The CAST Impact Fund supported projects that translate academic research and expertise into real-world behaviour and/or attitudinal change. These projects were carried out in partnership with communities, NGOs, public sector bodies and other practitioners. Amongst other things, the Fund helps CAST Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to ‘learn in the world’. Funding was generously provided by UEA, drawing on its allocation of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF).
Last update: April 2024
Overview
Since its establishment in 2020, the CAST Impact Fund has distributed approximately £257,500 to 15 projects.
The projects have engaged with diverse audiences, for example:
▪ Engaging public sector employees in partnership with Cornwall Council
▪ Targeting high water-use households, working with Northumbrian Water
▪ Working with community group Our Streets Chorlton to help communicate with residents on sustainable transport.
In addition to the impacts set out below, all of the projects have also contributed to the wider evidence base through non-academic outputs, including CAST briefings.
At least four projects have been awarded follow-on funding so far, showing the value of these relatively small projects in kickstarting wider and longer-term collaborative projects between academics and practitioners.
Types of impact
The key impacts of this project can be grouped under six overarching headings:
- Capacity building
- Engagement
- Instrumental impact (policy influence)
- Equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI)
- Early Career Researcher contributions
- Academic outputs
Impact 1: Capacity building
Helping partners make lasting change to their practice
Some CAST Impact Fund projects focused on co-designing new tools, strategies or approaches to help partners better understand and engage their stakeholders in future. For example:
▪ Carbon assessment: Partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) – led by Dr Christopher Jones, University of Manchester
This project developed and implemented a new co-benefits toolkit to help GMCA understand the impact of its plans and align them better with strategic goals. This includes how proposed policies, services, or initiatives do or don’t contribute to climate mitigation and the generation of wider benefits for the city and its residents. It was rolled out across the whole of GMCA’s decision-making processes, influencing the choices that affect 2.6 million residents. All decision papers that go before the GMCA executive team for sign-off now include the summary results from the toolkit.
The toolkit is now under trial by two other local authorities, alongside a specific version for Wales. Webinars and training materials were included to help a range of local authorities adopt the toolkit.
▪ Reducing water use
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- Partnership with Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) – led by Dr Claire Hoolohan, Tyndall Centre; University of Manchester
This project applied the Change Points toolkit, which helps users work out where and how to most effectively intervene to improve the sustainability of consumption. Using the Change Points tool helped Northumbrian Water to understand why some of its customers use very high amounts of water, and how it could best encourage and help them to use less. Following this project, two new co-funded PhD projects will come up with new ways to rapidly and substantially reduce water and energy demand in high-use households.
“Northumbrian Water Group see these PhDs as a way of growing the future academic focus on water and demand management” – Tim Wagstaff, Water Efficiency Manager, Northumbrian Water Limited
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- Partnership with Anglian Water – led by Dr Joanne Swaffield, Cardiff University
This project informed thinking about how customers of Anglian Water use and conserve water and how they might respond to some of the options available for the future management of water. The valuable insights into household water use and future management options have influenced Anglian Water’s Water Resources Management Plan and directly fed into internal discussions. CAST is directly referenced in the Anglian Water PR24 Business Plan (p.46) and this document is more widely available to others on the Ofwat website.
Impact 2: Engagement
Bringing new audiences into the climate change conversation
A number of CAST Impact Fund projects aimed to help partners or practitioners better communicate about climate change with the public, particularly around new issues or in new ways. For example:
▪ Travel to live music events: partnership with Julie’s Bicycle, and Shambala and From the Fields festivals – led by Dr Adam Corner, Independent Researcher & CAST affiliate
This project translated psychological and social science research into a guide to help live music organisers encourage sustainable travel to events. The guide was developed in collaboration with a range of event organisers, and an attendee survey conducted by Shambala. High-level stakeholders from the music industry (representing key groups of venues, large-scale festivals and industry sustainability bodies) took part in roundtables to scope the guide and compile existing best practices. Teams organising two festivals – Boomtown and Love Saves the Day – have already said they will use the guide in future.
The ideas and recommendations produced as part of this CAST Impact Fund work were trialled and tested in a follow-up project supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation:
“Before engaging with [the follow-on] project, our sustainability content was lacking reach and engagement with our audience and didn’t feel relatable […] With the tactics we implemented we managed to bring our reach and engagement with our green transport comms to be as engaging as our creative comms which has always been a struggle for us.” – Prudance Akinin, Head of Communications, Boomtown
▪ Encouraging sustainable diets: partnership with Hubbub – led by David Powell, Theme 4 Lead, Climate Outreach
This project explored whether different narratives around food, delivered by trusted messengers, could encourage Loyal Nationals (an audience who are already worried about changes to their way of life) to try vegetarian/vegan diets. Following a narrative workshop with participants from Moston in Manchester, a messaging guide was created to help Hubbub get the tone and content of their engagement with this audience right. Hubbub created a dedicated Facebook group to put this messaging advice into practice.
“[The project] helped us deepen the understanding and impact of our project and apply similar thinking to our other projects.” – Lizzie Murray-Clark, Creative Partner, Hubbub
▪ Strengthening climate action in cities with Our Streets Chorlton (OSC) – led by Dr Angela Mae Minas, University of Manchester
This project is a partnership with a community group in Chorlton, Greater Manchester, to explore how to encourage people to reduce care use for short journeys. The community-led initiative contributed to increasing awareness about the carbon impact of travel in the Chorlton community. Findings from interviews (Dec 2022) and results from a survey (Feb 2022) show that there is an appetite for using fewer cars in Chorlton (50% of motor vehicle users would like to use their cars less), and that community members are more aware of the carbon impact of their travel.
Impact 3: Instrumental impact (policy influence)
Influencing government at different levels across England, Scotland & Wales
The CAST Impact Fund projects have had practical, direct and indirect influence on decision-making in governmental bodies and local authorities. For example:
▪ Engaging with climate change in the context of COVID-19 – led by Dr Christopher Shaw, Climate Outreach
This project focused on exploring effective climate change communication in the age of COVID-19. The Scottish Government utilised research findings from this project during a Public Engagement Workshop.
▪ Behaviour change at Cornwall Council – led by Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE, University of Bath
This CAST Impact Fund project partnered with Cornwall Council to inform the strategy for a multi-year project supporting Cornwall Council in its response to the climate emergency. In its initial stage, CAST researchers worked on engaging Cornwall Council employees in low-carbon behaviours, measuring the change-readiness of the workforce. The evidence generated by the research is actively used by the Council in their decision-making. The project has also led to a range of follow-up work, including resident engagement such as encouraging uptake of e-bike shared mobility in Cornwall, and CAST was commissioned to evaluate the Council’s active travel social prescribing pilot.
▪ Sustaining the political mandate for climate action – led by Prof Rebecca Willis, Lancaster University
This project’s overarching impact is helping MPs to make better decisions on climate strategy and to navigate the practicalities of the transition. Through this CAST Impact Fund work, The Climate Coalition’s 140 member organisations and others working on climate strategy have a better understanding of the evidence and approach necessary to help MPs work better on climate. This includes a better understanding of where potential stumbling blocks or backlashes may emerge around Net Zero, via insights gathered from MPs themselves.
Findings are being used by TCC and other climate advocates to develop strategies which are grounded in current political realities. For example, the insights from this project were used to help develop TCC’s strategy in an election year, and to plan for the crucial post-election period. The project team has also been invited to three additional informal strategy meetings with other NGOs to discuss future work possibilities. As a result, MPs will receive timely, relevant and tailored information and interventions from these organisations to help their decision-making.
Impact 4: Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
Catalysing diverse research, decision-making, and leadership to drive positive change
The projects funded by the CAST Impact Fund address systemic issues, and incorporate EDI principles into research and decision-making processes. For example:
▪ Engaging with climate change in the context of COVID-19 – led by Dr Christopher Shaw, Climate Outreach
This project worked hard to speak with people from normally marginalised sectors, including different age groups (youth and elderly), genders, and people from the LGBTQIA+ community. The project also accounted for ethnic diversity in the research survey sampling and the questions asked. As a result, researchers gained a better understanding of different challenges and recognised the need for oversampling for ethnicity in survey samples, resulting in a permanent shift in research practices within the organisation.
▪ Strengthening climate action in cities with Our Streets Chorlton (OSC) – led by Dr Angela Mae Minas, University of Manchester
This project carefully considered and mapped how to engage with the diverse community of Chorlton – including religious and ethnic minority groups. This meant that OSC developed and strengthened connections with the wider community, not just those ‘in the green bubble’; connections that continue even after this project.
▪ Carbon assessment: Partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) – led by Dr Christopher Jones, University of Manchester
An equalities impact assessment was incorporated into the carbon and co-benefits assessment tool as a key feature. The project team worked with the GMCA Lead on EDI to make equality assessment more prominent in the decision-making processes at GMCA, specifically to broaden consideration of equalities beyond ‘protected characteristic’ impacts only. The tool enhances how equality impacts assessments and wider equality considerations are included in decision-making at GMCA.
▪ Developing practical resources for transformative citizens’ assemblies on climate change – led by Dr Stuart Capstick, Cardiff University
This project facilitated a better understanding of how to shift power dynamics and to bring more diverse voices into Climate Assembly spaces, as well as how to make these Assemblies more inclusive. More information on the impacts of this project will be added soon.
Impact 5: Early Career Researcher (ECR) contributions
Building Early Career Researcher experience
The majority of CAST Impact Fund projects have involved contributions from ECRs or have supported ECRs to take on leading roles. This has offered valuable opportunities to build experience and add academic and non-academic outputs to their repertoires. For example:
▪ Household water use: partnership with Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) – led by Dr Claire Hoolohan, Tyndall Centre; University of Manchester
This project and all activities were led by an ECR. The project resulted in match funding (with the University of Manchester School of Engineering) for two PhDs, creating two new Early Career posts linked to CAST, and contributed to a successful promotion of the lead ECR to Senior Lecturer.
▪ Household behaviour change interventions to meet water efficiency and other pro-environmental organisational objectives – led by Dr Joanne Swaffield, Cardiff University
The lead applicant, an ECR, successfully managed the project, showcasing leadership and contributing to both academic and non-academic outputs.
▪ Engaging with climate change in the context of COVID-19 – led by Dr Christopher Shaw, Climate Outreach
An ECR at CAST played a crucial role in producing the final report for this project. Other opportunities included; co-authoring an academic paper, analysing survey results, and leading the development of new ethics oversight procedures for Climate Outreach in collaboration with academic partners.
Impact 6: Academic outputs
Further opportunity for knowledge sharing through academic literature
The CAST Impact Fund projects have contributed to academic literature, including journal articles and book chapters, supporting knowledge sharing, education, collaboration and methodological innovation. For example:
▪ Strengthening climate action in cities with Our Streets Chorlton (OSC) – led by Dr Angela Mae Minas, University of Manchester
Insights on grassroots innovations from the project’s engagement with community members were published in a peer-reviewed article in the journal Science Talks.
▪ Sustaining the political mandate for climate action – led by Prof Rebecca Willis, Lancaster University
The insights collected as part of this work have led to the submission of a peer-reviewed journal paper.
Further academic outputs and impacts are planned for several of the projects.