Good news: PARTICIPATE co-lead Dr Mary Ikoniadou, has been awarded a British Academy Small Research Grant for her project Picturing ‘Home’: How Greek-American Illustrated Periodicals Imagined Greece in the 1960s. The project investigates how Greek-American magazines of the 1960s grappled with the tensions of homeland nostalgia, cultural preservation, and integration during a decade of global…
Congratulating Joan on her retirement
At the beginning of this academic year we said goodbye to Joan Love and congratulate her on her retirement. We have been inspired by her brilliant work on designing autism-friends spaces and will truly miss her. We wish her all the best for the future.
Thinking is Material Podcast Episode 2: Priscila Beni on Self-Knowledge of Autistic Traits
In this second episode of the thinking is material podcast, ‘Self-Knowledge of Autistic Traits,’ visiting Brazilian PhD student Priscila Beni talks about her personal experience of being autistic and how that led to a SWOT analysis tool that will help autistic people with developing their self-advocacy. download the transcript
Commoning Knowledge through Creative Practice – PARTICIPATE members present, perform and workshop at the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference
🎤 A huge thank you to Dr Alma Clavin from the University of Galway for co-hosting our session ‘Commoning Knowledge through Creative Practice’ at the #RGSIBG Annual International Conference in Birmingham! With this year’s theme — ‘Geographies of creativity / creative geographies’ — it was the perfect opportunity to showcase how artistic and creative methods…
Unlocking Creativity in Participatory Research – A Day of Exploration and Exchange in Cambridge
On a bright day in Cambridge, the Lord Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin University became a hive of energy as it hosted a workshop on Creative Methods and Outputs in Participatory Research. Organised by the UK Participatory Research Network, the event brought together researchers, artists, and practitioners from across the country, united by…
Writing retreat funds awarded to Art Doctor to complete wild swimming films – by Dr Liz Stirling
‘Water must be thought of in terms of the chains of life it supports’ Rachel Carson I have been working on 3 short experimental films to tell the stories of three site-specific water-based ecologies and their endangered biodiversity using the immersive, embodied experience of wild swimming as part of an audio-visual ethnographic methodology. The three…
Using design thinking to build capacity for just transitions to renewables – by Dr Anne Schiffer
As part of a research consultancy for Friends of the Earth International, Dr Anne Schiffer led on the development of the ‘Yes to renewables done right’ online learning module to build capacity of internal stakeholders. The module flow is structured around the ‘double diamond’: 1) learners begin to ‘discover’ key energy transition concepts that underpin…
Drawing Out Hilbre – announcing new residency by Dr Joanna Leah
Drawing Out Hilbre Research Project #01 is one of a five-year long-term artist residency with the Hilbre Heritage Centre for Arts, Science and Sustainability. The Heritage Centre is part of the HCLT (Hilbre Community Land Trust) including Volunteer Group Friends of Hilbre, The Hilbre Bird Observatory and BADA (British Art & Design Association with Terry Duffy…
NEW ONLINE EXHIBITION: ‘Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation 1945-1989’
We are excited to announce the launch of ‘Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation 1945-1989’, a dynamic research-based exhibition that examines how social, political, and cultural forces have shaped Greece’s image as a tourist destination from the end of World War II to the closing chapters of the Cold War. The exhibition examines multiple…
LBU Research Voices – Top tips from two women academics on how to triumph on a research sabbatical
As part of the Leeds Beckett Research Voices blog series Dr Anne Schiffer and Dr Tenley Martin reflect on their experiences of taking their first research sabbaticals last year – whilst supporting each other through monthly peer mentoring sessions. Hi Anne and Tenley, When – and why – did you first start thinking about doing…
Thinking is Material Podcast Episode 1: Patterns of Migration
This first episode of the thinking is material podcast, ‘Patterns of Migration,’ is conceived by Mary Ikoniadou, Carole Hunt and Billy Kiosoglou. Patterns of Migration is an interdisciplinary project that investigates the sharing of stories through clothing and textiles, centering on themes of home and belonging. Initiated by Dr Carole Hunt and Dr Mary…
Playful pedagogy – by Jen Chalkley
As part of her PhD research on the use of construction toys in architectural design processes, Jennifer Chalkley adopted Lego Serious Play method. This allowed her to explore the power of metaphor helping student and staff participants to engage in dialogue, collaborate to create and iterate ideas, overall engaging in a more playful design pedagogy.
Research Planning Tool: Research Model Canvas – by Dr Anne Schiffer
Need to plan research and don’t know how to get started? Why not use the Research Model Canvas – a free planning tool on a single page (well two) that takes you through key considerations when thinking about a new piece of research. Download for free here: Research Model Canvas Final Note: the research model canvas…
Thinking is material podcast series – by Dr Joanna Leah
Dr Joanna Leah received funding to support the development of her ‘thinking is material’ podcast series that will launch in 2025. This podcast explores how thinking itself manifests as a material process in approaches to research, emphasizing the creative acumen and adaptability that define the methods of today’s creative practitioners. As a mover and drawer,…
Climate Adaptation Book Writing Workshop, Nairobi – by Prof Rachel Julian
There is a gap in knowledge and literature of African voices on impact of and adaption to the climate crisis. People’s experience is not sufficiently captured in research, and those affected most directly do not have a way of sharing their stories to show the impact it has on them. Initiated by local academics and…
Imagining Greece – by Dr Mary Ikoniadou
The funding allowed Dr Mary Ikoniadou allowed the expansion of the project ’Digital Archive: Tourism and Nation Branding in Greece, 1945-1990‘ by incorporating the Greek American Diaspora Youth voices, which have been neglected to date. This aspect is part of a broader interdisciplinary study that analyses the complex and multifaceted visual history of how Greece has been branded…
Transition minerals and energy justice – by Dr Anne Schiffer
Argentina is part of what is known as the ‘lithium triangle’ alongside Chile and Bolivia which combined account for most of global lithium reserves, a ‘critical mineral’ in the transition to renewable energy. The research aimed to explore the drivers and impacts of lithium extraction to support ‘just transitions’ to renewable energy. Image: Tierra Nativa/Friends of the Earth…
30 Jan 2025: Hosting Scholars and being a Visiting Scholar
For this session we welcomed Priscila Beni, a visiting PhD researcher from Brazil. Priscila was successful in gaining a one-month visiting scholarship from CAPES Brazil. She was embedded into the Autism Research Lab and hosted by Dr Marc Fabri. During her stay, Priscila met several autism researchers to find out about their work and also…
18 Nov 2024: How to put a personal research plan together
Dr Anne Schiffer talks about her personal research plan, and how this covers multiple areas of her role. A research plan can serve as a roadmap for career development as well as career direction. It allows researchers to identify opportunities for acquiring new skills, gaining teaching experience, progressing paper/book projects or taking on leadership roles…
23 Oct 2024: Patterns of Migration – a Participatory Community Approach – by Dr Mary Ikoniadou
Sharing stories through textiles about home and belonging. Patterns of Migration is a project led by Dr Mary Ikoniadou which shares stories through clothing and textiles, exploring themes of identity, home, and belonging. The Patterns of Migration website features a collection of objects from across the world alongside the memories and lived experiences of their…
Liquid Bodies – by Dr Joanna Leah & Dr Liz Stirling
Together Dr Joanna Leah & Dr Liz Stirling used the seed funding to explore the relationship between mature women and water in wild swimming in Ireland and England as part of their project ‘Liquid Bodies’. This shed light on the social and cultural relationships of the menopause, body and self-image, liberation outside institutional and domestic processes in drawing ecologies of women…
11 Sep 2024: LEGO®Serious Play® Workshop with Jenny Chalkley
LEGO®Serious Play® is a facilitation methodology that uses LEGO bricks to encourage dialogue, reflection, and problem-solving. It helps individuals and teams explore complex issues and develop solutions through hands-on building and storytelling. For this workshop, the PARTICIPATE Cluster came together under the direction of Jennifer Chalkley, who recently became an accredited LEGO®Serious Play® facilitator after completing…
Community Music: Virtual Harmonies
‘Virtual Harmonies’ was funded by an internal small research grant and developed during lockdown inspired by discussions with my neighbour, Jenny, about the socio-cultural scenario in the city of Bradford (where she had recently moved). Bradford is a diverse city with significant cultural and religious divisions. It is possible for people to go a lot…
Energy & Climate Change: Barriers to just transitions in the Global South
The Friends of the Earth International report (2023) Renewable Energy and Land Use: barriers to just transition in the global South depicts case studies from Argentina, Bangladesh, India and Palestine highlighting key barriers to just transitions including: ‘Green grabbing’ and energy colonialism; Lacking consideration regarding patterns of land and water use; Lack of conservation policy,…
Energy & Climate Change: Energy Access and Gender in Ghana – Policy Brief
Policy Brief (2021) on ‘‘Energy Access and Gender in Ghana‘ by Dr Anne Schiffer and Amos Nkpeebo Yesutanbul, produced as part of the Gender Equity and Energy Access in the Global South project led by Anglia Ruskin University.
Community Engagement: Urban prototyping with communities toolkit
Urban prototyping with communities by Dr Anne Schiffer and Dr Alma Clavin (2020) provides practical exercises for co-designing community interventions in accessing green space. It was compiled as part of the Mapping Green Dublin project.
A welcome from the cluster leads
We are exited to introduce the new online home for the PARTICIPATE Research Cluster. This platform serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research and scholarship aimed at promoting equitable, just, and inclusive futures. Here, you’ll find the latest updates on our research collaborations alongside access to resources from our diverse community. Our mission is to…