Politics and International Studies researchers awarded funding to foster collaboration
Five projects led by researchers from the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) have been awarded Faculty funding.
As the University of Leeds brings together the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Environment, a new grant was awarded in 2025/26 to fund ten Social Science led projects. The funding is designed to encourage cross-faculty collaboration and open new areas of research.
The five funded projects led by POLIS span a wide range of global challenges, including energy transitions, climate risk, climate intervention governance, water quality, and weather resilience in Africa. The projects demonstrate POLIS researchers' commitment to developing innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to addressing global environmental and societal challenges. The funding will support new partnerships, generate pilot research and create pathways towards larger externally funded research programmes in the years ahead.
Uganda's Energy Transition Plan: Gender and Indigenous Knowledge as Pathways to a Just Future
This interdisciplinary project, led by Dr Winnie Bedigen (POLIS), explores how women's experiences and Indigenous knowledge can help shape a more just and inclusive energy transition in Uganda. Bringing together colleagues from POLIS and the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability, the project will document women’s lived experience and engage with women’s organisations and energy practitioners to examine issues including electricity access, mini-grid expansion, and clean-cooking. The project aims to inform future policy and research by developing a better understanding of how gender, culture and local knowledge shape energy transitions in Uganda.
From Probable to Possible: A Cross-Faculty Pilot for a Global Climate Risk Assessment
This project brings together researchers from POLIS, Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science and the Sustainability Research Institute to explore how a comprehensive Global Risk Assessment (GRA) for climate change could better inform decision-making. Led by Professor Viktoria Spaiser (POLIS), the project responds to growing calls for climate assessments that go beyond high-confidence predictions to consider systemic, cascading and worst-case risks, including tipping points, food insecurity, ecosystem collapse and geopolitical instability. Through a cross-disciplinary sandpit workshop involving academic and external experts, the team will explore how a GRA could be developed and implemented, laying the foundations for future interdisciplinary research proposals and new collaborative networks.
Ensuring Responsible Climate Intervention Research at the University of Leeds: Minimising Risks of Solar Radiation Modification Research
Professor Olaf Corry and Dr Danielle Young (POLIS) are collaborating with colleagues from the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability to examine how emerging research into solar radiation modification (SRM) can be conducted responsibly. As global interest in climate intervention technologies grows, the project aims to strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue around the scientific, ethical and governance challenges associated with SRM research. Through the University's Climate Intervention Research Collaboration at Leeds (CIRCLE), a cross-faculty initiative that brings together expertise in SRM from across the physical and social sciences, the team will host an international workshop focused on identifying risks, developing safeguards and informing future funding applications.
Defining Water Quality: A Social–Environmental Dialogue
Co-led by Dr Markus Fraundorfer (POLIS) and Professor Laura Carter (School of Geography), this project brings together researchers to rethink how water quality is understood and governed. Recognising that water quality is not only a scientific issue but also a social, political and cultural one, the project will create opportunities for researchers from different disciplines to develop a shared understanding of the concept. Workshops and collaborative mapping exercises will identify research gaps, strengthen networks and support future interdisciplinary funding bids focused on global water challenges.
Moving FASTA: Ethical Open-Access Weather Warnings for Flood-Smart and Food-Resilient Futures
Led by Dr Simon Manda (POLIS), this project brings together researchers from POLIS and the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability to explore how the Forecasting African STorms Application (FASTA) can support flood preparedness and food-system resilience in Zambia. The research will investigate how current and potential users access, interpret and act on severe weather information, with a particular focus on urban communities and the agricultural sector. The project aims to improve understanding of user needs and inform the future development and scaling of FASTA across Africa.
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