News, Jobs, Events, Opportunities and lots more...
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A quick round up of the latest news, jobs and opportunities
News
ACCESS Director Birgitta Gatersleben elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
We are delighted to announce that ACCESS Director, Professor Birgitta Gatersleben (University of Surrey), has been elected Fellow of the prestigious Academy of Social Sciences. Birgitta said:
"I am honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Social science is essential to help understand and address environmental issues. I’m delighted to join a community of scholars committed to using research to improve society."
ACCESS would also like to congratulate all the Fellows who have been elected this spring and to offer personal congratulations to Professor Lucie Middlemiss, environmental social scientist at the University of Leeds.
Interdisciplinary Working: Co-producing a New Toolkit
Last month, ACCESS and project partners the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) hosted the second in a series of roundtables for the Environmental Social Science in Interdisciplinary Working project.
Building on themes from the first event; such as disciplinary language, time pressures and the need for mutual respect, the ACCESS team presented a draft toolkit and resources developed from that initial analysis.
Participants from across disciplines and sectors, including practitioners, policymakers, researchers and consultants then tested these resources against real interdisciplinary projects, to see how they would perform in practice.
From place attachments to spatial imaginaries: Exploring geographies of energy transitions
"Energy transitions are key to reducing emissions and effective climate response. But where should new low carbon infrastructures go? Do we fill up the countryside with ‘industrial’ projects so that cities and industry have access to ‘green’ power? And if that approach produces social conflict, how do we best understand and respond to that?"
Last week, ACCESS Director Patrick Devine-Wright was invited to speak at the American Association of Geographers Energy and Environment Speciality Group (EESG) on: From place attachments to spatial imaginaries: Exploring geographies of energy transitions.
Events
Webinar: Horizon Europe; How to Write a Competitive Horizon Europe Energy Proposal
17 March, 2-3.30pm. online
This online event is for:
- Organisations planning to coordinate or join a Horizon Europe Energy proposal
- Researchers, project managers, SMEs, technology developers
- Anyone wanting to improve the quality and competitiveness of their proposals
N.B. This webinar is Part-2 of the Horizon Europe Energy Series
Watch the recording of the first session: Overview of Horizon Europe Energy Opportunities
Webinar: 'Displaced Ecologies' - Bauman Memorial Conversation 1
Wednesday 25 March, 4-5.30pm, online
This event from the Bauman Institute at the School of Sociology and Social Policy - University of Leeds is a dialogue between two acclaimed writers and researchers whose recent books confront the entanglements of environmental harm and displacement.
Displaced Ecologies brings together Alice Mah, author of ‘Red Pockets’ (Penguin, 2025), and Darya Tsymbalyuk, author of ‘Ecocide in Ukraine’ (Polity, 2025), for a conversation about the multiple temporalities and geographies of environmental destruction.
Although their work emerges from very different contexts, both trace forms of ecological violence that transform places and unsettle the human and non‑human lives embedded within them.
Symposium: Social Acceptance of Hydrogen
Thursday 30 April, 9am-6pm, University of Portsmouth
This free one-day (hybrid) symposium will bring together academics and non-academics with interests in the social acceptance of hydrogen & alternative liquid fuels.
This is an opportunity to hear about emerging research and network with others who have interests in hydrogen futures.
It is hosted by UK-HyRES (UK Hub for Research Challenges in Hydrogen & Alternative Liquid Fuels) and TARG:ET (Technology Acceptance Research Group for Energy Technologies).
There's a full roster of presentations, plus plenty of opportunity to participate in the discussions, networking and poster session, should you wish to.
Funding
UKRI Sandpit: Market access acceleration in consumer led flexibility
Monday 27 April, London
The purpose of this UKRI sandpit is to co-design actionable prototype and minimum viable test products to support the acceleration of market access within consumer led energy grid flexibility across four challenge areas:
- multi-market optimisation
- locational price discovery
- DNO flexibility incentives
- flexibility ‘micro-grids’
Deadline for expressions of interest: Thursday 26 March, 11.59pm
HESTIA Sandpit
Thursday 21 - Friday 22 May, York
The HESTIA Network (Home Environment Solutions through Technology and Innovation for All) is holding a two-day in-person sandpit to bring together researchers from different academic disciplines and people working in a range of organisations to develop ideas for small research projects on:
- Existing technologies used in homes (e.g. smart meters, air cleaners), and how they might help towards meeting low carbon / net zero targets and promote human health, considering affordability and those who might be most vulnerable (e.g. older people, those with existing physical/mental health difficulties, and low-income households).
- The impacts of climate change on housing, and how homes can be ‘future-proofed’ to be resilient to extreme conditions (e.g. extreme heat/cold, air pollution), in a way that is low carbon and promotes human health, and is affordable/cost-effective.
- Co-producing healthy homes with communities affected by poor quality housing.
Deadline for expressions of interest: Monday 30 March, 11.59pm
UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships
Are you an early career social science researcher or innovator looking to transition to independence, or developing your own original & ambitious plans within a commercial setting?
Round 11 of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships is now open.
Fellowships are personal awards to support the development of impactful research and applications are welcomed from across the entire UKRI remit, including the social sciences.
Deadline: Saturday 6 June 2026, 4pm
Jobs
Research Project Manager, CAST (UK Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations), University of Bath
CAST are seeking a Research Project Manager to manage a major new programme of social science research, funded by a philanthropic organisation, on People-Centred Climate Resilience (PCR).
The Research Project Manager will work alongside academic staff, other professional services staff, and with the funder and stakeholders from partner organisations to manage the delivery of the PCR programme, which comprises nine individual research projects and spans partners from several research organisations.
This is a part-time (22 hours per week), fixed term position (48 months).
Deadline: Sunday 15 March
Senior Research Advisor, OFGEM (2 roles available), Cardiff, Glasgow, or London
As a Senior Research Adviser, you will lead work ensuring consumer perspectives shape key decisions. Your insight will close evidence gaps, strengthen policy development and support regulation that delivers confidence, fairness and meaningful outcomes for all energy users.
Recruitment event, 16 March, 1pm, online
At this free event, you will meet the team, explore what a Researcher at Ofgem does and get the top tips for your application.
Deadline: Monday 23 March, 11.55pm
Apply here
Behavioural and Social Researcher, Department for Transport, Birmingham, Leeds, London
This is an exciting opportunity for someone who would like to make an impact by using behavioural science theories, evidence and research, as well as their broader social research skills, to influence policy, delivery and communications.
This role provides breadth and variety in a fast-paced environment. You will work on high-priority transport matters such as reducing environmental impacts, improving women’s safety and facilitating multi-modal travel.
Deadline: Tuesday 31
March, 11.55 pm
Apply here
PhD studentships
Fully Funded PhD Opportunity, University of Manchester
Climate Change, Heat and Inequality in School Environments
This interdisciplinary, mixed methods PhD project will examine how climate change-driven heat exposure poses a growing societal challenge for human health, educational equity, and productivity, with a specific focus on schools.
The student will be supervised by Sarah MacQuarrie (expertise in teacher wellbeing, nature-relatedness, and school interventions) alongside Ben Parkes and Marcellus Mbah who provide expertise in climate data, environmental sustainability and curriculum research.
Deadline: Wednesday 18 March
Fully funded PhD Studentship, University of Essex
Political Economy of the Environment and Development
This is an opportunity for a person from an underrepresented group to undertake a fully funded master’s degree followed by a fully funded interdisciplinary PhD research degree under the ‘Sustainable Transitions – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme’ at the University of Essex.
The project brings together ideas from political science, development studies, political economy, and economics. Using methods from these subjects, the project will produce knowledge how green industrial policies affect people, how political and economic institutions change as a result of these policies, who the winners and losers are and what might happen in the future.
Supervisors are Martin Steinwand and Thankom Arun.
This opportunity would suit a candidate with a degree / background in law / international law.
Deadline: Monday 13 April, 11.59pm
Opportunities
Request for feedback: DESNZ Energising Britain
DESNZ is seeking written feedback from UUCN (UK Universities Climate Network) members on their new climate and nature public participation plan:
Energising Britain: Your voice in our Clean Energy Superpower Mission.
In particular, they are seeking input on the following questions:
• Do you have any reflections and feedback on the Energising Britain plan goals and principles?
• How would you define success for the Youth Climate and Nature Panel?
• How should the Energising Britain Event best serve the needs of the higher education sector? Which type of organisations should attend to ensure diversity and facilitate new collaborations?
Deadline: Tuesday 17 March
Info
Encountering school spaces: navigating informed consent processes with school communities
This article by Rosamund Portus and Sarah-Jane Williams (University of the West of England) in International Journal of Social Research Methodology, grew out of an ACCESS FlexFund project: Buzzing about Bees.
They write:
"A key focus of much social research with children today is on how to widen participation, meaningfully representing the experiences of all children. This is part of a shift towards problematising the enduring pull towards what has been termed the ‘Good Research Child’. In problematising this pull, researchers are interrogating questions such as who participates in research, the environments in which research takes place, and how research data are formed and platformed. This article examines how this thinking underpinned a social research project conducted with children in primary schools across the city of Bristol (UK)."
Podcast: Democratising the Ocean
BlueBoard is a podcast series exploring how blue and freshwater education can drive sustainability, innovation, and ocean literacy across Europe.
In this episode on Democratising the Ocean, ACCESS Leadership College Fellow Pamela Buchan (University of Exeter) explains why marine sustainability isn’t only about behaviour change or science.
She describes how identity, citizenship, and public participation shape who controls the future of our oceans, and why democratising marine governance matters now more than ever.
New carbon accounting tool for research
A recent paper by William Smith (University of St Andrews) et al. in Genetics demonstrates how students and other researchers can consistently measure the carbon footprint of their work.
The authors present a life cycle assessment of the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions generated by the student's research activities and explain how students can create a “carbon appendix’ to their research. They write:
"Empowering students to engage in carbon accounting can raise awareness of sustainability in research and provide a substantial and robust resource of carbon data alongside a powerful community-driven impetus for decarbonization."
The role of community climate hubs in encouraging low-carbon lifestyles
This Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) briefing looks at community climate hubs (or eco-hubs) as an alternative model of public engagement on climate change.
The briefing is based on evaluations by CAST and the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) at the University of Exeter of two community climate hubs in 2024/5:
- The Greener and Cleaner Hub in Bromley, South East London
- The Sideshore Community Hub in Exmouth, Devon
Findings:
1) Community climate hubs motivate people to adopt low-carbon behaviours
2) The hubs increase people’s knowledge and confidence to initiate discussions about sustainable living
3) The hubs improve wellbeing, support inclusivity, and build community
4) The hubs help create ‘communities of practice’ to enable systemic change
Refreshed GO-Science Directory of Academic and Policy Exchange Schemes
The Directory of Academic and Policy Exchange Schemes has been refreshed. The directory brings together a wide range of structured opportunities that enable collaboration between academia and government, supporting the flow of expertise, insight and skills in both directions.
These include:
- Secondments/fellowships
- Internships/placements
- Capacity-building programmes
Webinar: Careers in Rewinding
In this webinar from Scotland: The Big Picture (SBP), Rewilding Training Lead, Stef Lauer, is in conversation with Alex Carley (Fundraising Manager at SBP), Fraser Murray (Community Engagement Officer at Bright Green Nature) and Ellie Corsie (rewilding consultant and ecologist).
Hear how they found their way into rewilding and get actionable tips.
Are you on the ACCESS Network database?
ACCESS aims to make social science expertise more accessible. We have created a publicly available, searchable database (The ACCESS Network) of social scientists and experts working in the fields of climate and environment.
Join the ACCESS Network to share your research and start making connections with other environmental social scientists.
