News, Jobs, Events, Opportunities and lots more...
No images? Click here
A quick round up of this week's news, jobs and opportunities
News
Congratulations go out to several environmental social scientists in the ACCESS network this week. And we have exciting updates to share on some new ACCESS projects (see below).
Please do continue to send in your own news, opportunities and events for the ACCESS newsletter. You can reply to this email or reach me (Suzy) at: s.p.a.darke@exeter.ac.uk
ACCESS academics appointed to the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report
Congratulations to two members of the ACCESS Leadership Team – Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE (Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), University of Bath) and Benjamin Sovacool (University of Surrey) – for their appointments to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Seventh Assessment Report!
Lorraine Whitmarsh has been appointed Lead Author to Chapter 8 of Working Group III. Working Group III focuses on climate change mitigation, assessing methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, with Chapter 8 focusing on services and demand.
Benjamin Sovacool has been appointed Coordinating Lead Author to Chapter 20 of Working Group II. This working group looks at impact, adaptation and vulnerability, with Chapter 20 focusing on poverty, livelihoods, mobility and fragility.
Alongside Lorraine and Benjamin, we would also like to congratulate two ACCESS advisory board members for their appointment to the IPCC:
Linda Steg (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) has been appointed Lead Author to Working Group III, Chapter 5 (Enablers and barriers).
Yacob Mulugetta (University College London) has been appointed Lead Author to Working Group III, on Chapter 3 (Projected futures in the context of sustainable development and climate change).
Chris Jones promoted to Professor of Environmental Psychology
Congratulations to ACCESS Co-Investigator Christopher Jones for his promotion to Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Portsmouth!
Chris has written a blog on the ACCESS website about his academic journey as an environmental social scientist and about how he came to be involved with ACCESS.
He says:
"I firmly believe that my involvement with ACCESS, alongside other funded initiatives like FEVER (Future Electric Vehicle Energy networks supporting Renewables) and UK-HyRES (UK Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Alternative Liquid Fuels), have contributed to my reputation and career portfolio, ultimately giving me a ‘fighting chance’ when I applied for my Professorship earlier this year. So, thank you, ACCESS!"
Steve Hinchliffe wins ERC Advanced Grant for biosecurity project
Congratulations also to Steve Hinchliffe (ACCESS Co-Investigator, University of Exeter). Steve has recently been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) grant for the BIOSSCI (Biosocial Security: Social Science Transformations of Biosecurity) project.
BIOSSCI will work with farmers and policymakers in Bangladesh, South Africa and the UK to revolutionise biosecurity (the management of biological threats to humans, animals and environments).
Steve says:
“This ERC Advanced Grant will allow us to develop innovative new methods and theory, using social science knowledge to consider how people, animals, materials and markets can be arranged for better biosecurity.”
New ACCESS Leadership College Project on Advancing Leadership in Environmental Social Science
Members of the ACCESS Leadership College have just started work on a new project on Advancing Leadership in Environmental Social Science Through Reflective Practice.
The project, led by Jaya Gajparia and Richard Bridge, will test and explore what effective leadership development could look like within Environmental Social Science, creating space for new ideas, approaches, and practices to emerge through collaboration and reflection and runs from September 2025 to June 2026.
Nature Recovery Task Force - Case study update
The ACCESS Nature Recovery Task Force has published updates on its five case studies.
Case studies are central to the work of the Task Force, providing the primary means for examining the current role of social science within nature recovery policy; identifying examples of best practice; and exploring opportunities for greater social science integration and impact.
The five nature-recovery case studies are:
1. Mapping social science within a range of
environment policy and practice organisations: past and present
2. Office of Environmental Protection Evaluation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies
3. How are social sciences being deployed in the England Species Reintroduction Taskforce and to what end? With recommendations for further integration
4. Nature Futures Framework
5. Adding Qualitative Insights to Quantitative Measures on Behaviour
Events
GreenGardens Webinar Series – Impacts of climate change on health and well-being of women farmers
Tuesday 30 September, 12:00–15:30, online
The webinar will focus on the Impacts of climate change on health and well-being of women farmers.
The webinar is organised by the "Shared Gardens for Climate Change Adaptation (Jardins adaptés au climat)" project, in cooperation with the "Feasibility Study on Climate Change, Land Use Management, and Renewable Energy in The Gambia (RECC-LUM)", the International Climate Change Information and Research Programme (ICCIRP), the European Academic Network for Capacity Development in Climate Change Adaptations in Africa (NetCDA) , and the Interdisciplinary Expert Centre on Climate Change and Health (IECCCH).
Speakers include: Dr. Amanda Lange Salvia, Dr. Franziska Wolf and Prof. Walter Leal (Hamburg University of Applied Sciences), Dr Sebastian Weissenberger (Université Téluq, Canada), and Mounia Achbah (École Nationale Forestière d'Ingénieurs, Morocco)
Climate Creatives 2025 presented by BBC Academy Live
Tuesday 7 October, 10am-5.30pm, online
This fifth edition of the conference will take place at the Royal Geographical Society.
It will be exploring change and transformation – not just as a future possibility but a current reality. As the world shifts before our eyes in so many profound ways, from AI to climate change, what does that mean for the stories we tell and how we tell them?
Cities on the frontline: urban governance in the age of the polycrisis?
Saturday 18 October, 6.30-7.30pm, University of Oxford & Online
This free public lecture with Dr Ievgeniia Kopytsia (University of Oxford), legal scholar in climate, energy and environmental law and policy, draws on Ukraine’s experience to examine how cities on the frontlines of conflict can become laboratories for transformative recovery, reimagining housing, climate adaptation, legal frameworks, and participatory governance.
It explores the challenges and opportunities of urban crisis response, highlighting the role of local leadership, adaptive policy, and cross-sector collaboration in building more resilient, inclusive urban futures amidst profound disruption.
Dennis Anderson Lecture with Guest Speaker Chris Stark
Tuesday 21 October, 5-7.30pm, Imperial College London
The Dennis Anderson Lecture is one of Imperial College London’s flagship annual energy lectures. This edition is hosted by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and is delivered in partnership with the Imperial College School of Convergence Science – Sustainability. Named in honour of the late Professor Dennis Anderson, a pioneer in energy economics and climate policy, the lecture provides a platform for leading voices to reflect on the biggest challenges and opportunities in shaping the UK’s energy future.
This year’s lecture will be delivered by Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030, and will be followed by networking drinks. Further details on the lecture theme will be shared in due course.
Attendance is free, but places are limited.
Conference on Research Outcomes in Environmental Sustainability
Wednesday 22 October, 9.30am-4.30pm, Royal Society of Chemistry, London & online
Jointly run by the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), and Greener NHS at NHS England. This hybrid conference will build on the insights and commitments made during the first event.
Each organisation will provide an update on their efforts, and share progress on the actions outlined in the 2024 conference report. This conference will be focusing on two key themes: decarbonising research estates, and capacity building for climate and health research.
Attendees will have the opportunities to network and connect with experts across the sector, and gain insights into key developments. Successful abstract submissions will be presented as posters during the conference, showcasing important research updates across key areas.
Campaign for Social Science Annual Sage Lecture 2025: Truth And Trust: The Vital Role Of Social Science In A Divided World
Thursday 20 November, 6.30pm-8.30pm, Bush House, London
In the Campaign for Social Science Annual Sage Lecture 2025, the Honourable Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia, will share insights from the world of politics and her role chairing the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at the King's Business School.
Julia will focus on how social science can still have global impact
in an era of political polarisation and widespread misinformation, public scepticism, political interference, and funding reductions. Despite these formidable hurdles, robust social science must win through because it remains indispensable for understanding and shaping a more equitable world.
Following the lecture, Yuan Yang, the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, and Stian Westlake FAcSS, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will reflect on Julia’s talk and share their own thoughts on the vital role of social science in our increasingly divided world.
The event will be chaired by Professor Bobby Duffy FAcSS, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Chair of the Campaign for Social Science, and will be followed by a networking reception.
Communicate 2025
25-27 November, Manchester, London, Bristol & online
Communicate is the UK’s leading annual conference for environmental communicators.
This year's theme is Against The Odds, and the conference returns with live events in Manchester, London, and Bristol alongside an online programme.
Apply for a Communicate 2025 bursary place
As part of their ongoing commitment to ensure the conference is as accessible as possible, Communicate have a new bursary scheme. This initiative provides free tickets to Communicate events, supporting local community leaders and individuals from marginalised or underrepresented backgrounds to attend the conference in their city.
Funding
Shared Green Societies: Research Awards 2025
The 'Shared Green Societies: Research Awards' celebrate PhD Researchers and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), whose work contributes to Europe’s green transition. Coordinated by Anglia Ruskin University's Global Sustainability Institute, Fraunhofer ISI, and University of Lisbon's Institute of Social Sciences, the awards will highlight innovative approaches at the intersection of sustainability, society, and policy.
These awards directly feed into the purpose of the Shared Green Societies Forum, bringing together SSH researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to bridge research, policy, and practice for sustainability.
- Theme 1 - Supporting citizen and/or professional participation (with a focus on participatory processes)
- Theme 2 - Promoting mutual knowledge flows (with a focus on dialogue and learning)
- Theme 3 - Advocating for inclusive public policies (with a focus on overcoming marginalisation and exclusion)
Deadline: Wednesday 12 November, 9.50pm
Jobs
Knowledge Exchange Manager, Houses of Parliament
A creative and enthusiastic Knowledge Exchange Manager is sought to join the UK Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU) for a 9-month fixed term. This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in how Parliament connects with the research community, helping to ensure Parliament has access to high-quality, timely evidence.
In this varied role, you’ll lead and contribute to initiatives that strengthen Parliament’s relationships with researchers and universities. From managing researcher engagement opportunities and coordinating expert requests from across Parliament, to supporting academic fellowships and developing innovative engagement activities, your work will be at the heart of parliamentary democracy.
This role is offered on a hybrid working basis, with an expectation of you spending 40% of your time in the office.
Deadline: Sunday 21 September, 11.55pm
Research Fellow, Cascade Institute, Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada
The Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University (Victoria, Canada) is looking for a Resarch Fellow
The Cascade Institute seeks a Fellow to contribute to our Scale Up & Acceleration research stream. The Fellow will identify pathways to accelerated energy system innovation that simultaneously promote justice, equity, and reconciliation—that, in other words, reconcile fast innovation with fair innovation. The fellow will grapple with the most difficult trade-offs between advancing energy transitions sufficient to meet the challenges of climate disruption and ensuring the wellbeing of the people and ecosystems most impacted by transition strategies.
The Fellowship will be either in-person or remote for a 2-year term.
Deadline: Friday 3 October
Communications Officer, ClimateXChange, Edinburgh
ClimateXChange – Scotland’s Centre of Expertise connecting climate change research and policy – is looking for a dynamic communications officer with a passion for climate communications and a flair for telling powerful impact stories.
You will join the busy ClimateXChange team to support the planning and delivery of communications and engagement activities across all our projects connecting climate change research and policy.
This post is part-time (28 hours per week).
Deadline: Monday 6 October
Opportunities
Chair & Committee Members: The Environmental Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society
The Environmental Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society is currently seeking to appoint a new Chair and Committee Members. This is following the interim committee's first year setting up the Section.
Deadline: Monday 22 September, 9am
IPBES Multidisciplinary Expert Panel member
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) are looking for candidates to join the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP), one of the central bodies of IPBES and key to its functioning and success.
They are looking for those with scientific expertise in biodiversity and ecosystem services with regard to both natural and social sciences, and traditional and local knowledge. Candidates should also have experience in communicating, promoting and incorporating science into policy, and the ability to work in international scientific and policy processes.
Deadline: Tuesday 30 September, midnight
Call for Contributions: Special Themed Issue
of ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies
Climate, Arts, and Activism: Critical Inter- and Transdisciplinary Perspectives
This themed issue of the peer-reviewed journal ACME calls for contributions
that reflect on how art-science collaborations in the field of climate change and ecological justice engage with (trans-)local or international/art communities.
It welcomes contributions from different academic disciplines (geography, environmental humanities, sustainability studies, transformation research), artistic research and submissions, design research, and other fields of practice. Proposals are encouraged from regions, cultures, and people that have not been previously featured or addressed in the discourses and scholarship.
Deadline for abstracts: Wednesday 15 October
Proposals, suggestions, and questions to Yvonne Schmidt (University of Bern): yvonne.schmidt@hkb.bfh.ch
Call for the submission of information on existing voluntary collaboration between the communities of IPBES and IPCC
The IPBES Plenary, at its eleventh session held from 10 to 16 December 2024 in Windhoek, requested the Executive Secretary to issue a call for submissions on existing voluntary collaboration between the communities of IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
A compilation of the submissions received will be made available to the Plenary at its twelfth session.
Deadline: Friday 31 October
Training
EDI in Research Toolkit
“I realised EDI isn’t about ticking boxes – it’s about doing better science. My research is now more inclusive, more thoughtful, and ultimately, more impactful.”
This free online EDI Toolkit from C-DICE (Centre for postoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy) empowers researchers to embed more inclusive practices.
Through a blend of foundational guidance and scenario-based learning, it helps users gain confidence in embedding EDI into project planning, funding proposals, and grant applications.
An introduction to the Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP)
Thursday 2 October, 12.30-1.30pm, online
This free webinar will be useful for anyone wanting to take a rigorous, non-experimental approach to evaluation which helps you map and analyse causal connections from stakeholders on what they think has changed and why.
This can be a very useful way of evidencing your impact especially when there are complex pathways.
C-DICE Online Training
6 online workshops from C-DICE (Centre for postoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy)
IP for researchers: A beginners’ guide to Intellectual
Property
Wednesday 8 October, 10am-12pm, online
Led by researcher development expert Dr Katy Mahoney, this interactive session helps you spot, protect, and make the most of Intellectual Property in your academic work – perfect for anyone new to IP or needing a refresher on the essentials.
Getting social: Social media for researchers
Tuesday 14 October, 10am-1pm, online
Join Dr Jamie Gallagher for an interactive workshop that shows you how to create impactful content, grow your audience, and use social media strategically to raise your research profile.
Making connections: Strategic networking for researchers
Wednesday 22 October, 1-3pm, online
Join Dr Katy Mahoney for an interactive workshop that gives you the tools to network strategically, craft a compelling personal pitch, and build lasting professional relationships that support your career.
Policy engagement for researchers
Wednesday 12 November, 1-3pm, online
Discover how to make your research heard in Parliament with insider tips from Dr Jamie Gallagher on influencing policy and crafting impactful case studies.
Smartphone video masterclass: Connecting your research to the world
Four one-hour online sessions starting Wednesday 19 November 2025
Learn to shoot, edit, and share compelling research videos using just your smartphone in this hands-on workshop series led by video expert Rob Glass – no experience needed!
Research collaborations with industry: A guide for researchers
Thursday 27 November 2025, 10am-12.15pm, online
Learn how to become the collaborator industry can’t ignore - Code Switch Consultants reveal the secrets to building strategic, lasting partnerships.
Info
Principles for navigating the social aspects of grid transformation
The Government Office for Science has launched a new set of 8 principles to consider the social dimensions of grid transformation for policymaking.
These arise from a community of practice including policy, industry and academic representatives, which ACCESS Director, Patrick Devine-Wright participated in alongside social science colleagues including Catherine Queen, Matthew Cotton and Melanie Rohse, and endorsed by the UK Chief Scientific Advisor, Angela McLean.
Governance to Accelerate Net Zero: New British Academy Report
Over three years, a major British Academy review has analysed evidence and insights from Social Science, Humanities and the Arts to understand why and how good democratic governance is crucial to navigating the challenge of Net Zero.
The subsequent report is based on evidence from ten research projects and sixteen research papers, with insights from over 200 stakeholders across research, policy and practice through national and local events, workshops and roundtables:
"The findings, presented in this report, show a striking consensus: collaborative leadership across levels of government, place-led initiatives in partnership with intermediaries and a more people-centred approach to participation and net zero action are central to reaching net zero at speed."
Report from 9th British Environmental Psychology Society (BrEPS) conference
"The breadth and quality of presentations and posters was brilliant and the enthusiasm of the delegates was infectious. Presentations covered the full gamut of environmental psychology, from behaviour in urban and built environments, to conservation and environmental change."
ACCESS Co-Investigtor Professor Chris Jones (University of Portsmouth) reports from 9th British Environmental Psychology Society (BrEPS) conference, held on 4-5 September 2025 at the University of Nottingham over on the ACCESS blog.
Are you on the ACCESS Environmental Social Science expert database?
Join our searchable database of social scientists and experts working in the fields of climate and environment. The database includes both academics in universities as well as those working in the public sector, charities and businesses. It's quickly becoming one of our most visited web pages. A useful resource for people looking to collaborate and connect with environmental social scientists.
It only takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete the online form.
Share your news
Thank you to all the contributors who sent items in for this week's newsletter.
Do get in touch if you have any events, job or funding opportunities or new research that you would like to share with the ACCESS Network.
And if you have any feedback on the newsletter, we'd love to hear it.
Email me (Suzy) at: s.p.a.darke@exeter.ac.uk
