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Influencing Public Policy and Decision Making

We have supported academics to:

• Brief Parliament on ageism and the Equality Act in the arts industry
• Develop a methodology to map mental health support in South Yorkshire schools.
• Collaborate with South Yorkshire businesses, politicians and other partners  to produce a strategy for net-zero regional growth.
• Connect under-represented communities and policy makers.

Read more about the impact of a selection of funded projects which influenced policy and decision making. 

Tackling ageism in the arts

'Creative Lives', led by School of Languages and Culture, aimed to highlight issues of ageism in the arts sector, connecting a network of older artists, arts organisations and academics from various disciplines ((including Dr Joe Atkinson from the School of Law and Dr Carmen Levick from the School of English) to consider the influence of the Equality Act in the sector. The project partnered with The  to deliver a two-day virtual symposium for artists and academics, providing participants with legal understanding and sparking discussion around the topic of ageism. The symposium uncovered the depth of ageism within the arts sector. Significantly, society views art as a recreational activity for older generations, hindering older people's opportunity for professional practise, impacting aspirations, independence and financial stability. 

"I have learned that ageism is affecting many artists' lives in a negative way but I also think and believe that we must not allow ourselves to be put in some kind of box. We must keep doing what we enjoy until we can no longer physically or mentally do it anymore." - 'Creative Lives' symposium participant

Although a planned parliamentary launch was delayed due to Covid-19, the project produced a briefing note on ageism and the Equality Act in the arts sector which will form the basis for future work with central and local government. Dr Carmen Levick will lead on a second tranche of activity in 2021 Future work includes a second symposium to establish further connections between participants and policymakers, furthering discussions with policy stakeholders and delivering the final report to the Houses of Parliament.

A copy of the briefing note, written by Dr Alex Mason can be found here.

Exploring the take-up of low carbon technologies

Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian engaged with a number of public body sectors across the Sheffield region to profile the willingness to take up low carbon energy initiatives as part of the project 'Moving Towards Net Zero: Translational Energy Research and Capacity Building in the Sheffield Region for Evidence-Based Policy Making'. By profiling regional public sector bodies' needs, strengths and capabilities including the facilities at the , , Translational Energy Research Centre () and the , the project aimed to embed evidence-based policymaking activity and initiatives regarding low carbon technologies. The research produced a strategy for a regional growth centre focusing on achieving net-zero status. Future work will explore the production of a roadmap for sustainable energy infrastructure in a post­-Covid context.

Tracking the return of wild salmon

'River reconnections: The search for salmon' led by Dr Deborah Dawson produced significant findings regarding tracking the return of wild salmon to British rivers and the interpretations of eDNA results in future studies. By partnering with the , and the , Dr Dawson's team was able to analyse water samples from Yorkshire rivers and successfully use qPCR based methods to detect salmon DNA in rivers and investigate barriers to passage. Analyses of samples taken from various distances of wastewater treatment works highlighted the difficulties in detecting salmon DNA and tracking migration routes in rivers containing sewage, leading to further conversations with partners regarding future studies of wild salmon in the British Isles lakes. The study was highlighted in a series of public engagement materials featured in , including a , and the unveiling of a .