 2026
Cultivating Hope: Storytelling for Imagined Futures
Crucible 2026
Overview
Led by Dr Liam Lewis (Cardiff University), this project takes a multi-disciplinary approach to explore how storytelling can support researchers and communities with lived experience navigate complex realities and imagine more hopeful futures.
Community lead

University of Bristol: Vivienne Kuh 

Cardiff University: Liam Lewis (PI), Nikoleta Daskoulidou, Nina Jacob, Lorenzo Mugnai, Patricia Dos Santos Rodrigues, Leigh Sanyaolu,

University of Exeter: Jenny Hatchard, Kinan Noah 

Awarded
September 2026
Co-imagining the Foundations for Community-led Integrated Systems (Co-FoCIS)
Crucible 2026
Overview
Led by Dr Stephen Salve Doliente (University of Bath), this project examines what a future of community engagement with integrated systems might look like, and what challenges emerge when resources, information, and the environment, become increasingly interconnected.
Community lead

University of Bath: Stephen Salve Doliente

University of Bristol: Claudia Firth

Cardiff University: Evan Ricketts

University of Exeter: Diego Bermudez

Awarded
September 2026
Folklore Futures: folkloric community practices as playful generative methods for critical interpretation, navigating complexity, and narrative resilience
Crucible 2025
Overview
This project led by Dr Harriet Hunt (University of Exeter), investigates how folkloric practices can be harnessed as tools for interpretation and sensemaking.
Community lead

Cardiff University: Jess Hoare, Simone Willis, Esther Wright

University of Exeter: Sylvia Hayes, Harriet Hunt (PI), Emmylou Rahtz

Awarded
September 2025
Restorative disruption and creativity: Nurturing ‘third places’ for connection and mental rest in the remote workplace 
Crucible 2025
Overview
This project led by Dr Karen Grey (University of Bristol), aims to explore the potential of ‘third places’ to support connection and rest experience at work.
Community lead

University of Bath: Christian Michelet

University of Bristol: Karen Gray (PI), Sam Stone

Awarded
September 2025
PlayData: Multi-Sensory Digital Play for All Ages
Crucible 2025
Overview
This project led by Dr Danielle House (University of Bristol), aims to explore how digital experiences can become collective, connective, multi-sensory and embodied.
Community lead

University of Bath: Hitesh Dommati, Mike Richardson

University of Bristol: Danielle House (PI), David Garzon Ramos, Lisa Thomas

Cardiff University: Sofia Vougioukalou, Wei Zhou

Awarded
September 2025
Play in the Academy
Crucible 2025
Overview
Led by Dr Alyssa Alcorn (University of Bristol), this project uses universities as sites to investigate how play already operates—or could operate—within multilayered organisations.
Community lead

University of Bristol: Alyssa Alcorn (PI)

Cardiff University: Enrique Uribe Jongbloed, Hayley Trowbridge

University of Exeter: Chloe Asker, Michael Flexer

Awarded
September 2025
Does the use of private clinics for elective procedures reduce or accentuate health inequalities?
Crucible 2024
Overview
Led by Dr Sarah Milosevic (Cardiff University), this project will use spatial analysis to explore if the use of private clinics for elective procedures can be optimised so as not to perpetuate health inequalities.
Community lead

University of Bristol: Judy Bettridge

Cardiff University: Sarah Milosevic (PI), Diana Contreras Mojica

University of Exeter: David Barrett, Caroline Farmer, Holly Sugg

Awarded
September 2024
Learning the narratives and expectations of health and care needs for LGBTQ+ older people
Crucible 2024
Overview
Led by Dr Enrico De Luca (University of Exeter), this public engagement project aims to explore the experiences, perceptions and expectations of LGBTQ+ people regarding ageing and related health needs
Community lead

University of Bristol: Amanda Hughes

Cardiff University: Diana Contreras, Neil Turnbull, Adam Williams

University of Exeter: David Barrett, Enrico De Luca (PI)

Awarded
September 2024
University of Bath
University of Bristol
Cardiff University
University of Exeter