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NEW RESEARCH CENTRE TO INFORM UK HOUSING POLICY ESRC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have announced the launch of the new UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE). Housing has a considerable impact
on our society and economy. Almost one in 10 British jobs are in the housing sector, and more than a fifth of household spending goes on rent, mortgage payments, home repairs, maintenance and improvements. The availability, cost and design of housing affects people’s aspirations, health and wellbeing, and even their children’s education. Failure of housing markets can lead to wider economic problems, as well as poverty and homelessness. The new national research centre,
which will be independent from government and other interests, is a collaboration between nine UK Universities and four non-HEI
£8.6 MILLION UK RESEARCH PROGRAMME ON GREENHOUSE GAS REMOVAL The UK is committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Alongside significant emission reductions, large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere could considerably increase the likelihood of achieving this goal. Researchers know there are ways to approach this challenge but questions remain around feasibility, as well impacts on society and public attitudes. To help answer these questions, the £8.6-million research programme will evaluate the potential and wider implications of a variety of options. For example, researchers will investigate the potential for increasing carbon storage in agricultural soil and forests, and new ways to remove methane gas from the air on a local scale. Other researchers will look into using waste materials from mining as a greenhouse gas removal technique, and explore
organisations and will have staff located at five hubs across the UK in Glasgow, Sheffield, London, Cardiff and Belfast. CaCHE will be led by the University of Glasgow. CaCHE will advance knowledge of the housing market, provide robust evidence to inform housing policy and practice across the UK, and will join together a comprehensive range of stakeholders with the goal of tackling housing problems at a national, devolved, regional, and local level. The five-year centre will launch
on 1 August 2017 and will receive £6 million of funding from the ESRC, with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the AHRC. A further £1.5 million of funding will come from the consortium itself. The work of the centre will focus
on six overlapping themes: n
n Housing and the economy
Understanding housing markets: demand and need, supply and delivery
how bioenergy crops could be used in power stations in combination with carbon capture and storage methods. Recognising that the UK alone cannot solve these problems, the research will address the political, socio-economic, technological and environmental issues concerning the potential for greenhouse gas removal on a global scale. The programme is jointly funded
by the ESRC, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Met Office and the Science and Technology Facilities Council are providing in-kind support. Four interdisciplinary, multi-
institute consortium and seven topic- specific projects have been awarded funding. Around 100 researchers from 40 UK universities and partner organisations will be involved, as well as seven research studentships, providing PhD training. n For more information see:
gotw.nerc.ac.uk/ list_them.asp?them=Greenhouse+Gas+Remo val&cookieConsent=A
NEW BREXIT RESEARCH The ESRC is funding 25 new research projects focusing on the process and consequences of the UK leaving the European Union. The research covers a wide range of issues including the public’s Brexit preferences, the impact of Brexit on stability and peace in Northern Ireland, to its effect on trade, agriculture, migration, and the lives of expats and European families living in Britain. The projects range from nine to 18 months and are funded as part of the ESRC’s UK in a Changing Europe initiative. Anand Menon, Professor of
European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London and Director of the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative said: “These new additions will reinforce the ability of UK in a Changing Europe to respond to the high demand for accurate, research- based information from politicians, civil servants, journalists, businesses, civil society and the public at this crucial moment for the UK.” n For more information see:
ukandeu.ac.uk
SUMMER 2017 SOCIETY NOW 29 n n n
Housing aspirations, choices and outcomes
Housing, poverty, health, education and employment
Housing and neighbourhood design, sustainability and place- making
n
Multi-level governance. Professor Jane Elliott, ESRC CEO
said: “This Centre draws together internationally renowned experts across a diverse range of fields. It will serve as a vital national institution, and provide a leading voice in the UK on housing issues.” n
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