Seven new social sciences projects awarded funding to support UN Sustainable Development Goals

10 August 2026

Seven new social sciences projects from across the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University have been competitively awarded £95,000 to pursue knowledge exchange activities with national and international non-academic partners working towards the  UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Image

The research projects will explore a wide range of themes including as belonging and welcoming; collaborative evaluation, inclusive impact, and participatory decision-making; projects will also delve into early language environments as well as addressing workplace sustainability, gender equality and decent work through innovative knowledge exchange activities with partners from across the globe. 

Between them all, they aim to address no fewer than six global goals as laid out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The 17 SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

The projects were selected from a highly competitive field of applicants to the SDG Impact Fund from the University of Oxford's ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, which offers researchers opportunities for creative and responsible engagement with non-academic partners.  

Congratulations to all our award winners! 

UN Sustainable Development Goal	Project details
Image	Capacity for Welcoming in English Towns and Cities   Jacqueline Broadhead and Dr Melissa Weihmayer (COMPAS, School of Anthropology)
Image Image	Developing a Flexible Collaborative Evaluation Framework for Health, Nature and Place-Based Interventions  Prof Yadvinder Mahli and Dr Wenjing Zhang (School of Geography and the Environment), Dr Jamie Sims (School of Sport, Nutrition and Allied Health Professions, Oxford Brookes University)
Image	Belonging in Education Research Network Teresa Williams and Dr Ian Thompson (Department of Education)
Image	Just Futures of Education: community dialogues, inclusive impact  Prof Arathi Sriprakash, Claire Neaves, Dr Alice Willatt, Dr Annabel Wilson, Dr Vivian Latinwo-Olajide (Department of Education)
Image	Promoting inclusive institutions and participatory decision-making through realising the 'right to diplomacy' Prof Fiona McConnell, (School of Geography and the Environment) and Dr Yolanda Spies (Oxford Lifelong Learning)
Image	From Childcare to Opportunity: Strengthening Early Language Environments in Vulnerable Communities    Dr Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez (School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University), Dr Sandra Mathers (Department of Education)
Image	From Childcare to Opportunity: Strengthening Early Language Environments in Vulnerable Sustainability, gender equality and decent work in the UK Private Security Industry   Dr Birgit den Outer (Oxford Brookes Business School), Prof Charoula Tzanakou (Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice, Oxford Brookes University), Prof Michael Lister (Centre for Global Politics, Economy and Society, Oxford Brookes University)

The SDG Impact Fund has run for three years, during which more than £265,000 has been awarded to support key projects addressing no less than eight UN Sustainable Development Goals, across a wide spectrum of disciplines at both Oxford Brookes University and the University of Oxford. 

Click on the image below to learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Image