News, Jobs, Events, Opportunities and lots more...
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A quick round up of this week's news, jobs and opportunities
News
A big hello to everyone!
This is Suzy Darke, the new ACCESS Communications Manager. I'm taking over the newsletter from Sarah as of this week and I'm delighted to be here!
I join ACCESS from the SPF-funded GreenFutures project at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus. The project has been supporting businesses across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to understand their environmental impact, accelerate their journey to Net Zero, and improve their relationship with biodiversity.
My work there involved writing impact case studies to showcase the project's work, and translating relevant research on climate and biodiversity into accessible guidance for businesses.
Please do say hello. And, if you have any items or suggestions for things you'd like me to
include in the newsletter, I would love to hear them!
You can contact me at: s.p.a.darke@exeter.ac.uk or hit reply to this email.
Events
Reducing energy demand - A UK success story?
Thursday 20 March, 11am-12pm, online
This joint webinar is hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) & the UK Energy Research Centre.
Lead authors of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency 2024 report will outline key findings, with a special focus on the report’s insights on recent successes and challenges in UK energy efficiency policy.
Professor Nick Eyre and Professor Karen Turner will join the conversation as discussants.
Appetite for change? Public engagement with climate-friendly diets in 2025
Thursday 20 March at 11:30am, online
What do the British public currently think about low-carbon diets? And what are the key public engagement challenges in 2025 and beyond?
The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) is co-hosting this webinar with Climate Barometer. Together with expert panellists from the Climate Change Committee, Eating Better Alliance and Hubbub, they will explore the latest in UK public engagement research on low-carbon food choices, and discuss strategic opportunities for campaigners and policy-makers to drive meaningful progress towards a lower-carbon food culture in the UK.
Greener cities for all: creating urban spaces for people and biodiversity
Thursday 20 March, 2.30-4.15pm, Middlesex University, in-person & online
This Sustainable Development Research Cluster (SDRC) and the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) panel discussion explores the role of nature in cities and the challenges and opportunities of urban nature recovery.
- Measuring the Tranquil City: Inclusive and accessible evaluations of urban greening for wellbeing and human-nature relationships, Eleanor Ratcliffe (University of Surrey)
- Co-creating the Healthy Parks Framework: Reflecting on the development of a tool for policy, engagement and research, Liza Griffin (UCL)
- Metamodern urban planning for eco-social recovery, Juha Hiedanpaa (LUKE, Finland)
Jobs
Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland
This is a unique opportunity for an exceptional leader in science to ensure that scientific and engineering evidence supports the Scottish Government’s ambitious programmes including: to eradicate child poverty, grow our economy, tackle the climate emergency, and improve public services.
The Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland (CSA) champions science as a key driver of the economy, promotes the effective use of scientific evidence in policymaking in the Scottish Government and beyond and works to inspire the next generation of scientists and encourage diversity in the STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics) workforce.
The closing date is Tuesday 11 March
PhD studentship at ARU Cambridge
Fully-funded Social Science PhD studentship within the Global Sustainability Institute at ARU (Cambridge campus) on the topic:
“Social acceptance of energy storage: investigating how people engage with and respond to mine water energy storage”.
The project is a collaboration with the British Geological Survey, who will support with access to case studies across the UK and with research dissemination, including to policy actors.
Those coming to academia through non-standard routes are welcome, including mature students, or those with caring responsibilities, and flexible working arrangements are possible.
The closing date is Sunday 16 March
Postdoctoral research associateship/fellowship at University of Exeter (Cornwall)
The Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy is recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow to participate in the project “Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach (RENEW)” which seeks to develop solutions to one of the major environmental challenges for humankind; the renewal of biodiversity (renewbiodiversity.org.uk).
This role will support Prof. Kevin J Gaston and sit within RENEW’s Theme 1, which focuses on better understanding the determinants, patterns, and consequences of individuals’ engagement with nature in order to improve the effectiveness of the methods used by many environmental organisations to develop public support for biodiversity renewal.
The programme includes academics and partners across environmental sciences, data science, environmental intelligence, social sciences, politics, humanities, business and economics.
The closing date for applications is Monday 17 March
ESRC postdoctoral fellowships
Apply for a postdoctoral fellowship to develop:
- publications
- networks
- research skills
- professional skills
Your proposal can be from a single discipline or a combination of disciplines, but social sciences must make up at least 50% of your fellowship activities.
The funding opportunity is open to applicants who have completed their PhD at a UK research organisation and who have less than 12 months of active postdoctoral experience from passing their viva voce to the competition closing date.
The closing date is Tuesday 25 March at 4pm
Scottish Parliament Fellowship Scheme
The Academic Fellowship Scheme, which is managed and hosted by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), enables academics to work on projects with Parliament.
The Scottish Parliament is inviting fellowship proposals from academics on any topic relevant to parliamentary business, in particular original, analytical or primary research.
SPICe will be hosting a webinar on How to apply for a Scottish Parliament Fellowship on Friday 14 March at 10.30am.
The closing date for submitting proposals is Friday 18 April at 5pm
Lecturer in Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding (Teaching and Research) at University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is recruiting a Lecturer in Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding with an expertise in the theory, policy and/or practice of delivering transformative conservation.
The post is intended to contribute to the new MSc in Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding (NR3) and to strengthen the research and teaching capacity of the Department of Planning, Property & Environmental Management (PPEM), within the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED).
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 30 April
Opportunities
Consultation: Shaping the future of UK climate projections
The Met Office and Defra are launching a new consultation of their UK Climate Projections (UKCP) service to gather user perspectives. It’s an opportunity for users to share their experiences of using this climate information, and to influence the future direction of UKCP.
This will ensure UKCP continues to meet the evolving needs of various sectors and communities.
The survey will remain open until Monday 31 March
Call for papers: Behaviour, Energy, & Climate Change conference (BECC), Sacramento USA
The conference will be held on November 2-5, 2025, in person in Sacramento, CA. It’s a great place for environmental psychologists to meet folks in government, business, and energy utilities who are looking to put research into practice.
Here are a few example topics (other topics also welcome):
- Applying theories of behaviour change
- Social comparison, social norms and behaviour change
- Organisational behaviour and group influence
- Social movements and culture change
- Values, personal norms, attitudes, intentions, and behaviour
- Behavioural science and psychology field studies
The closing date for submissions is Tuesday 1 April
GW4 Connect peer support programme for neurodivergent early career researchers
This innovative programme offers a safe space to consider the challenges of balancing work, research, and daily life and develop meaningful strategies to deal with them.
Through workshops, peer-mentoring and neurodiversity-informed coaching you will be supported to identify your strengths, share strategies and co-create solutions.
The programme aims to help you:
- Connect with peers to share experiences and gain support
- Develop and share useful workplace strategies
- Recognise and articulate your unique strengths
- Set meaningful career goals and create actionable plans to achieve them.
- Enhance your understanding of neurodiversity and workplace inclusion,
- Understand the legal frameworks that address discrimination and sources of support.
- Develop advocacy skills to empower you and help create greater awareness of neurodiversity.
Open to ECRs at the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, who identify as neurodivergent
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 2 April at 12pm
Survey: Help shape UK funding for international nature and environment research
The UK Nature Initiative Research project seeks to identify international priorities for research on nature and the environment. The project is based at the Institute of Development Studies and is funded by the UK government's Environment and Nature Research Working Group.
They are seeking input from people with diverse backgrounds, training, professional and community roles, working in different sectors at different administrative levels.
The survey will remain open until Friday 4 April
Call for comment pieces: Academy of Social Science’s new Good Growth Hub
The Campaign for Social Science has launched a new project hub focusing on Good Growth. Throughout 2025 the Campaign will be showcasing research and insights from the social sciences to offer informed perspectives on how the UK might best address its challenges around economic growth and productivity whilst balancing this against other competing policy priorities.
The Good Growth project will explore ways which might make it possible for the UK to achieve growth that is fair, inclusive, carefully targeted in the right regions and sectors, and environmentally sustainable.
If you are interested in submitting an evidence-led comment piece for the new hub on Good Growth, or for any existing hubs, please contact Steve Grundy, Senior Campaign Manager at s.grundy@acss.org.uk to discuss your idea.
Training
Transport Planner with Heuristic Games
Tuesday 11 March, 9.30am-5pm, in person
This is a one-day event at the University of Nottingham, hosted by ERA and C-DICE and designed and delivered by Heuristic Games. It offers doctoral and postdoctoral researchers a unique opportunity to develop skills in strategic decision-making, policy implementation, and tackling urban transport challenges in a safe, simulated environment.
Through hands-on activities, participants will:
- Explore strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
- Gain insights into the impact of transport policies on travel behaviour.
- Develop teamwork, negotiation, and risk management skills.
A chance to prepare for a low-carbon future and enhance your professional skillset with expert guidance from Heuristic Games facilitators.
Impostor Phenomenon - What is it and how to overcome it
Wednesday 18 March, 10am-12pm, online & recorded
This is a British Psychological Society webinar. Impostor phenomenon (also known as impostor syndrome) can affect many of us at various points in our life. If left unresolved, it can prevent us living our fullest lives and seizing opportunities when they come along. In this session, you'll come away with a clear idea of what impostor phenomenon is and the typical ways it can manifest.
Dr Hayley Lewis, will share useful and practical evidence-based tools and techniques to help you come over impostor feelings. She will also be sharing some case studies of techniques that have helped her clients over the years.
Info
Tackling the carbon footprint of psychological research
Charlotte Rae, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Sussex, tells the British Psychological Society about the climate action she and her fellow academic psychologists are taking:
"Myself, and many colleagues across British universities, have come to recognise the 'inconvenient truth' that our academic activities – from uncovering the mysteries of the mind, to understanding mental health, to picking apart neurodegeneration – have a downside. And that downside is the environmental cost of our research practices."
She proposes four main areas where academic psychologists and neuroscientists can address their environmental footprints: 1) research practices, 2) workplaces, 3) academic values, and 4) wider communities (see image above).
Heat pumps have a 'cosiness problem'. Why heating-transition should consider 'thermal delight'.
"While the necessary speed of the net zero transition entails a clean sweep that substitutes fossil-fuelled heating for low-carbon, electric alternatives, our research shows that this may be unappealing to many households," writes Aimee Ambrose in The Conversation. She is one of the researchers on the Justheat project, which explores the experience of eight communities in four nations that have had different heating transition journeys.
Many of the participants across all the communities involved expressed "strong attachments to high-carbon fuels", which gave them feelings of "intense pleasure" and "homeliness".
She concludes: "There is really no place for burning solid fuels in a net zero future, but a concerted effort between heating researchers, designers and technologists could create a beautiful heat source that acts as a focal point, and offers something akin to the multi-sensory joy of the fireside."
Mainstream reporting on climate change leads to learned helplessness and less motivation to take action
Research by Nadia Said and Vivien Wölfl shows that current, problem-focused journalism about climate issues is decreasing the public's motivation to take action.
The authors argue, in their Environment and Behaviour article, that solutions-based reporting on the environment could better support climate change mitigation.
"Our results showed that constructive narratives can effectively reduce learned helplessness. Furthermore, results hint toward a relationship between reduced learned helplessness and higher motivation to act. Thus, introducing more articles into mainstream news based on constructive journalism principles could support climate change mitigation by increasing the public’s motivation to engage in climate action and thus be a valuable addition to the current tools in climate change communication."
How 'relational framing' could help countries meet their residential decarbonisation targets
The 'retrofit’ of low carbon heating and energy-efficiency measures is a major priority for energy policy, but few countries are meeting their targets. Donal Brown, Lucie Middlemiss et al's article in Energy Research & Social Science argues that this is because mainstream ‘rational actor’ framing of households guides most energy efficiency policymaking.
The researchers propose paying attention, instead, to relational dynamics – leveraging existing entry points such as when renovating or moving home, or developing solutions which factor broader motivations than simply cost savings.
They argue that this relational framing "can better design policies that work with the grain of existing household practices and social relations".
Murder in the Climate Assembly... a whodunnit
Professor of Sustainable Business Denise Baden's forthcoming novel uses fiction to explore climate facts:
"Murder in the Climate Assembly is an original take on the traditional campus novel addressing broad themes of what justice means in an age of climate change. The story grapples with the most pressing question of our age – what do we do when our current systems are leading us to planetary destruction?"
Baden tells Green Economy Coalition: "This novel imagines a new political landscape where citizens assemblies have been granted legal authority. The climate policies they decide upon must be actioned. The murder throws this into doubt and on the decision whether to prosecute, lies the possible future of humanity itself.”
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.
