The #BeeWell programme combines academic research with youth-led change to drive collective action and support young people’s wellbeing. Co-designed with young people, the annual #BeeWell survey focuses on the domains and drivers of wellbeing among 12-15 year-olds and has recently been delivered for its fourth consecutive year.

The judges were impressed by #BeeWell’s approach for youth-centred engagement, empowering young people to lead research and decision-making through the youth steering group and young researchers’ programme. The findings from the survey drive collective change, influencing the policies and practices of schools, local authorities, partner organisations, and innovative youth-led community projects and social prescribing programmes.

Research insights from #BeeWell have informed key local and national decision-making, advancing the youth wellbeing agenda across the #BeeWell regions. These include the impact of participating in arts, culture and entertainment activities (), the scale and determinants of inequalities across young people of different genders and sexualities (; ), and how targeted interventions can improve the wellbeing of at-risk young people ().

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This dynamic event showcased the collective insights and innovative ideas of participants from diverse regions, including Finland, Ghana, Mainland China, Mexico, Norway, Taiwan, the UK, the US, and Hong Kong and Macao SARs. 

The conference marked a significant milestone in fostering international collaboration, featuring both in-person and virtual engagement. Since 2018, the ChinaHE network—led by a team at the 91ֱ�� Institute of Education (MIE)—has provided a platform to examine China’s evolving role in global higher education. 

The team, of MIE colleagues (Cheon Yin Chan, Heather Cockayne, Rui He, Miguel Lim and Jenna Mittelmeier) are delighted to see the ChinaHE network continue to grow, fostering a rich exchange of ideas that can shape the future of education in and beyond China. 

This year’s partnership with Lingnan University and their academic team led by Lucy Baohua Wu and Anne Tang has been especially impactful, reflecting years of collaboration and mutual commitment to advancing research and understanding. 

The visit to Hong Kong also included collaborative activities with Hang Seng University, The Education University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, to enrich the conference experience with diverse perspectives and local expertise. 

For additional insights and highlights from the conference, visit Lingnan University’s or the Hang Seng University’s . 

About ChinaHE 

is a global network dedicated to exploring China’s growing influence in higher education through annual conferences, research collaboration, and knowledge-sharing. The network, based at the 91ֱ�� Institute of Education, has become a central hub for academics and practitioners committed to addressing the opportunities and challenges shaping higher education in China and the world. 

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is an annual event that celebrates and empowers entrepreneurs worldwide. The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre offered events throughout the week, catering to individuals at all stages of their entrepreneurial journey, from newcomers to those ready to scale their ideas. The events drew 263 students and delivered over 32 hours of programming.

The week began with the inspiring Startup Spotlight with Dr. Mehdi Boutagouga Boudjadja, the visionary Founder of Metofico. He generously shared deep, invaluable insights from his entrepreneurial journey from a PhD student to a Venture Further Awards winner, captivating the audience with stories of challenges he overcame.

Throughout the week, participants had access to a comprehensive series of professional development workshops and learning opportunities:

💡 A strategic AI Marketing masterclass conducted by Peter Dickinson, focusing on advanced methodologies for business development

🎯 An executive Personal Branding 101 workshop facilitated by Jessica Lewis-Tatton, designed to enhance participants' professional presence

🎤 The Ready, Set, Pitch! competition, providing emerging entrepreneurs with a platform to present their business ideas

📚 An essential 'Introduction to Starting a Business' seminar by Jessica Lewis-Tatton delivering strategic business fundamentals

🧠 An insightful Neurodivergence & Entrepreneurship session facilitated by Matilda Page and Dr. Rob Martin, examining diverse entrepreneurial perspectives

The week concluded with the inaugural Startup Weekend, a three-day intensive program where 140 participants collaborated to develop their business concepts into viable ventures. The level of innovation and professional dedication demonstrated was exemplary.

The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre extends its gratitude to the speakers, mentors, and participants who contributed to the success of #GEW2024. The professional excellence and collaborative approach exhibited throughout the event reinforces 91ֱ��'s status as a premier destination for entrepreneurship and innovation.

MEC looks forward to seeing the exciting ventures and connections that emerge from this incredible week.

Following a participatory action research (PAR) process involving co-researchers in Nairobi, Kenya, and Harare, Zimbabwe, the project will co-produce knowledge that can inform and enhance the agency of these movements, and of African youth.

“Stemming from an epistemic justice perspective that values multiple types of knowledge beyond academia, this deep collaboration – including joint design of research questions, methods, analysis of findings, and validating results with broader communities, is central to the process" comments Daniela. 

SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Funding

Catalyst funding from the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) proved instrumental in enabling Daniela to conduct the preparatory work for the project between January and May 2024.  The fund is available to staff and students in SEED to support projects aimed at making a difference in teaching, research or operations. 

What does Social Responsibility mean? 

In the context of Daniela's PhD project within SEED and GDI, she describes Social Responsibility as meaning “conscious, reflective, and sustainable engagement with communities who represent non- and counter-hegemonic forms of knowledge production. It means honouring my commitment with epistemic justice and decolonization of research by supporting collaborative examination of the elements that hinder or support people and communities’ full participation in decision-making. This is a key underpinning of my work, as I believe the best solutions stem from collectively identified challenges." 

Visit the partner websites: 

Walking along the final 5-mile stretch of the canal, and viewing its intersection with earlier 19th century infrastructure like the Bridgewater Canal, the visit was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about the legacy of industrial architecture and heritage in person along a significant route in 91ֱ��.

Constructed in 1893, the 91ֱ�� Ship Canal is one of the monumental pieces of global infrastructure that led the city to become a major port in the 20th century. New types of economic activity and building typologies emerged around the canal, including the first planned industrial estate at Trafford Park which still contains engineering, telecommunications and food processing firms.

While in the 21st century the regeneration of Salford Quays has taken on different guises from cultural anchor projects like the Lowry and IWM North to the creative industries housed in Media City.

The fieldtrip was a part of the students' BA3 Humanities module, where one option is an elective about the architecture of Victorian 91ֱ�� led by Dr Matthew Wells.

What was the motivation behind your project and how did the SEED SR Catalyst Fund support your project? 

[He and Baratta] The motivation for the study was to address the concerns of international master’s students, who often feel less connected to the beyond-academic context during their one-year studies than their undergraduate (UG) or postgraduate taught (PGT) counterparts. 

This project harnessed the practices of a 91ֱ�� Institute of Education (MIE) PGT course unit, of which He is the Course Unit Director, which involves international students experiencing work placement with 91ֱ�� local communities. As a result of this, our international students gain workplace experience, develop their English skills and enhance their socio-cultural engagement beyond campus, while also being able to share their own language and cultural practices. 

The fund allowed us to host a one-day workshop, where students and representatives from the local communities discussed their experiences in front of both students and other organisation representatives, allowing for additional takeaways such as developing confidence in speaking and community and partnership building with our external partners for better supporting our international students’ acculturation experiences. 

What does Social Responsibility (SR) mean to you in your teaching, research or working in SEED? 

[He and Baratta] For us, SR means building together and supporting each other with what we have in everyone’s hands for a better society and environment for all. This support is not unidirectional but multidirectional enhancement between teachers, students, universities, local communities, etc. SR also means reaching out to those less fortunate, helping them to be included in the work we're doing at a major university. 

Participants expressed positive feedback, with one student noting, “Everyone was so caring, everyone was so inclusive,” highlighting the supportive environment created through the initiative. Another student added, “Having opportunities like this is really positive because it provides the space and an avenue to connect to the local community.” 

For He and Baratta, Social Responsibility (SR) embodies collaborative efforts to build a better society, emphasizing mutual support among students, faculty, and local communities. Their research and teaching focus on equality and diversity, exemplifying the project's commitment to inclusive engagement. 

For more information, visit . 
 

In collaboration with , funding from the SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Funds and local community groups, the initiative focused on fostering long-term community wellbeing and encouraging students to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges.

What was the motivation behind your project? 

[Rusca] The project was implemented in partnership with Community Led Action and Savings Support (CLASS), Aquarius Community Savers (Hulme tenants group), and the Miles Platting Community and Age-Friendly Network with the aim to provide students with firsthand insights into the strategies and practices of community activists who are fighting for more inclusive urban development in 91ֱ��. 

This was achieved through a combined citizen-led lecture and field visit in Hulme and Miles Platting, areas where local communities are actively working to improve access to basic rights and services and are fighting against gentrification. 

The field trip offered an opportunity to explore citizen-led development and to compare these everyday practices of resistance with those of urban dwellers in the global South, focusing on how, why, and by whom certain development pathways are contested and resisted. 

Additionally, the students were able to witness firsthand what co-producing knowledge means, both in research and in teaching. 

What does Social Responsibility mean to you in your teaching, research or working in SEED? 

[Rusca] In my teaching, fostering a sense of community in the classroom is a key goal. I believe that being part of and contributing to a community is essential to address contemporary developing challenges (and to be happy). Engaging students with the work of CLASS is a way to highlight the importance of building networks and community. I aim to show them the power of collaboration in creating more equitable urban environments. This approach not only deepens their understanding of social issues and the importance of citizen-led initiatives but also instils a sense of belonging, purpose, and hope. 

The field trip not only enriched students' educational experiences but also instilled a sense of belonging and hope for future engagement in their communities. Plans are underway to potentially continue this initiative next year, with a focus on further empowering students and fostering connections within urban settings. 
 

What was the motivation behind your project? 

�ڰ�’B������Ա� Across the University much assessment communicates important messages to external audiences... but sits on Blackboard gathering dust (pixels?!).

This was the case for SEED’s UCIL course, “Creating a Sustainable World”, where students communicate a sustainability problem and solution. These were often key societal interests such as fast fashion, energy poverty, and water pollution, that never moved beyond Blackboard.

To maximise the impact of existing assignments, and to facilitate discussion with our communities about issues that concerned them, Hilson researched good practice to turn the assessments into podcasts. We consulted with undergraduate and postgraduate taught students and we soon learned why this isn’t done.

Student feedback included ‘if we were to make a podcast we’d benefit from reaching out to external guest speakers, as the world of podcasts is already so saturated.’ Significant work was required to translate assessments into podcasts, many of which had specialist listenership. As an interim ‘solution,’ we piloted hosting student assessment on our website linked to our Instagram.

How did the SEED SR Catalyst Fund support your research?

�ڰ�’B������Ա� Student feedback was staggering. Students said they felt ‘proud’, ‘motivated’, and ‘valued’ through their assignments being publicly available. Many wished for other opportunities to make a difference through assessment.

With SEED funding, we presented #Assessmentforgood at AdvanceHE’s and the Institute of Teaching and Learning’s summer conferences. Cardiff University have already integrated #Assessmentforgood into their staff development toolkit.

Any SEED colleagues are most welcome to host students’ work related to sustainable development on our University Living Lab platform. Through this work we are collating examples of assessment that make a difference to share through the Institute of Teaching and Learning to inspire further change.

The project aligns with O’Brien and Mutungamiri's broader commitment to socially responsible education, aiming to inspire other institutions to adopt similar practices. The initiative underscores a collective effort to cultivate a more sustainable and engaged academic community.

For more information, visit .

What was the motivation behind your project and how did the SEED SR Catalyst Fund support your research? 

[Budworth and Hall] On Wednesday, 31 January 2024, we held a zine-making workshop focused on tackling Imposter Syndrome. The zine-making workshop was co-designed and facilitated by Selina, Mary-Anne and Carrie-Ann of , as well as researchers, Poppy and Sarah, from the project. 

During the zine-making workshop we talked together about Imposter Syndrome, what it is, and how to tackle it. The interactive session aimed to empower and uplift participants, and through the practice of zine-making we explored different techniques to express our thoughts and experiences. 

By sharing stories, strategies, and creative insights, we created a supportive and inclusive environment where attendees could connect, learn, and grow together as a SEED (School of Environment, Education, and Development) community. 

The workshop provided space to work alongside and learn from the brilliant Inspire Women, and since this event the relationship between Inspire and our team has continued to flourish with more creative methods-related events in the pipeline. 

How has your project impacted the community?

[Budworth and Hall] We received positive feedback during our session, with many participants reflecting on the cathartic, connective, and creative space we created together. In addition, participants reflected that the workshop encouraged them to feel “less alone”, which shows the importance of creating safe spaces at work to share together, tackle loneliness, and improve wellbeing. 

Furthermore, the workshop in January later informed a talk by Selina and Carrie-Ann at an online Urban Studies Foundation event held in May 2024, which focused on ; Selina reflected on her experiences of co-facilitating the zine-making workshop and discussed some of the conversations she’d had with participants about confidence building. 

What does Social Responsibility mean to you in your teaching, research or working in SEED?

[Budworth and Hall] Social responsibility, care, and collectivity is at the core of both Inspire Women Oldham and the Austerity and Altered Life-Courses project, with both amplifying people’s voices and experiences and through creating spaces for meaningful connections, creativity, and knowledge sharing. 

Social responsibility and public engagement are also important to both Poppy and Sarah, personally and professionally. For example, Poppy's work explores social difference, marginalisation, and everyday life, with a focus on youth and disability. Poppy is interested in exploring the ways that academic researchers can collaborate and partner with community-researchers, experts by experience, and non-HEI organisations in meaningful and enduring ways; drawing on creative and non-traditional ways of sharing. 

For Sarah these are also key concerns, with a focus on lived experiences and inequalities of economic change for people, places and relationships. Exploring these interests through long-term, sustained and embedded collaborations, creative participatory methods and praxis, and deep listening techniques, social responsibility permeates all elements of her research practice. Building on the learnings and collaborations from the Imposter Syndrome zine-making workshop, we hosted a zine-making workshop as part of the Austerity and Altered Life-Courses International Online Symposium, on the theme of ‘Future Lives and Austerity,’ on Wednesday 16th October 2024. 

The zines created during the workshop have been to encourage continued conversations about tackling Imposter Syndrome together and to celebrate the participants’ creativity in addressing personal and communal challenges. 

More information about zine-making as a creative and collaborative method can be found in our ‘’,  which was co-produced by Inspire and the Austerity and Altered Life-Courses project, as part of the project. To keep in touch with the project, please follow on X or email austerityalters@manchester.ac.uk.

What was the motivation behind your project and how did the SEED SR Catalyst Fund support your research? 

[Stitch Socials] There have been calls from researchers within the School for more opportunities to get to know one another, and we are aware that contract researchers and newly joining staff in particular are at risk of feeling isolated and disconnected from colleagues. Responding to these concerns, our aim was to create regular, safe, and relaxed spaces that facilitate familiarity and feelings of connection with a supportive ‘SEED’ community. 

We hosted five monthly Stitch Socials at a variety of locations across the University of Manchester and the local area including Christie’s Bistro, 91ֱ�� Poetry Library, Hulme Garden Centre, and the Firs Environmental Research Station. We also held a final celebration event supported by the Humanities Wellbeing Fund in June 2024. The sessions were primarily aimed at SEED PGRs and ECRs (but open to all), inviting people to an informal and friendly meet-up where we learnt more about each other's research while working creatively in a variety of ways. 

Over fifty people joined one or more sessions, and this included researchers from across faculties and at all career stages, as well as artists and colleagues from MMU. People brought existing projects (stitching, knitting, mending, or something completely different) or used the free, sustainably sourced stitching materials provided in the sessions. This gave us all an opportunity to slow down and chat about things in our work and personal lives, as well as taking time to sit quietly together. 

At one of the Stitch Socials, we also invited two local artists whose work explores themes of social responsibility and sustainability to share their beautiful work with the group: Nell Smith, an artist who works with textiles and print, and Simone Trumpet, a portrait photographer with an interest in photographing people, places and plants. 

What impact did Stitch Socials have on the researcher community in SEED? 

[Stitch Socials] Participants who attended the Stitch Socials said they enjoyed the ‘gentle socialising’ of the sessions and liked having something practical to do while talking with colleagues. They valued opportunities to chat but also to spend time together quietly, and sometimes even in silence. 

One noted that they found it ‘rewarding to share craft hours together, bond with people, and calm down’. Having a reason to visit new places and lesser-known parts of the University was also something many saw as a benefit of taking part, with one participant commenting ‘I really love the idea of having a session and discovering different locations, especially as a newcomer to the city.’ 

How does this project relate to our wide research and/or teaching at the University? 

[Stitch Socials] As Early Career Researchers in SEED, our individual work engages with Social Responsibility issues in a variety of ways. For example, Xin is interested in caring relations between bodily experience and urban infrastructure, particularly in how to develop care-oriented approaches in urban spaces through community and social engagements. 

Laura is interested in the idea of so-called ‘slow scholarship’ and how we might create gentler, more ethical and inclusive ways of working with research participants, communities and with fellow academic researchers. In her current research, Making Slow Colour, she is interested in how researchers might resist the urgency and competitiveness that often characterises academic work. 

Poppy’s work explores social difference, marginalisation, and everyday life, with a focus on youth and disability. Poppy is interested in exploring the multiple ways that academic researchers can collaborate and partner with non-HEI organisations and experts in meaningful and enduring ways; which draw on creative and non-traditional methods of sharing. We are each experimenting with creative methods to research, respond to and communicate these challenges. 

Through these socials, Pottinger, Budworth, and Li aim to nurture relationships with local artists and strengthen future collaborative opportunities, aligning with their individual research interests in social responsibility and community engagement. 

For more information about the SEED Stitch Socials, contact Laura Pottinger at laura.pottinger@manchester.ac.uk.

This award was developed by the . The scheme, now in its third consecutive year, is supported by the , the and .  

The PSEA scheme enables student teachers to increase their experience and understanding of teaching and learning in primary science. The scheme draws on rationale, processes and resources developed by the Primary Science Teaching Trust, the Primary Science Quality Mark, and by in Belfast. It supports the student teacher to develop additional reflective practice development in primary science during the initial teacher education phase. After receiving the PSEA, student teachers are able to start their careers with increased competence and confidence when teaching science and are equipped to take up future school leadership positions in science. 

The eleven student teachers, overseen by Adrian Bowden and Primary PGCE Course Leader (Science), Jon Board at The University of Manchester, gained new strengths ranging from making cross-curricular links between science and additional subjects to developing scientific enquiry skills in pupils during the PSEA scheme. 

106 student teachers from across the UK have been awarded the PSEA for ITE this year. These new teachers are encouraged to develop their skills with the support of the Primary Science Teaching Trust, while expanding their work in primary science education. 

Further information on how the Primary Science Teaching Trust supports initial teacher education can be found on their website:

This examines the impact of AI on learning development in HE, focusing on international students in the UK. 

It concludes by calling for a collective effort from institutions and learning programme developers to balance AI's benefits with its potential drawbacks, ensuring it enhances rather than hinders the educational experience of international students in the UK.

A recent study reveals the complex impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on international students in UK universities. While AI tools like ChatGPT offer personalised learning and help overcome language barriers, they also raise significant concerns.

The research, based on interviews with students from China, South Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Austria, highlights how AI assists in navigating academic challenges. One student remarked, "AI makes my life so much easier... I just pop the question in ChatGPT, and I will have all the answers!"

However, the study uncovers worrying trends. Many students are unaware of data privacy risks, and there's a growing tendency to rely on AI over human tutors. Experts warn this could impact students' cultural integration and overall well-being.

The findings call for urgent action to enhance digital literacy and carefully manage AI integration in higher education, ensuring it enhances rather than hinders international students' experiences.

The blog post is available to read .

This project aims to develop new tools and insights for understanding how changes in urban environments impact people’s wellbeing. 

He will create innovative camera-based observation methods to assess wellbeing behaviours in urban environments and develop a novel theoretical framework to determine which environmental interventions are most effective in different urban contexts. 

These methods and theories will be applied to a real-world environmental intervention in 91ֱ��, which will be evaluated through a ‘natural experiment.’

This highly interdisciplinary project will deliver a step change in generating a robust evidence base for urban policies and practices that enhance population wellbeing and reduce inequalities.

The Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship is a highly competitive grant awarded annually by the Leverhulme Trust to support the work of emerging scholars. The fellowship provides 36 months of full-time research funding, including support for research expenses.

will conduct his research at The University of Manchester’s , under the mentorship of , starting in October 2024. 

Since completing his PhD in 2017, Jack has been based in the School of Health Sciences at The University of Manchester. He previously received a Wellcome Trust pump-priming fellowship in 2021. His work bridges public health, behavioural science, and urban research, with a focus on improving policy and decision-making for healthier cities.

Exploiting the improved internet access made possible by the Equiano undersea cable, this will be our first globally-accessible and multi-disciplinary research conference with a singular focus on St Helena.

We aim to bring together researchers and other key stakeholders based on the island; those who are based off-island but have done research on, or around, St Helena; or research that has been part of wider regional studies that includes St Helena and those who have an interest in finding out more about the research work undertaken to date in this fascinating, historically and environmentally significant location. 

Why get involved? 

This is an excellent opportunity for those who have conducted research on, or about, St Helena to network with others, and explore the impact of their work and its possible application. 

The event will be free to all attendees, and widely publicised on-island and to interested parties and organisations off-island including other British Overseas Territories; institutions, development and other NGOs with a particular interest in St Helena and small island states.

Themes

The conference will be organised around the following broad themes. Each will feature a keynote speaker and then a number of short (15-20 minute) presentations:

• Natural sciences, including ecology, earth sciences, biology (terrestrial and marine) and agriculture
  St Helena is internationally recognised as a biodiverse landscape of significant value. Yet it faces significant challenges in this regard, battling to sustain its endemic flora and fauna in the face of threats posed by invasive species and possible climate change. Energy, food and water security are also issues of crucial importance.
• Humanities, anthropological, historical, and archaeological studies
  The island’s colonial history, first under the East India Company, then under British Government rule, is a microcosm of the colonial experience, including its role in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave trade. 
• Contemporary social science, culture and economy
  Small island states face distinct economic and social challenges, including declining populations; how to integrate into digitally-driven 21st century economics and business practices; how to leverage new educational opportunities based around distance learning; and so on.
• Medical science, health and telemedicine
  St Helena has an ageing population, isolated from many medical resources: yet the improvements in communications also open up opportunities in telemedicine and research into the mental and physical health of small, rural communities.

Submissions that may cross different themes are encouraged. The themes are also open to revision: in the you can suggest an alternative theme.

Plenary discussion

A key outcome of the conference is to explore opportunities for interdisciplinary synergies that can create benefits for the sustainable economic and social development of the island. We seek to identify research needs and gaps, and produce a preliminary list of research priorities for St Helena. Each theme, and then the conference as a whole, will therefore conclude with a plenary discussion focused on this agenda.

Submission

Interested presenters, please submit a 250-word abstract using the before Monday, 16 September 2024. Presentations should be around 15 minutes long.

For more information

Contact Rebecca Cairns-Wicks on rebecca.cairns-wicks@sainthelena.edu.sh or Drew Whitworth on drew.whitworth@manchester.ac.uk, telephone +44 7501 963630.

The pilot competition was open to residents of five neighbourhoods across Greater 91ֱ��: First Choice Homes Oldham Eldon Street and Barker Street (Oldham); Angel Gardens (91ֱ��); Bentley House Estate (Hulme), and Middlewood Locks and New Maker Yards (Salford). Over 100 residents signed up to take part in the Challenge this summer, which aimed to get people greening up their balconies and window boxes in the hope of improving people’s connection to nature.  

The challenge was themed around five categories: 

• Celebrate cultural heritage;
• In the shade;
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle;
• Wild about Wildlife;
• Urban Farming.

People who signed up in April and May received freebies including seeds, peat-free compost, access to free workshops and socials and invaluable advice from the judges and National Trust gardeners along the way. Contestants shared their gardening journey with the National Trust in June, before a special panel of judges visited the homes of shortlisted entrants  to review their progress, and select the four winners, and four runners up. 

Residents were also offered the opportunity to take part in a study carried out by researchers in the Department of Geography at The University of Manchester (, Andy Speak, , and ) which aims to understand the impact of balcony greening on people’s health and wellbeing, and on nature. As well as surveying contestants before and after greening their balconies, the University offered some residents the chance to install air quality and temperature sensors on their balconies, to monitor the environmental impact of balcony greening.  

There were four top-prize winners: 

• Jo Magee in the ‘Celebrate Cultural Heritage’ category 
• Dean Jackson in the ‘In the Shade’ category  
• Lauren Sheasby in the ‘Urban Farming’ category and  
• Jack Selman in the ‘Wild about Wildlife’ category. 

Winners each received £200 of gardening goodies as donated by Blue Diamond Garden Centres and CJ Wildlife. 

Chloe Parker, customer of First Choice Homes Oldham, said: “Me and my 5 year old son Clayne joined the challenge as he loves nature and wanted to get involved, we’ve planted a number of seeds over 5/6 planters which are on our balcony wall. We’re both very new to this so there has been a lot of trial and error and we’ve realised nasturtiums and cornflower grows best in our space.” 

Not only has this pilot encouraged people to green up their balconies, there has been evidence that it has helped to improve mental health too.  One entrant commented:  “The workshops and socials helped me get started and motivated me to do it as I have had lots of health problems and I had lost the will to do it. I felt very tired at first but now I can spend an hour or so everyday day and I love sitting in my garden listening the birds or even just the wind blowing through the trees.” Another said; “It’s like a pocket of peace in a busy town centre, a little piece of the countryside.” 

The Sky Gardening Challenge was judged by gardening experts including Cloud Gardener, whose work featured in the RHS Urban Show; Victoria Holden, founder of Northern Lily, a social enterprise based in Oldham that promotes wildlife friendly gardening; Liz Dalby-Webb, Head Gardener at social enterprise Plant MCR; Kath Gavin, Sustainability Coordinator at Hulme Community Garden Centre; and Robyn Booth, National Trust gardener and author of balcony gardening book GROW.  

The UK’s new Labour government has set itself the bold target of in five years to deal with the critical shortage of housing.

To achieve this, it will have to deliver 50% more than the previous government managed over the same period.

Can it be done, and if so, what obstacles need to be overcome?

Labour has made it clear that reform of the planning system is an important element of plans to foster growth in the economy, and at the same time deal with issues that have been slowing down the pace of new development.

The party also made , including re-introducing local housing targets, recruiting more planners to local government, promoting social housing, prioritising brownfield sites and allowing development on so-called “grey belt” areas, such as wasteland or disused car parks, within the green belt, including a new generation of new towns.

This week’s king’s speech is expected to contain proposed legislation to enable these policies.

As planning and property professors at the University of Manchester we applaud the ambition to boost housing supply that has been lower than ; however, we urge caution about looking for quick wins by reducing planning powers and reforming planning in a rushed way.

For a start, this scale of development is pretty much unprecedented, so there are questions about whether it is achievable without recruiting many more skilled construction workers, building inspectors and local authority planners, as the government recognises.

Many infrastructure pinch points need to be resolved, too, not least upgrading the electricity grid, but also in transport and flood protection.

There are dangers, too, in giving the impression that large-scale proposals for new housing will automatically be looked favourably upon without adequate scrutiny around housing quality and neighbourhood design, flood-risk reduction and biodiversity.

New towns in particular must not be rushed. Instead, they need to be phased in over decades so they can grow organically rather than create townscapes that reflect a particular era of building styles.

While there is something to be said for releasing grey-belt land in the green belt, there is a danger that, if poorly devised, this proposal could create a perverse incentive for those farming productively in the green belt to allow their lands to convert to scrub so it can be sold off at higher prices.

The UK needs to build more houses quickly, but must address the known risks of future climate change. As we know from , increased temperatures, more extreme weather and rising sea levels will affect the how and where of house building in the UK. It will require choosing building materials and designs that withstand changing conditions, avoiding areas of heightened flood risk while using durable materials and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.

Poorly conceived reforms to bulldoze planning regulations in order to expedite new development, could result in poorly designed communities and poor-quality homes not fit to meet the UK’s net zero ambitions, passing on the costs to future generations, and specifically to home owners needing to .

Getting high-quality developments put forward in the first place should reduce public opposition and the need to engage in months of negotiating. Arguably then, more and better planning regulations are needed, not least to create high-quality, sustainable communities.

Building blocks needed first

For planning reforms to work well, other building blocks are needed first, such as expanding training for construction workers, building inspectors and planners. Reform of building regulations to address climate change, particularly energy performance in new buildings, is required as well as ensuring adequate water and sewerage infrastructure is in place, and improving electricity distribution networks.

The danger of not getting these building blocks in place early is that the scale of proposed house building will derail other policy goals, such as controlling inflation, reducing energy costs and achieving net zero targets.

For instance, if in the next two years, homes are built at the rapid pace as proposed, it might contribute to diverting skills from other growth sectors (such as vital retrofit work for heat pump or solar installation). It could also potentially fuel labour shortages and some regional and national wage inflation, mainly in the south-east where the gap between housing demand and supply is severe, and affordability are such serious issues.

While some increase in wages would be welcome after several years of stagnation, it is important to avoid returning to earlier periods of regional skill shortages and wage costs, especially now it is no longer possible to rely so much on attracting labour from EU countries.

Training enough new construction workers, re-training existing workers and attracting back those who have either left the labour market or moved into other sectors, will be key.

Finally, in creating new solutions to the under-delivery of new housing, it is important to acknowledge the value of public consultation on new plans and development proposals. So let’s focus first on getting the necessary building blocks in place and reform planning by making it efficient and better for all.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The Labour Party has won the UK general election in a landslide victory, marking the most significant change in government in over 14 years. This transition brings with it a welcome commitment to the wellbeing of children and young people (CYP), highlighted by several key aimed at addressing critical areas of concern. But the Labour Party will need more than a majority in the House of Commons to successfully deliver on these promises.   

As we look forward to how the new government will deliver its commitments to CYP’s wellbeing, the #BeeWell research team shares why large-scale, granular data will be instrumental in achieving a number of manifesto goals. Such data will enable government bodies and allied professional services to accurately pinpoint areas of need and understand both what is driving the decline in young people’s mental health and wellbeing in the UK and, crucially, which factors in their lives are most important for promoting wellbeing.  

Programmes like have emerged in response to , and are a way of understanding how young people feel about their wellbeing by surveying them directly. Co-created with young people, schools and education and mental health experts, the #BeeWell survey has been designed as a gold standard survey for the measurement of adolescent wellbeing across England. We publish results privately to schools and publicly by . Armed with bespoke data, schools, local government and health, and voluntary sector partners can prioritise actions in areas where the greatest improvements can be made. To date we have heard the voices of more than 85,000 young people aged 12-15 years from almost 300 secondary schools in , . Our mission is to see this approach implemented nationally by 2030. With large-scale, descriptive data such as this at their fingertips, incoming ministers would be in a strong position to deliver on promises made and improve the wellbeing of young people across the country. 

Commitment to youth mental health and future prospects 

Mental health difficulties are becoming more prevalent among young people. data shows that one in five young people have a probable mental disorder with certain groups disproportionately affected. There are clearly major hurdles to overcome in the wake of perpetual cuts to public health spending and the new government must prioritise resource allocation to the most disenfranchised groups in society if it is to have a meaningful impact. 

Specifically, Labour’s pledge should prioritise opportunities for gender and sexuality minoritised youth as these groups are consistently reported as the most in need. The showed that 45% of those identifying as bisexual or pansexual and 41% of those who are gay or lesbian experience high levels of emotional difficulties compared to just 12% of heterosexual young people. 22% of cisgender girls experience significant emotional difficulties compared to 6% of cisgender boys, rising to 34% of trans and gender diverse young people, and 21% for those questioning their gender identity. Responding to this issue and using #BeeWell insights, the Greater 91ֱ�� Health and Social Care Partnership established a youth-led commissioning pot dedicated to promoting activities to support the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth. In Hampshire, , a charity offering group-based support for LGBTQ+ children and young people, are collaborating with #BeeWell to support young people to interpret and contextualise the specific #BeeWell findings for LGBTQ+, and make recommendations to improve the wellbeing of gender and sexual minoritised groups in the surrounding area. More work is needed to address these inequalities across the country. 

There are concerns surrounding the uptake, awareness, availability, and effectiveness of current mental health support in schools. #BeeWell data showed that one in five young people in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton accessed mental health and wellbeing support at their school in 2023.  However, fewer than half of young people felt they could access support when needed; just over half understood how to access help, and only one in three found that help useful.  

The pledge to offer specialist support in every school is both commendable and, according to our data, necessary. We propose advancement of school-based service provision may best be achieved by: raising awareness of the support available; offering said support in a timely fashion and critically; ensuring that support is effective and appropriate for the needs of a diverse body of young people. In tandem, using #BeeWell as an example, we encourage greater surveillance of both mental health and help-seeking behaviours across all schools to monitor the extent to which support offered meets demand, and to track effectiveness when delivered. With insights gathered from their own pupils, mental health professionals in schools can more easily identify specific needs and create bespoke support strategies, in turn helping to ease the burden on vastly overstretched Children & Adolescent Mental Health Services. 

Enhancing community safety and wellbeing 

Beyond school, children and young people also spend a lot of time in their local community. Feeling safe and having good places to go in your local area can be crucial for wellbeing. Labour’s manifesto includes robust measures to enhance community safety and address antisocial behaviour by increasing neighbourhood police presence and implementing strategies to reduce knife crime. In 2023 the non-partisan indicating that over the past decade, incidences of knife crime increased by 170%.  

Whilst a harrowing statistic, and rightly a focus area for the new government, prevalence rates differ substantially across the UK. Some less affected neighbourhoods may be better served by improvements to other services and provision such as access to community facilities. Indeed, #BeeWell data shows that around , but only . An approach to improving community neighbourhoods needs to go beyond addressing crime and safety, and .   

The proposed network of youth hubs established through the could also play a crucial role in fostering a sense of belonging and community, addressing issues of loneliness, and providing safe places for young people to gather. If done well, this network could provide comprehensive support for mental health and future prospects in areas where it is most needed. In #BeeWell areas, local policy-makers can already compare statistics across 14 local authorities and 110 neighbourhoods in Greater 91ֱ�� and Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. Expanding this level of granularity across the UK could enable government to strategically locate hubs in the areas they may have the greatest impact. 

Promoting physical activity and access to sport

The manifesto’s emphasis on protecting time for physical education resonates strongly with #BeeWell’s findings. , making the need to encourage activity in youth apparent. Unfortunately, national statistics suggest in the UK, and that activity tends to decrease with age. Our data also depicts a widening gender gap (with boys more active than girls). Using these insights, GM Moving developed a youth-led campaign to support the mental wellbeing of girls who are less likely to take part in physical activity. Co-produced with 11-16-year-olds, hopes to show young people moving more is achievable, social, and a valuable tool for their mental wellbeing; with girls (cis and trans) and feminine presenting non-binary young people feeling inspired, represented, and supported. #BeeWell data also indicates that sports-based social-emotional learning programmes like . With this in mind, protecting time for PE and promoting participation in inclusive movement and sports led by trusted adults could make a real difference for young people experiencing lower wellbeing. 

Supporting creative education 

#BeeWell data shows a clear link between outcomes for young people, and some of our partners are already working with schools to explore how creative arts can be used to address locally specific wellbeing issues. But, the data also shows that those from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds are less likely to take part in these activities. By promoting creative hobbies such as singing, reading for pleasure, arts and crafts, or youth club organised activities, Labour’s policies could help foster a more holistic educational experience that enriches both mental and physical health, especially for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making 

Labour’s pledge to improve data sharing across services with a single unique identifier is a significant step towards more informed decision-making. This enables schools and local authorities to tailor their responses to the specific needs of their communities. , ensuring that support is targeted and effective. However, to really understand and improve young people’s wellbeing, we need to listen to their voices and what they tell us about factors that affect their lives. Educational settings are an ideal place to regularly and consistently measure the wellbeing of young people. By supporting schools to do this, the insights this type of data can provide are huge, both for schools that have bespoke data made readily available, as well as local government and civil society partners working in this area. This level of granularity would also support the Labour government to make informed decisions regarding the rollout and prioritisation of its manifesto pledges to deliver the greatest benefit for young people.

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Ofsted carried out an inspection in May 2024, through face-to-face meetings, online meetings and on-site visits to partner schools.  

The highlights ‘the provider’s vision for excellence, which encompasses values such as inclusion, tolerance, respect and social justice’ and how ‘trainees throughout the partnership are extremely well prepared to confidently begin their teaching careers’. 

takes great pride in the skilful practice and deep, principled commitment brought to the teacher education partnership by university staff and school-based mentors, and is delighted to see these qualities recognised by Ofsted in their most recent report.  

However, MIE has decided not to focus on the single-word judgement given by Ofsted, in recognition that the wellbeing of teachers and educators remains a critical issue, and is calling for fundamental change to the inspection process. 

MIE's Teacher Education and Professional Learning (TEPL) research and scholarship group designed the day around a core vision to provide a stimulating, supportive and inclusive environment. The diversity of research and scholarly activity was reflected through four central programme themes:

• Teaching and Assessment Practices 
• Teacher Education and Policy 
• Relationships between Students and Universities 
• AI and Other Technologies 

The conference began with a keynote address from Linda Evans, Professor of Education and Deputy Head of the School of Environment, Education and Development at The University of Manchester.  'Where next with research and scholarship in teacher education and professional learning? A critical agenda for augmenting the field’s knowledge base', set the tone for the day, and was followed by four parallel presentations which prompted lively, thought-provoking discussions and debates on the central themes.

The final plenary session was led by Dr Richard Holmes from the University of Dundee, who skilfully synthesised the key learning from the conference and provided an entertaining (and tongue-in-cheek) MIE political ‘manifesto’ in light of the upcoming general election.

Reflections from conference participants: 

With thanks

Special thanks to all the contributors on the day as well as Beatrice (Maud) Halstead’s excellent administrative and organisational efforts. Particular thanks and recognition goes to Professor Lisa Murtagh, Head of Manchester Institute of Education, who has been TEPL convener since the group's inception in 2022, and has steered many of the group's successes, with this her final TEPL activity in this capacity. 

The popular event, on the 5 June, co-designed by RTPI and PPEM welcomed national and local employers across real estate, planning, and environmental management sectors to The University of Manchester to talk with students on a one-to-one level. 

In contrast to more traditional career fair events, the afternoon took a more innovative and interactive approach to recruitment, with the speed networking format facilitating interaction between all attendees, on a ten minute rotation between tables. This encouraged students to consider additional career opportunities and employers to those that they might have expected. 

The approach was welcomed by students, with feedback on the day that the event was ‘a fresh approach to targeting students’, allowed ‘real engagement and interaction’, and ‘was fun’. Industry attendees were equally enthused, both by the format and by the calibre of students, with two offers of short-term placements secured immediately after the event, and valuable connections made for others. 

Following the success of this event, the second in a series, it is now hoped that similar events will be held in both the autumn and easter period of the 2024/2025 academic year. 

The department is grateful to Beverley Watson and Ben Teague of the RTPI for co-ordinating this event, alongside University colleagues Ushma Khadir, Bertie Dockerill, and Ian Mell.
 

The £1.7m award will fund an ambitious 5-year programme, led by Dr Saska Petrova, Professor in Human Geography at The University of Manchester. GENERATE aims to offer original insights into the social, spatial, and political inequalities that drive energy-related injustices, and the struggles linked to the growth of new low-carbon energy production in disadvantaged regions and communities. 

Supported by UK Research and Innovation via the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, GENERATE is a European Research Council Consolidator grant, and will involve research across six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) in Southeast Europe.  

The project will undertake in-depth case studies involving range of rural and urban locations that have experienced rapid investment in renewable energy and housing retrofits. The knowledge gained from this region will be extended and applied globally, through a series of collaborations with practitioner and academic organisations in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. 

The names 100 UK environmental professionals who have made the greatest impact in the past two years, with Professor Woodward one of the 10 academics identified as shaping the science on environmental issues.  

Through his work on microplastic pollution in 91ֱ��'s rivers, Jamie Woodward was one of the earliest academics to raise awareness about the issue of widespread discharges of untreated sewage into UK rivers and waterways. His research group demonstrated that the build-up of microplastics was directly linked to untreated sewage discharges outside periods of exceptional rainfall.  

Professor Woodward has since worked tirelessly to expose this sewage scandal, and engage policymakers across Parliament and local government, to ensure water companies are held to account for their illegal practices.  

He has appeared in documentaries, including Paul Whitehouse’s ‘ on the BBC, has been interviewed for both local and national TV and radio news and addressed attendees at the during a panel on sewage pollution. 

On Saturday, 8 June, Professor Woodward will talk at the Universally 91ֱ�� Festival, joined by Matt Staniek, founder of Save Windermere. The free event, ‘Exposing the sewage scandal’ will wade into a discussion on the why sewage is being dumped into our precious rivers, lakes and coastal waters, and the impacts on nature, wildlife and public health – and the link to microplastic pollution – and how we can all get involved to do something about it. 

Register for free tickets at  

The annual event celebrates undergraduate and postgraduate student volunteers at The University of Manchester for their skills, commitment and tens of thousands of volunteer hours given either here in 91ֱ��, or nationally or internationally. 

A judging panel of staff and partners from community organisations considered nominations for students who volunteer in the wider community,  students who volunteer to support other students and student groups.  

Thanks go to all our students who continue to make a difference through their volunteering activity, with congratulations to our award recipients: 

Award category: Students supporting other students

• Natalie Flinn - 2nd place. As President of UoM Tennis, Natalie has expanded inclusion, participation and community outreach through pioneering new offerings like paddel tennis and pickleball. She has also used their sport as a basis for a number of charity events, mobilising and motivating their members around meaningful causes.
• Anna Thulbeck - highly commended. Anna led the team who ran the School’s two-day PGR conference, she also organised an alumni event to support discussions on career options and lobbied for better support for overseas fieldwork.
• Rory Oscar Robinson - commended. Rory is President of The University of Manchester Sailing Club and has worked hard behind the scenes to rebuild the club post-pandemic, building a more integrated club that everyone feels part of.

Award category: Students supporting the wider community

• Luman Zhou - commended.  Luman supports the organisation, Eastern Blossoms 91ֱ��, to provide networking opportunities to students and professionals, provide support for international students to adapt to British culture, and to share Asian culture.

Additionally, the awards recognise student groups that are making a difference through volunteering, which are open to any University of Manchester students, this year's top awards went to The Chilean Society (1st place), The First Language Project (2nd place), and Student Angels (3rd place). You can find out more about Student Groups  and Societies on the . 

Videos on the 2024 winners can be found on the .

The Making a Difference Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our staff, students, alumni and external partners, and celebrate how they are making a difference. The School of Environment, Education and Development is always well represented at the awards, and this year received six wins, and two highly commended awards. Congratulations go to all those involved.  

Outstanding benefit to society through research - Winner

Gindo Tampubolon (Global Development Institute) and the SMARThealth team

The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMARThealth) intervention provides Indonesian health volunteers with resources to improve cardiovascular health in rural communities. With a third of adult deaths in Indonesia attributed to cardiovascular disease, SMARThealth provides vital preventative care in places with limited healthcare. This involved training village health volunteers to use the SMARThealth platform – operated via a mobile app and basic medical equipment – to assess villagers’ cardiovascular risk in real-time through the use of the SMARThealth platform and share results with qualified health professionals to prescribe treatment. The SMARThealth programme has since been adopted and scaled by the district of Malang, preventing 120,000 potential deaths by screening millions of residents.  

Outstanding benefit to society through research - Emerging impact winner

91ֱ�� Institute of Education’s Neil Humphrey and the #BeeWell team

#BeeWell is a programme that combines academic expertise with youth-led change to make the wellbeing of young people everybody’s business. The project annually surveys young people and uses the results, in collaboration with schools and partner organisations, to deliver positive change in all our communities. Over 180 schools across all 10 Greater 91ֱ�� local authorities have implemented the co-developed #BeeWell survey to systematically assess and monitor the domains and drivers of wellbeing of more than 60,000 pupils since 2021. Discover more at

Outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility - Winner

91ֱ�� Institute of Education's Andy Howes, Sian Morgan, Hannah Strickland, Rai Lock, Anna Warburg and Rosa Archer

The project hosts an annual green conference for student teachers, where multiple secondary PGCE subjects convene to host a day during which they address climate justice issues as well as include skills sessions to innovate the practice of student teachers entering the profession. The aims of the day are to develop student teachers’ understanding and confidence with climate justice issues. This annual conference has been established for four years and has been growing in scope each year. This year included alumni experts, who are now Early Career Teachers (ECTs), enacting their learning in schools and contributing to the development of future secondary school teachers in English, Geography, Maths and Science.   

Outstanding contribution to social and environmental impact through entrepreneurship - Highly commended

Ahmed Abdullah Saad Mohamed, Karim Habib and Salma Khaled

Educuality

Educuality is an innovative educational platform aiming to democratize learning by providing accessible and impactful peace education and environmental education through gamification. The project’s purpose is to foster social change and promote peace by educating young minds in the areas of peace and climate action. They aim to bridge societal gaps, especially focusing on rural areas, and to create a sustainable model for social change through education.

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Winner

Sarah Marie Hall, Liz Ackerley, Alison Briggs, Laura Fenton and Santiago Leyva del Rio (Geography) and Isis Barei-Guyot (Global Development Institute)

This project brings together academic and non-academic partners to develop knowledge and contribute to anti-poverty strategies in 91ֱ��, as well as to inspire other inclusive research engagement. Through sharing and learning with community groups, the project has built collectives, led innovative and engaging outputs, and contributed to policy development in tackling poverty, homelessness and intersecting crises. Their 2022 event ‘Sharing Untold Stories in Creative Ways’ brought together local organisations fighting austerity and poverty through collaboration and creativity, by providing listening spaces, engagement platforms, and opportunities for capacity-building. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Winner

Tess Hartland (PhD student in Sociology,  School of Social Sciences, co-supervised by the Global Development Institute’s Tanja Bastia)

As part of her PhD, Tess co-produced ‘Echoes of Displacement’, a captivating comic book narrating the collective story of people growing older while seeking sanctuary in the UK. The aim for this comic book is to increase understanding and awareness by communicating research beyond academia, authentically represent and amplify the voices of older refugees and foster community engagement. The comic has been used by international NGOs (e.g. Age Platform Europe) and local government (e.g. Age-friendly 91ֱ��) as best practice example for translating research and raising awareness of ageing experiences of marginalised groups. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: Local/civic engagement - Highly commended

91ֱ�� Institute of Education’s Kirstie Hartwell, Kelly Burgoyne, and Emma Pagnamenta, Vesna Stojanovik and Rebecca Baxter from the University of Reading

Working with Families to Co-Create Learning Materials for a Parent-Delivered Early Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome 

This project worked closely with six families to co-create learning materials, such as storybooks and activity packs, for a parent-delivered early language intervention programme specifically developed for children with Down Syndrome. The project represents critical initial steps in developing evidence-based intervention and highlights the benefits of working with families. 

Outstanding public engagement initiative: National/international engagement - Winner

Joanne Tippett (Department of Planning, Property and Environmental Management) and the RoundView Team  

Building on 15 years of the University’s research, this project provides a big-picture, positive framework for sustainability learning and communication. It builds confidence by helping people systematically assess solutions against the fundamental principles of environmental sustainability. Working with UNESCO UK and the National Trust, more than 133,500 people have engaged with the RoundView since 2022. These hands-on learning tools facilitate global engagement, reaching audiences from youth to professionals and local to global leaders, inspiring both knowledge and action towards sustainability. Learn more at

Find out more about the Making a Difference awards on our  

The University is committed to environmental sustainability goals as set out in the Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2023-2028. This includes driving efficiencies across our laboratory spaces, and one way we measure this is through the .  

Followed by 85 global institutions, LEAF is a standard established by UCL to improve the sustainability and efficiency of laboratories. Assessment is across five categories: waste, people, sample and chemical management, equipment and ventilation. Institutions can achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold certification depending on how many sustainability actions they take.  

“As a Geography lab, where much of our work is environmental study, we feel it’s important to lead by example in respect of efficiency and environmental impact” commented Jon Yarwood, Geography Laboratory Technician. “Through the audit we’ve worked through our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to see where we can improve our reduction, reuse and recycling of chemicals and equipment and tested methods where we felt it could be appropriate, and in turn we’ve found where we can improve efficiency of processes”.  

Sustainability has also been a key consideration for equipment choices and supplier selection in the Geography Lab, and environmentally conscious users also play an important role. “We’re fortunate to have very environmentally aware users who often discuss where they feel methods might feel particularly wasteful. They are very engaged with the lab induction and SOP training when it comes to good lab practice, such as in the use of fume hoods and waste disposal streams, and by asking questions about the possibility of re-use and recycling. Through these and interactions through the TEaM [Technical Excellence at 91ֱ��] network, we’ve also found ways we can improve”, said Jon.  

As local and regional councils struggle with inadequate infrastructure and unsustainable costs, New Zealand will be hearing a lot more about the potential solution offered by so-called “city deals”.

These deals are relatively long-term agreements between different levels of government (and sometimes other parties) about deciding, delivering and funding economic development and infrastructure initiatives within a defined local area.

Already, Wellington and Auckland councils are working towards regional deals with central government aimed at giving them more options for funding and managing their affairs. The National-led coalition is  a framework for city deals later this year.

National flagged its intention to implement city deals before last year’s election. Since then, ,  and  consulting firms, Infrastructure NZ and  have all been having their say on how these might work.

A  of New Zealand mayors and local government chiefs heard from Greater 91ֱ�� Mayor Andy Burnham about the UK’s first city deal over a decade ago. He extolled the virtues of a “place first” approach that involves and engages citizens more in the future of their cities.

In the UK, city deals signalled a shift away from a conventional one-size-fits-all model of regional development. Each deal is bespoke, reflecting local priorities. Beginning with Greater 91ֱ�� in 2011, there are now .

Australia has .

Their experiences suggest there are two general varieties of city deal. One revolves around mechanisms for funding infrastructure. The other goes further and involves devolving budgets and responsibilities from central government to newly created regional or city authorities.

City deals offer potential circuit-breakers for stalled and stagnant urban and regional progress, but New Zealand needs to take stock of the lessons being learned elsewhere.

Infrastructure deals

Infrastructure deals offer a co-operative mechanism for addressing deficits in local infrastructure. It’s a problem most wealthy countries are facing after decades of under-investment.

Filling the funding gap has been hindered by various factors: central government reluctance to borrow or tax more, short-term thinking based on electoral cycles, and different priorities within levels of government.

This has all primed politicians to look favourably on seemingly longer-term, co-operative ways to approach infrastructure development.

Australia has opted for infrastructure deals between federal and local governments. These have  for providing local governments with formal channels of engagement and extra funding from federal government.

But the deals have also been criticised for . Eight years in, it’s still hard to say whether Australian city deals have really improved infrastructure problems.

Devolution deals

UK city deals have involved devolving limited budgets and responsibility from central government to new sub-national governments, called combined authorities.

At a national level, right-leaning political parties have tended to take up the devolution agenda. But at the local level, politicians of all stripes want more autonomy in what is a highly centralised country.

Greater 91ֱ�� is the poster child of devolution deals, with its Mayoral Combined Authority seen as a model for others. It retains 100% of its business rates tax revenue, has developed an active travel strategy, re-municipalised the regional bus system, and improved health and social care.

This “” deal was extended in 2023. But “devo deals”, as they are known, have been criticised for their  (they’re negotiated in private, with no public consultation) and the absence of any attached statutory powers.

For instance, Greater 91ֱ�� has yet to gain approval for a spatial plan, which is key to setting the context and tone for economic and social development across ten local authorities. House building in the region has stalled as a result.

The art of the deal

City deals have become popular, in part, for politically symbolic reasons. Put simply, making a deal sounds sexier than “arranging a long-term inter-governmental agreement”.

Maybe not surprisingly, governments that favour city deals have been on the right of the political spectrum, with strong affinities to business. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and current New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon also came to politics after corporate careers. City deals align neatly with their public images.

Beyond the symbolism, though, the experiences of Australia and the UK suggest such deals are not in themselves a quick fix for governing cities.

Negotiations often involve little or no reference to an overarching strategy, which can compound social inequalities and lead to unco-ordinated patchworks of projects. Governance has also tended to be opaque, risking the perception they are really “city back-room deals”.

They also call for capacity building in local government, which requires time and resources. UK central government demanded the establishment of a new level of administration – the mayoral combined authority – to oversee delivery of deals.

This entails significant bureaucratic and political manoeuvring. Yet even the largest and best-resourced local government bodies in Australia and New Zealand struggle to mobilise the bureaucratic power and expertise they need, routinely outsourcing to the private sector.

None of these challenges are impossible to overcome. But with city deals set to expand into New Zealand, there is room to refine the art of the deal itself.

This article is republished from  under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

Around 130,000 of the 800,000 sphagnum moss plug plants needed for the restoration have been planted in the first phase of the project. The sphagnum moss will help to create healthier blanket bog, protect the area’s precious peat and slow the flow of rainwater across the landscape.

Once the newly planted sphagnum moss plugs have established, they will act as 'speed-bumps' for rainwater falling on the moors, forcing it to weave its way slowly down the moorland slopes instead of running in a straight line, thereby helping to alleviate flooding in nearby local towns and villages including Glossop, Whaley Bridge and Edale, which have previously been at high risk.

Over time, the sphagnum moss will also help create the right conditions for peat to actively form, allowing the site to better lock up carbon and provide unique habitats for wildlife.

The latest restoration project builds on insights gained from previous restoration work and a study carried out by and The University of Manchester as part of MoorLIFE 2020, published last year.

In this study, data collected from an outdoor laboratory on Kinder Scout National Nature Reserve was used as part of the study to assess the impact of earlier phases of peatland restoration in the area. It found that once sphagnum moss has grown, water takes over two hours longer to wend its way off the moors, compared to when rain falls on bare peat.

Sphagnum moss achieves this because it creates a rougher, more textured surface which slows the flow of water and delays rainwater arriving in streams and rivers all at once and from one direction. This helps to reduce the peak of flow.

Planting sphagnum moss, along with other peatland restoration techniques, also helps to improve water quality by filtering out the peat sediment before it reaches reservoirs.

The restoration work will also create the sufficiently wet conditions for a mix of moorland plants like heather, bilberry, and cotton grass to grow. It will help to protect the landscape for future generations at the same time as creating homes for wildlife like dragonflies, golden plover, frogs and lizards.

The first stage of this new stage of restoration of the Peak District’s peatlands has been made possible thanks to a first part of a grand total of £1.86m of funding from Natural England’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) as well as a portion of the £400,000 the National Trust have allocated to carry out the restoration works on Kinder Scout.

Peatlands across the country are in dire need of restoration to repair damage caused by centuries of pollution and land management which has destroyed vegetation and led to bare and eroding peat. In a damaged state, peat releases carbon into the atmosphere, turning from a fantastic carbon sink into a terrible carbon source.

However, as evidenced by the research projects The University of Manchester and Moors for the Future Partnership, previous restoration projects at Kinder Scout have shown that it is possible to set the peatlands onto a road to recovery.

The work on the National Nature Reserve (NNR) at Kinder Scout is the latest part of the National Trust’s ongoing work to restore blanket bog across the Peak District.

To prevent disruption of the area’s ground nesting bird populations during their critical breeding season, works are now paused from April until August, at which point the sphagnum moss planting will resume, accompanied by the building of dams in gullies and the distribution of heather brash, lime, seed and fertiliser, which will stabilise bare peat by temporarily lowering its acidity and create the right conditions for moorland plants to grow.

The later stage of the project will also see the restoration of many of the NNR’s footpaths, working to reduce erosion as well as ensuring people can continue to enjoy Kinder Scout at its best and immerse themselves in its rich history as the site of the historic mass trespass events which led to the formation of the National Parks in the early twentieth century.

The project is expected to be completed in 2025. To find out more visit:

is the leading advocacy program in the world, recognising professional excellence in the research and practice of designing healthy built environments. 

Ghaydaa Hemaidah received the International Research Project award, an accolade recognising her doctoral work entitled ‘Towards Healing Environments in Healthcare Facilities: A Tool for Assessing Supportive Environments’, which centred on the creation of a tool for evaluating the extent to which healthcare buildings support patients’ psychosocial well-being. 

The evaluation tool, which has been tested and validated through case studies as part of a rigorous evidence-mapping process, allows assessors to understand which aspects of a healthcare environment are well designed to support patients’ psychosocial well-being, and which aspects are not. 

It will benefit healthcare practitioners by helping to identify the potential impact of the built environment; and be valuable to estates departments, architects, and interior designers when designing new and remodelling existing buildings. It also offers opportunities for future research, especially in identifying trends in good and bad practice in hospital design.

The awards ceremony took place at the 13th Design & Health World Congress in Milan, Italy, attended by Dr Alan Lewis, Head of Architecture at The University of Manchester, who supervised Ghaydaa’s PhD.