Announcing the 9 successful Flex Fund projects
Published on 25 July 2023
We are delighted to announce the winners of ACCESS Flex Fund Round 1. We had over 60 applications from universities and research networks from all over the UK. After a rigorous review, we selected nine projects that all met our key aims around innovation, making the social sciences more visible and having an impact on today’s climate and environment crisis, and which take forward our guiding principles of co-production, sustainability and equality, diversity and inclusion. Projects will share the £250,000 fund and run from September 2023 for 9 to 12 months.
Patrick Devine-Wright, ACCESS Director “The nine projects are all very varied and demonstrate how widely social sciences can be applied to different areas of work, but all with a single goal to improve environmental decision making and practice.
We were very impressed with the high calibre of applications. It was great to see some important collaborations between universities and public sector organisations as well as thought given to making projects inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
We are pleased to be funding projects that give more visibility to minority groups in the UK; understanding how British Muslims engage in environmental action and their experience; and funding for engaging Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) in designing a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable approach to conservation.
Other successful awardees will be looking at other marginalised communities; water scarcity in rural Scotland, energy demand in racialised communities in cities, and engaging under-privileged groups in nature renewal.”