I am part of a project with a group of women who are thinking through our research methods and how they can help create change. This has been a really useful exercise for me, as my methods are often so intertwined with my research that taking them apart can be difficult. I’ve created a short video where I talk through my approach. This was part of a Festival of Social Sciences Methods for change event held by Manchester University and Aspect. The event was not recorded, but I am making my short presentation available here.
APPG Hearings on Loneliness and Isolation–Oral evidence
In August of 2020, I was invited to provide oral evidence to an All Party Parliamentary Group hearing. The focus of the group is to address issues of loneliness and isolation, an issue that has become more pronounced during the COVID crisis.
The APPG’s independent inquiry seeks to:
- Hold government to account and secure a renewed cross-Government commitment to tackling loneliness and its underlying causes
- Build on progress made to date, by recommending tangible and ambitious next steps for government, at the end of the inquiry in December 202
- Explore solutions to crucial but complex policy areas identified by the Loneliness Action Group as outlined within the Shadow report, A connected Society? which assesses progress in tackling loneliness
I participated in the hearing on funding. My contribution starts at about minute 33.
Beanstalk Global Podcast for Healthy and Sustainable Food
Last week I participated in a webinar for a group of people who are concerned about healthy and sustainable food. The podcast focused on food insecurity. Participants in the webinar included Barbara Bray, Mark Driscoll and Jacqui Green, who have founded the group, as well as Tom Amery, MD of The Watercress Company and Ben Thomas, Environment Manager from Waitrose & Partners, and me.
You can watch the facebook live recording of the webinar below, but it was also broadcast live on Linked In and will be available from the Beanstalk Global web page soon. There is a bit of natter at the start of the broadcast which is not really related to the webinar, which starts at about 2 minutes in.
How some food businesses in Sheffield coped and adapted during the March-May COVID lockdown
In the spring and summer of 2020 I interviewed some of Sheffield’s local food businesses to see how they coped in lockdown. What I found was agility and inventiveness and collaboration, but also care for the food that is provided, for the people who eat that food, and for the local place. What is clear from these interviews, when taken together, is that in emergency situations we need a local supply chain with people working in the food sector that are embedded in the community if we are going to strengthen and build resilience.
In this post I share the video interviews with Our Cow Molly, a local dairy producer, Food Works a social enterprise that works with surplus food, and Regather Coop.
You can find all three video interviews on the University of Sheffield Institute for Sustainable Food here.
GeoFoodie 
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