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This University of Leeds press release highlights a new regional research partnership which will provide evidence for vital decision-making in the Yorkshire and Humber region to deliver on climate change, inequalities and data gaps.
Buildings on the bank of the River Ouse in York.
Photo: Jeffrey Zhang / Unsplash
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced a £5m grant for the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP), a research project led by the University of Leeds that will coordinate initiatives, evidence and learnings to help reduce inequalities and address climate change in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Working with 12 Yorkshire Universities and all Yorkshire and Humber Councils, YPIP is rooted in a commitment to empowering communities, by researching ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ people.
The YPIP initiative will be delivered through three work packages, and the SEI York researchers involved will concentrate on the third work package ‘Sustainable Living in a Greener Economy’, which focuses on the challenges of cutting carbon emissions across the region. It will be co-led by the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission. Steve Cinderby and Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna will be leading SEI York’s contributions.
There are three priority actions for this work package:
We are creating a research ecosystem that brings the expertise and insights of communities, civic bodies and businesses together with the research excellence of the Universities of Yorkshire.
Kersten England CBE, Co-Director of YPIP bid and Chair of Bradford 2025
At its heart will be the YPIP community panel – comprised of 12 members with diverse experiences of disadvantage, marginalisation or isolation – who will have their voices heard by key policymakers and researchers in the region.
Professor Gary Dymski from Leeds University Business School is leading the project with co-director Kersten England CBE, who is heading up Bradford City of Culture 2025 after stepping down as chief executive of Bradford Council last year.
Professor Dymski said: “YPIP will use innovative approaches to empower low-income, marginalised and isolated communities confronting the challenges posed by climate change, widening inequality and left-behind places in Yorkshire and the Humber. It will connect the expertise of the region’s 12 universities with the efforts of its residents, councils, and businesses to create a more inclusive and sustainable society.
“It will extend the reach and impact of the collaborative regional infrastructure put in place by Yorkshire Universities, the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement Research Network (Y-PERN), the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, and the Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaborative, along with these initiatives’ many partners.”
Kersten England CBE, Co-Director of the Yorkshire LPIP bid, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that our bid has been successful. It’s ambitious, innovative and radical. We are creating a research ecosystem that brings the expertise and insights of communities, civic bodies and businesses together with the research excellence of the Universities of Yorkshire.
“Together we will tackle some of the most pressing issues we face not only as a region but as a nation – the creation of inclusive growth, delivery of a just transition to net zero and the role of confident resilient communities at the heart of these agendas.”
YPIP’s key aims to address these problems include:
We are creating a research ecosystem that brings the expertise and insights of communities, civic bodies and businesses together with the research excellence of the Universities of Yorkshire.
Professor Gary Dymski, Leeds University Business School
YPIP began with a first phase of community consultation, and thanks to collaborative efforts with the Leeds Social Sciences Institute in the funding bid, was the only English partnership to win funding from UKRI for a second phase.
The grant is part of a wider initiative of Local Policy Innovation Partnerships (LPIP), with three further LPIPs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Part of UKRI’s work to create opportunities and improve outcomes across the UK, LPIPs will bring together devolved governments, local authorities, businesses and communities to harness the power of research and innovation in addressing local challenges.
Professor Alison Park, Head of UKRI’s creating opportunities, improving outcomes theme, said: “Local Policy Innovation Partnerships demonstrate UKRI’s commitment to bringing together a diverse range of partners, from local and devolved government, communities and businesses. Through these long-term collaborations, we will accelerate the use of research and innovation to reduce regional inequalities and drive sustainable, inclusive growth.”
Professor Karen Bryan OBE, Chair of Yorkshire Universities, said: “This is a brilliant example of Yorkshire Universities’ core mission to promote and use research and evidence that relates directly to the issues that matter to communities, businesses and policymakers in the region.”
For further information about the Local Policy Innovation Partnerships, visit the UK Research and Innovation website.
Ulrika Lamberth, Senior Press Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute, [email protected]
Mia Saunders, University of Leeds press office, [email protected]
Chris Dibsdall, Senior Media and Communications Manager at UKRI, [email protected]
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