24 March Programme

Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre

Plenary 

• Julia Black (British Academy, Nuffield Foundation)
• Will Hutton (Academy of Social Sciences)
• James Canton (ESRC)
• Jonathan Michie (University of Oxford)
• Molly Morgan Jones (British Academy)

With local, national and global shifts from political transition to the funding landscape and beyond, this session will explore where the social sciences are at today and the dominant forces reshaping the sector. Hear from University leaders, funders, and researchers as they discuss their respective experiences and reflections in the social sciences and explore the possibilities and opportunities in research for the future during a time of instability and uncertainty.  

Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre

Deep Dive

• Ed Turner (Aston University)
• Christopher Bannister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
• Nicolas Wright (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
• Katja Ziegler (University of Leicester)

This session will bring together expert speakers with different backgrounds: leading analysts from the Europe Research Group in the FCDO, a Politics academic with particular expertise in Germany, and a European Law scholar.  The latter two both have extensive experience of working with the FCDO, while the former two, while now civil servants, have backgrounds in academia. The session will take the format of a deep-dive discussion addressing questions such as:

• How can academics with particular area or subject expertise best support the work of the FCDO and other government departments?
• What is the best way to ensure academic research can have real traction?  What are the particular "do;s and don't's"?
• How can scholars get the maximum benefit from their engagement with diplomats and civil servants?

Tsuzuki Lecture Theatre

Panel Session

• Tamsin Varney (University of Cambridge)
• Tina Basi (University of Cambridge)
• Ben Earley (University of Cambridge)
• Lucy Sheerman (University of Cambridge

This interactive panel explores how SHAPE teams can begin to shift from time-bound, project-based impact models to dynamic, pipeline-oriented approaches that can also reflect the realities of academic labour. Drawing on three distinct perspectives, we will unpack the competing agendas that shape impact: 

• Focus on commercialisation and accelerators by government funders
• Reward of evidenced outcomes through REF
• Increasing demands for place-based projects addressing unmet needs
• Internal university pressures for 4* publications and teaching excellence
• Disciplinary demands for originality and innovation

Through the discussion of three case studies, we will explore the challenges of competing timelines (e.g. VC cycles/tenures, researcher contracts, REF submission dates) and fragmented funding landscapes, and siloed mindsets. These case studies and connected provocations will also invite consideration of how to facilitate fast failure, identify inflection points, and build flexible, collaborative infrastructures that enable long-term impact. 

The session will challenge participants to rethink how impact is supported, measured, and sustained across diverse contexts.

Seminar Room 7

Deep Dive

• Catalin Brylla (Bournemouth University)
• Anica Zeyen (Royal Holloway College, University of London)

Blind and visually impaired (BVI) communities face persistent exclusion shaped by stigma, inaccessibility and socio-economic inequality. Although digital platforms promise inclusion, their visual orientation often marginalises BVI users. Meaningful inclusion requires not only access but opportunities to create media, build peer networks and develop counter-narratives—yet sustained training in creative production remains limited.

Media Engagement for Wellbeing in the Blind and Visually Impaired Community (British Academy, 2024–25) piloted 12 inclusive media workshops in London and Dorset. Developed by an interdisciplinary team and co-delivered with BVI tutors and partner organisations, the project combined technical training, peer support and leadership development. Findings highlight the value of ability-based, community-driven frameworks for empowerment, accessibility and social change.

Seminar Room 8

Presentations and Discussion

• Kay Aaronricks (Anglia Ruskin University)
• Dayna Brackley (NGO / Third Sector)
• Shelly Coe (Oxford Brookes)
• Emily Fallon (Essex County Council)
• Alexandra Halbish Rayner (Imperial College, University of London)

This session brings together three projects that demonstrate how inclusive, creative and community-engaged approaches can generate meaningful impact in health and nutrition research. Through examples ranging from immersive, game-based engagement to school-based co-created interventions and community-centred research partnerships, the session highlights how creativity, ethical collaboration and responsiveness to local contexts can strengthen both evidence and impact. Participants will gain practical insight into designing inclusive engagement, working effectively with diverse stakeholders, and developing impact pathways that are adaptable, scalable and rooted in real-world needs.

Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre

Panel

• Anastasia Badder (University of Cambridge)
• Ms Lauryn Duncan-Rouse (University of Plymouth)
• Denise Baden (University of Southampton)
• Mahreen Khan (University of Oxford)
• Ana Maria Marin Morales (University of Oxford)
• Sabina Alkire (University of Oxford)

This panel examines how social science research contributes to climate action by engaging values, behaviour, institutions and evidence. Drawing on projects spanning interfaith collaboration, creative public engagement, green employment pathways and multidimensional poverty analysis, the session explores how climate responses are shaped by belief systems, communication strategies, labour markets and policy design. Speakers will share experiences of cross-sector collaboration, evidence generation and stakeholder engagement across diverse geographical contexts. The session highlights challenges and opportunities for social sciences in supporting inclusive, context-sensitive climate responses that address both environmental risk and social inequality.

Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre

Panel

• Isabel Ruiz (University of Oxford)
• Marie Godin (University of Leicester)
• Lorraine Charles (Na'amal, Cambridge)
• Xia Shuting (Na'amal, Cambridge)
• Carlos Vargas-Silva (University of Oxford)
• Mrs Amy Fallon (UNHCR, Nairobi, Kenya)
• Vestine Ihimbaswe (Vestine Leila Network, Nairobi, Kenya)

Digital refugee livelihoods include digital skills training, platform-based work, local digital employment and small-scale entrepreneurship. These initiatives are increasingly promoted as pathways to refugee economic inclusion. In Kenya, recent reforms have shifted policy from encampment towards a settlement-based approach recognising refugees’ rights to work, movement and property, creating a more enabling regulatory environment.

However, evidence shows that systemic barriers often outweigh individual factors, such as skills or motivation, with gendered disparities across camp and urban contexts. “Skills-first” approaches alone are insufficient; broader structural challenges—such as weak digital infrastructure, restrictive legal frameworks, exclusionary platform design and persistent gender inequalities—must be addressed.

This panel brings together scholars, practitioners and humanitarian actors to examine how displaced communities engage with the digital economy under constraint, and what measures are needed to build more equitable digital ecosystems.

Seminar Room 7

Presentations & Discussion

• Irene Del Poz (Oxtentia)
• Shukru Esmene (University of Exeter)
• Amy Heaps (Ulster University)
• Penny Chaidali (Cardiff University)
• Helen Kerr (WOMEN'STEC)

Social science research, when rooted in civic engagement and sustained local relationships, can contribute to more inclusive and resilient local economies. Bringing together three projects working across different geographical and institutional contexts, this session highlights how universities, policymakers, employers and communities can collaborate to address barriers to fair and inclusive economic development, social change, and employment. Through case studies of social innovation ecosystems, place-based employment partnerships, and policy innovation, speakers will reflect on how trust, co-design and behavioural insight shape effective local action.

Seminar Room 8

Workshop

• Aileen Marshall-Brown (University of Oxford)
• Juliet Scott-Barrett (University of Oxford)

What support, skills development and knowledge do you need to act responsibly in challenging and uncertain times? 

The Responsible Knowledge Exchange, Engagement and Impact (RKEEI) Framework and Principles describes 6 intersecting principles of responsibility and their implications for practice. This interactive workshop will use scenarios to support participants to familiarise themselves with the framework and to think through the knowledge and skills they need to become truly responsible, resilient and impactful practitioners through trying times.  

Participants will be empowered to frame challenges in new ways and to find solutions through reflection, learning and practicing RKEEI skills. 

Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre

Presentations & Discussion

• Evangelia Varoutsa (Cardiff University)
• Sander Wagner (University of Oxford)
• Charles Rahal (University of Oxford)
• Jonathan Davies (University of Oxford)
• Jessica Reedy (University of Oxford)

How impact is measured, evidenced and communicated across higher education, public services and the voluntary sector? Through examples ranging from government-commissioned evaluations and sector-wide impact research to the use of large language models to analyse REF impact case studies, speakers will reflect on how evidence can be made accessible, credible and useful in real-world settings. Participants will gain insight into emerging approaches to impact evaluation, the limits of existing frameworks, and how impact practices can better support decision-making across policy, practice and research.

Tsuzuki Lecture Theatre

Panel Session

• Aileen Marshall-Brown (University of Oxford)
• Noora Kanfash (University of Oxford)
• Chris Hewson (University of Huddersfield)

Seminar Room 7

Presentations and Discussion

• Maria Adams (University of Surrey)
• Georgia Bowers (University of Surrey)
• Nigel Fancourt (University of Oxford)
• Jon Garland (University of Surrey)
• Andrew King (University of Surrey)
• Wonyong Park (University of Southampton)

Participatory research and co-production can be effective approaches to generating meaningful impact in complex and sensitive contexts. Drawing on projects in women’s prisons, LGBTQ+ housing and care, and work with the Grenfell Tower community on education for social justice, speakers will reflect on how communities, researchers and practitioners collaborate throughout the research process. The session explores creative and participatory methods, long-term partnership building, and the challenges of sharing power and sustaining engagement. Insights will be shared into how participatory approaches can generate impact that is inclusive, justice-oriented and responsive to lived experience, while also reshaping research practice itself.

Seminar Room 8

Workshop

• Galina Goncharenko (Aston University)
• Bethan Jinkinson (BBC Ideas)
• Ewa Headley (BBC Ideas)
• Cordelia Hebblethwaite (BBC Ideas)