Mapping climate risk & vulnerability onto the West Midlands transport network

Transportation is a cornerstone of modern society, allowing people to access education, healthcare, leisure activities, employment, and more. Extreme weather such as high temperatures, high winds, heavy rainfall and associated hazards such as flooding, landslips, and treefall and debris cause damage and disruption to transport networks. Transport organisations must manage these climate hazards alongside other factors such as maintaining ageing infrastructure and increasing electrification to meet Net Zero targets

Birmingham Environment for Academic Research : Case studies volume 4

Bear – the Birmingham Environment for Academic Research provides compute, storage, training and research software engineering support. Bear’s computing resource is provided as BlueBEAR, a heterogenous system comprising the latest CPU and GPU hardware connected to fast, secure storage. Access to Bear is provided free of charge to University of Birmingham researchers, funded from university central funds. This ensures that all researchers have a baseline access to the machine to try-out research computing and develop new projects. Once again the breadth of the simulations carried out on BlueBEAR is staggering, modelling everything from price-setting behaviour, thermoelectrics and proteins to stars. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning continues to play an important role in research, in this case study including high entropy alloys and linking environmental policy to impact. This and the previous Case studies demonstrate the scientific and societal value of having such a resource and -- in a tough climate -- help justify its continued support

Public participation in policymaking

Involving the public in local government decisions fosters democratic participation and ensures that citizens have an influence over policies that affect their lives. This document sets out how public participation can take place, its strengths and challenges, and its application to policy issues relating to fiscal devolution. This report is for the Improving Public Funding Allocations to Reduce Geographical Inequalities project funded by the ESRC. The project brings together a highly experienced interdisciplinary team from the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, De Montfort, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth and Sheffield, together with the National Centre for Social Research and Metro Dynamics

School food experiences in alternative education settings: research and policy brief

Special schools and alternative provision settings require intensive and highly individualised approaches to school food. This is due to the requirement to 1) meet the varied and specific feeding needs of pupils, with a focus on prioritising children’s safety; and 2) provide foods that their pupils find familiar and appealing, to ensure inclusivity for those on restrictive diets. This creates specific challenges for these schools in implementing the school food standards and school feeding programmes

Shaping Birmingham’s Future Together: Towards Embedded and Inclusive Participatory Governance

(Executive Summary) Birmingham City Council's "Shaping Birmingham's Future Together" (SBFT) initiative represents an opportunity to transform how the city tackles inequality and maximises inclusive growth opportunities through participatory governance. This report examines how SBFT can support institutional culture change towards participatory policymaking, drawing lessons from UK and international experiences but situating recommendations within Birmingham's specific context and challenges. The report argues that participatory policymaking must be deeply embedded within governance structures to enable meaningful engagement, mobilise diverse communities, and support mutual learning and transformative change. Achieving this requires facilitative leadership and the cultivation of boundary-spanning roles that bridge divides between government, civil society, and local communities. Advancing inclusive participation also demands an intersectional approach that centres marginalised voices to address systemic inequalities. Key recommendations include: Key recommendations include: - invest in boundary spanner roles that can support collaboration across different sectors and stakeholders; - rebuild trust through transparent participatory processes, ensuring follow up on citizen input; - rethink participation not as disjointed events vulnerable to the political cycle, but as coherent processes embedded into day-to-day policymaking; - build on existing community assets and resources, recognising and supporting their diverse roles and activities; - incentivise alliances across diverse community, voluntary and grassroots groups to strengthen synergies and collaboration, rather than engendering competition over limited resources; - adopt an intersectional approach to encourage inclusive participation that centres marginalised voices and experiences

WM-Air Impact Report

WM-Air enabled regional partners, ranging from local authorities to SMEs, to access state-of-the-science research expertise to improve policy and actions for clean air, providing environmental, societal and economic benefits for the people of the West Midlands and beyond. Co-designed with stakeholders and supported by NERC funding from 2019-2024, WM-Air has worked collaboratively with over 100 organisations and end-users of research to deliver 45 impact projects which have informed, influenced and improved local and regional actions for clean air. WM-Air impact has been delivered through over 160 engagement events, producing over 200 reports and other outputs, 16 regional policy briefings and guidance notes, leveraging and influencing over £40m of investments, and delivering GVA benefit estimated to reach £34m by 2028. Media reach is estimated at >650m from over 150 stories, interviews and reports. The project has trained and developed a regional air quality Community of Practice, now supported through legacy funding via the WMCA, produced 46 scientific journal articles and supported 25 student (PhD, MSc, BSc) projects. Ranging from implementation of the first regional Clean Air Framework with the WMCA; development of new products with start-up businesses; projects with all regional local authorities and a range of other bodies; public exhibitions, citizen panels and a “sounding out pollution” artwork, the project has delivered Clean Air Science for the West Midlands, and an exemplar for regional impact from NERC environmental science

Intercultural guidance for displaced Ukrainians and those supporting them

Ukrainians arriving in the UK through “Homes for Ukraine” have been through the traumatic experience of war and displacement. The current war in Ukraine began in February 2022; however, there is a much longer history of Russian interference and aggression in Ukraine. This includes the war in Eastern Ukraine, which started in 2014, and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Some of those displaced in 2022 will have experienced displacement previously: this may not be the first time they have been forced to flee their home. Almost all Ukrainians will know someone who has been killed in the war, and/or have loved ones still living in Ukraine and in the armed forces. According to statistics provided by the United Nations, there have been 12,605 civilian deaths since the full-scale invasion, but there are likely far more unreported casualties. Russia’s full-scale invasion has reportedly destroyed or damaged 13% of Ukraine’s housing stock, affecting more than 2.5 million households. Multiple displacements, loss of family and friends, and the destruction of property necessarily have a significant impact on mental health. Ukrainians often feel that the British public has forgotten about the war in Ukraine: those we spoke to described meeting individuals who thought the war was over, or even “fake”. On the other hand, British people are sometimes surprised when Ukrainians return to Ukraine for short periods. They often do so to visit loved ones who are not able to travel; for example, husbands, sons, and fathers who have not been allowed to leave the country and who may have been conscripted. This does not mean any part of Ukraine is “safe”. The impact of the war has been greatest in the Eastern and Central parts of the country; however, Western Ukraine is still subject to missile attacks and has suffered casualties. Ukrainians report that the constant sirens do not allow for any feeling of safety or security

The accommodation of sustainability in the EU Internal Market public procurement system

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the accommodation of sustainability considerations within the European Union’s (EU) Internal Market public procurement (PP) system. The paper investigates whether EU PP law can be used as a tool to further sustainability while advancing its main objective of removing barriers to trade and opening PP markets

BEAR PGR Conference 2024 - Conference proceedings

BEAR Conference proceedings are the collection of papers and posters that were presented at the BEAR PGR conference. Conferences provide opportunities for people to present their research, and get input from other researchers and colleagues in their field