Local solution to a global problem: community wealth building and climate action – Free live event at Queen’s…

team spirit, teamwork, community

What are the opportunities for local government and communities to address the climate crisis, deliver effective climate action in ways that secure jobs, reduce inequality and shift our economies beyond ‘business as usual’? One answer is community wealth building, a new model for local economic development that creates a more democratic and just economy, and also delivers substantive returns on achieving decarbonisation targets and climate adaptation. Evidence from Preston and North Ayrshire in the UK shows that community wealth building …

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What does behavioural science have to do with safe water interventions?

Over half of the world’s population lack safely managed sanitation services, while at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces (WHO, 2017). This causes diarrhoeal disease which is responsible for the death of around half a million children under the age of 5 each year (WHO, 2017). Without the adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions in place, risks of contamination are everywhere, and practices that pose a risk to health become highly prevalent. Examples …

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Book your free tickets for a 2020 ESRC Virtual Festival of Social Science…

This year, the Festival will be completely virtual so you can join in wherever you are. Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University have come together to produce an exciting virtual programme of talks, screenings and workshops that showcase the range and quality of social science-based research carried out by our academics – everything from fake news to streaming and Brexit to the Covid lockdown. The annual Festival of Social Science offers a fascinating insight into our social science research and …

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ESRC Festival of Social Science: from business to Brexit and migration to the menopause

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science in Northern Ireland is back for another year and runs from 3-10 November. Organised jointly by the three universities in Northern Ireland – The Open University, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University – this festival aims to open up leading research to new audiences, bringing social science into the public domain, and showing how it influences our social, economic and political lives both now and in the future. This year’s programme …

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SOAPBOX: Can the economy be Irish? #ESRCfestival

SOAPBOX – The OU’s Dr Leslie Budd recalls economist George Shackle’s observation that to be an economist one has to be an anthropologist, political scientist, mathematician, philosopher, and sociologist with an interest in economics. It is these characteristics that are vital in creating a narrative and conversation about Brexit. Irish storytelling could help address the challenge facing us.