Faculty of Social Sciences News
West Midlands event showcases transformative impact of social science research on people and places
The event marked the launch of a new report published by the Academy of Social Sciences, in partnership with eight Midlands-based universities.
Dennis Novy becomes lead economic advisor to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Congratulations to CAGE Impact Director, Dennis Novy who has been appointed as Chief Economist and Director of Analysis at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Professor Novy becomes the lead economic adviser to the Foreign Secretary on the UK’s foreign and international development policy. He will offer analysis, advice and thought leadership to the whole Ministerial team on the issues before them. He will also provide leadership for the FCDO’s analysts, helping to ensure that policies are based on robust data, evidence and evaluation, and represent the UK to counterparts on foreign government and global institutions such as the World Bank.
Dennis’ research interests have focused on international trade, international finance and macroeconomics. His work analyses the behaviour of international trading firms in advanced and emerging economies, the economic impact of trade policy and exchange rate fluctuations.
🎉 Funding Opportunity Alert!
The Inclusive Education Team is thrilled to invite colleagues to apply for funding to help drive forward inclusive practice across the Faculty of Social Sciences!
Do you have a bold idea to make learning more inclusive? Want to embed equity and accessibility into your department’s everyday practice? Now’s your chance to make it happen.
🗓 Applications are open now and close on Friday 17th October – don’t miss out!
💡 Find out more about eligibility, criteria, and how to submit your bid via the link here: Faculty funding - Inclusive Education - Warwick.
Stay Connected with FSS on LinkedIn!
Stay up to date with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Warwick—follow us on LinkedIn for news, events, and insights from across the Faculty.
📢 Got something to share? Tag us in your posts—we love seeing and celebrating your work!
👉 Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Warwick | LinkedIn
Warwick Delegation to Washington University in St. Louis
Prof Olympia Palikara, Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Social Sciences for External Engagement, recently joined a Warwick delegation to Washington University. Follow the link below to read her update about the visit.
New Digital Empowerment Library
The Digital Health & Rights Project consortium, hosted by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), have launched a new online repository offering free digital human rights training tools with over 200 resources, including guidelines, curricula, and workshop toolkits.
Economics Represented in Royal Economic Society Founding Fellows List
Prof Roger Farmer, Emeritus Prof Michael Waterson, and former Dean of Warwick in London Prof Abhinay Muthoo are among the 58 Founding Fellows recently announced by the Royal Economic Society.
Read more here: Warwick Economics strongly represented in Royal Economic Society Founding Fellow List
Winners of the 2025 Warwick Research Celebration
Congratulations to all winners of this year's Research Celebration event, including Prof Ravi Thiara (Sociology), Prof Vanessa Munro (School of Law), Prof Olympia Palikara (Education Studies, SELCS) and Prof Steve Mann (Applied Linguistics, SELCS).
Meet the winners: Warwick Research Celebration 2025 Winners
WIHEA Fellowship 2025 Nominations Now Open!
The Warwick International Higher Education Academy’s annual call for Fellowship nominations is now open until 5pm on Monday 16th June.
Fellowships at Warwick offer staff (3 years) and students (1 year) the chance to make a meaningful contribution to learning and teaching across the University. Fellows lead or support projects, policy development, and learning communities, while also participating in governance and sharing best practice across departments. The role offers opportunities to develop expertise, influence institutional change, and shape the student experience. Learn more by going to WIHEA Fellows Selection Process
You can also get involved by becoming a WIHEA Member—a flexible way to stay connected and contribute.
European language policy and practice for all
Strategies to strengthen European linguistic capital in a globalised world (MultiLX)
2025 will see the launch of a new Horizon Europe research project which examines language policy and practice in digital, multilingual Europe. The project brings together scholars in nine universities, across eight countries, to ask how inclusive policy can be developed and implemented to support all the languages of Europe.
Increased mobility of people across territories has altered the linguistic make-up of Europe, while rapid developments in AI and other digital technology have revolutionised the way people communicate. There is an urgent need for language policy to keep pace with these changes. A key challenge in an increasingly diverse, digital and multilingual Europe is to put in place language policy to shape a future for young people which is inclusive, democratic and equitable. The new research project, which runs for three years from January 2025, will address this challenge by providing policy makers with comprehensive evidence of the communicative practices and language ideologies of young people in Europe.
In this multi-site, team ethnographic project research teams will observe the communicative practices of young people in contexts where speakers are concerned with language endangerment (Norway, Switzerland), where people are investing in revitalisation of languages (Spain: Galicia, Catalunya), and where the prevalence of migrant languages renders multilingualism the norm (Germany, Italy). By conducting ethnographic observation in Barcelona, Berlin, Lucerne, Oslo, Santiago de Compostela, and Turin academics will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the everyday languaging practices of young people. With this evidence they will make recommendations for equitable language policy in Europe which reflects young people’s semiotic repertoires.
The research project will be supported by an Advisory Board of 17 experts from sectors including language policy, politics, academia, arts and media. Collaboration with the Advisory Board will ensure that research outcomes are scaled up to European decision-makers, and will provide a sustainable legacy of the project.
MultiLX is led by Professor Angela Creese at University of Warwick, and is a collaboration between nine universities in eight countries: University of Warwick (Adrian Blackledge and Angela Creese); Universitetet i Oslo (Pia Lane); Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Maite Puigdevall Serralvo and Joan Pujolar Cos); Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg (Katharina Brizic); Università degli Studi di Torino (Gerardo Mazzaferro); University of Glasgow (Bernadette O'Rourke); Jyväskylän yliopisto (Sari Pietikäinen); University of Limerick (Helen Kelly-Holmes); Pädagogische Hochschule Luzern (Edina Krompák).
For further information please contact Professor Angela Creese: angela.creese@warwick.ac.uk
IER’s gender equality efforts pay off: Successful renewal of the Athena Swan Bronze Award
Our recent renewal of the Athena Swan Bronze Award shows that IER has progressed on all gender equality indicators since its last award. This progress is just one of the positive results from the renewal. Progress is especially seen in the area of staff work-life balance, which was a key issue in the previous application. Nearly all staff now respond favourably to their work-life balance situation now compared with only one in three in 2018.
Recognition of its efforts to promote gender equality, progression and representation through the renewal of its Athena Swan Bronze award is a significant achievement for IER. It is a success for all IER staff and a testament to all the hard work from everyone involved in making the submission, not least Dr Jamelia Harris, Professor Trine P. Larsen and Catherine Vassallo, IER’s Administrator, who led the submission with support from the Self-Assessment Team.
Director of IER, Chris Warhurst, said:
“I’m delighted that we’ve been successful again in securing the Athena Swan Bronze Award. We strive to make IER a good place to work where everyone feels valued. There’s always more to do and I look forward to the next phase of work within the Institute to further promote gender equality.”
The Athena Swan panel commented:
"… an Institute that really cares about its staff and student communities and is invested in gender equality work regardless of awards.”
In the coming years, IER will build on its successful gender equality efforts and continue to improve gender equality in policies and procedures through shared ownership. This commitment is evident in the Institute’s new Athena Swan Action Plan and the dedicated team of staff that will implement it. Over the next few years, we will focus on addressing and increasing the visibility of “hidden” work, which is often cited as an important factor contributing to gender inequalities, and strengthen the existing sense of community within the Institute.
Coventry HDRC: Collaborative Knowledge Exchange Accelerator Funding Call
Coventry HDRC: Collaborative Knowledge Exchange Accelerator Funding Call
Up to £1000 available to support local collaborative projects involving Coventry City Council and focused on the wider determinants of health
As part of the Coventry Health Determinants Research Collaboration, the Universities of Warwick and Coventry have come together to invite policymakers and researchers to apply for up to 1k funding. This funding is available to support ongoing conversations and collaboration about integrating research into areas of the wider determinants of health. Examples include but are not limited to housing, transport, education, and access to green spaces. Groups should have a long-term vision to apply for research funding.
The application must include at least one Coventry City Council policymaker, at least one University of Warwick and/or Coventry University researcher, and, where possible, at least one third-sector organisation.
There will be two webinars where you can learn more and ask questions about the funding and the process. We recommend joining one before completing the application with your collaboration.
Monday 11 November, 10 am - 11 am
Monday 11 November 1 pm - 2 pm
Please see website for details on additional information and development sessions.
What are the next steps?
- Visit the Warwick University website to understand the criteria for applying
- Gather members of your collaborative team
- Attend one of the two webinars to find out more and ask questions
- Complete the 1-page application form before 5pm on Friday, 29th November
- Propose 6 months of activity from January until June 2025
Warwick applicants are encouraged to contact Research Development and Impact Manager India Holmes (india.holme@warwick.ac.uk) to discuss their proposal.
Education Fund call open
IATL and WIHEA are pleased to announce the launch of a new joint Education Fund for staff-led strategic projects that support the new Education and Student Experience Strategy. Applications are due by Wednesday 13 November 2024 at midday (12pm UK time). The Education Fund website has guidance and a link to register for the online consultation session on Wednesday, 23 October at 12-1pm (online).
This is an excellent opportunity to enhance our work in teaching, learning and student experience in the faculty of social sciences. If anyone is interested in putting together a proposal and would like additional support (refining your idea, linking up with others, understanding fit with the education and student experience strategy), please do get in touch with Dr Karen Simecek, Deputy Chair of Faculty (Education), Social Sciences: k.d.simecek@warwick.ac.uk
Advocacy Strategy: Knowledge Exchange Workshop
Advocacy Strategy: Knowledge Exchange Workshop
This workshop will be led by Mike Podmore, CEO of STOPAIDS and visiting fellow, and Meg Davis, Professor of Digital Health and Rights, from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM). It draws on real-life cases and provides a hands-on introduction to advocacy strategy planning: including analysing power, identifying achievable goals, developing a problem-driven research agenda, and crafting a theory of change that participants can use to guide their own project plans. The workshop facilitators will provide tools and worksheets for later use.
The workshop is open to all academic staff and PGR students, and will be of special interest to those working in international development, sustainability, global health, climate change, and other areas of policy impact.
The session will cover:
- Advocacy strategy – core concepts
- The theory of change
- Long-term vision and milestones
- Risk and assumptions
- Analysing power and messaging
Participants are asked to come prepared with two print-outs of a one-sentence vision statement that answers the question: “As a result of your project, how will the world have changed by 2044?”
Date: Tuesday 22 October 2024
Time: 14:00 - 15:30
Location: Oculus, OC0.01
This event is open to academic staff and PGR students.
Please register to attend here: Registration - Advocacy Strategy Workshop (warwick.ac.uk)
Year One Celebration Event
ESRC Impact Acceleration Account 2023-28:
Year One Celebration Event
Your Research Impact team are delighted to invite you to celebrate the successes and developments from the first year of our ESRC Impact Acceleration Account:
Details:
- Weds 9 October
- 10:00 - 15:00
- Scarman Conference Centre
- REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL – click here for event webpage, schedule, and registration form
Join us on Wednesday, 9 October to hear from some of the projects facilitated by the IAA and to explore the broader programme of events and initiatives that have been launched to enhance skills and culture around knowledge exchange within Warwick's Social Science community. We will also be formally launching the ESRC IAA Policy Hub, and hearing from the ESRC about UKRI Policy Fellowship opportunities.
We look forward to seeing you!
Please get in touch on esrcimpactaccount@warwick.ac.uk with any questions or for further information.