In 2021, CAST launched a competitive open Impact Fund which makes small pots of money available for practitioners, communities, or organisations who want to work closely with CAST researchers to co-develop and deliver low-carbon transformative initiatives.
The CAST Impact Fund is now closed and all the money has been allocated; it will not reopen.
Proposals that were eligible for the fund aim to decarbonise diet, transport and mobility, heating/cooling, and/or material consumption using a social/behavioural approach that sees people as agents of change. Interventions focus on creating change at household, community, and/or organisational levels.
15 projects have been funded, and they are:
▪ Connecting Chorlton Climate Action Partnership to strengthen climate action in cities. Led by Dr Angela Mae Minas and Dr Sarah Mander, University of Manchester.
▪ Creating a Stakeholder Toolkit for Building Engagement with Climate Change in the context of Covid-19. Led by Dr Chris Shaw, Climate Outreach.
▪ Co-production of an assessment toolkit to embed assessment of carbon and co-benefits in decision-making. Led by Dr Chris Jones, Tyndall Centre, University of Manchester.
▪ Developing practical resources for transformative citizens’ assemblies on climate change. Led by Dr Stuart Capstick, Cardiff University. For more information on this topic, read our CAST report.
▪ Co-developing a net zero behaviour change strategy & toolkit for Cornwall Council. Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, University of Bath. Read a summary of the research’s key findings in our blog post.
▪ Designing new intervention pathways to reduce water and energy use in high-use households. Led by Dr Claire Hoolohan, Tyndall Manchester.
▪ Positively influencing the travel choices of live music audiences. Led by Dr Adam Corner, Independent Researcher.
▪ Household behaviour change interventions to meet water efficiency and other pro-environmental organisational objectives. Led by Dr Joanne Swaffield, Cardiff University
▪ Sustaining the political mandate for climate action. Led by Professor Rebecca Willis, Lancaster University.
▪ Impact Partnerships – Engaging Loyal Nationals on taking climate action. Led by David Powell, Climate Outreach.
▪ Fostering Collaborative Climate Solutions for Social Transformations. Led by Dr Angela Mae Minas, University of Manchester.
▪ Evaluating the impact of the ‘Greener & Cleaner’ hub in motivating low carbon behaviours. Led by Mark Wilson, University of Bath.
▪ Enabling political leaders to seize the UK General Election 2024/25 as a crucial moment of change for the net zero transformation. Led by Dr Lucas Geese & Dr John Kenny, University of East Anglia.
▪ Supercharging young climate leaders through Power of 10. Led by Dr Katharine Lee, University of Bath.
▪ Leveraging secondary data analysis: informing the development of indicators to measure policy progress on climate goals in collaboration with the Welsh Government. Led by Dr Caroline Verfuerth, Cardiff University.
Please note that the CAST Impact Fund is now closed and all the money has been allocated; it will not reopen.
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