This project emerges from a 2-year AHRC-funded Early Career Researcher Leadership Fellowship project, 'Imagining Alternatives: Utopia, Community and the Novel, 1880-2015', which investigated how the near future is being imagined and represented. This research explored a tendency in fiction to either consider the individual or the mass global scale, neglecting sites such as community, region and nation where substantial agency might still be located. It also examined the preponderance of dystopian future visions and the corresponding need for optimistic or 'utopian' thinking that can open a sense of possibility for the future, build capacity for change, and counter feelings of pessimism and disempowerment. Through a series of workshops and events, in collaboration with community groups and the renewable energy not-for-profit Regen, the PI developed an engagement model for catalysing local change through the imagination of place-based futures. Devon Climate Emergency Response Group (DCERG) was established to coordinate a collaborative response to the Devon Climate Emergency, and is made up of senior officers of about 25 organisations including: 11 county councils; emergency services; businesses; and voluntary organisations. As a result of his research the PI was invited to engage with the Net-Zero Task Force, a team drawn from economic, environmental, health and academic organisations and chaired by a leading climate expert, who have been tasked by DCERG with producing an evidence-led Devon Carbon Plan (DCP) for becoming net-zero carbon by 2050. The PI's research led to the creation of a goal and priority action for the plan: to support community groups to develop local net-zero visions, in which they imagine a decarbonised Devon collectively and in detail. The follow-on funding will allow this goal to be actioned and achieved, thereby helping build public support for the legitimacy and feasibility of change to net-zero; helping people to realise that change for the better is possible; and supporting communities in re-imagining themselves in the context of net-zero, so increasing local capacity for transition. The project team comprises the PI and CI Dr Emma Whittaker, the Creative Industries Research Fellow for the 'Low Carbon Devon' project at the University of Plymouth. They will work with Emily Reed, Project Manager at the project partner DCERG, and members of the Net-Zero Task Force; acclaimed Devon-based Creative Industry professionals, Sue Gent (illustrator), Ashley Potter (animation), Mutant Creative & Mutant Labs (games developers), Kate Crawfurd (mural artist) with Igneous Interactive (Augmented Reality); community groups or coalitions of groups from 7 locations across Devon; a book production team based at the University of Plymouth. The project activities will have several strands: 1. Coproduction of Showcase Net-Zero Visions in 7 different locations, with each Vision linked together on conclusion by the award-winning Devon-based poet Fiona Benson: to help build public awareness of and engagement with the DCP, and to promote a willingness to consider change as possible. To be disseminated via webpages on the DCERG website, launch events, and a book with photos, essay by PI and participant accounts. 2. Solicitation, selection and dissemination of Net-Zero Devon visions from the public, hosted on the webpages, so as to foster detailed engagement in the DCP via the underpinning research ideas. 3. Coproduction of supporting material for interaction with Net-Zero visions, to be hosted on the webpages. A key aim will be to engage with new audiences as identified by partner DCERG and lead community stakeholders. 4. A one-day workshop with project team, partner, and other stakeholders. This will coproduce the dissemination activities and engagement materials, and feed into a model of best practice for using local net-zero visions as a tool for catalysing change with communities.

By 2020, 15% of the UK's energy is to be generated from renewable sources, according to the government's Energy Strategy. This is necessary to reduce the UK's reliance on fossil fuels, and to meet international targets for CO2 emissions. This application investigates conflicts between green energy production and wildlife conservation, and will develop guidance and mitigation strategies. It falls within NERC studentship priority areas 2 and 6 (but has public sector partners). Wind energy is the major contributor to renewable electricity production in the UK (one of the most suitable locations in the EU for wind turbines). A massive expansion has occurred over the past decade: there are now 268 operational 'wind farms', and a similar number have planning consent. Yet it is recognised in Continental Europe and N. America that turbines can cause ecological damage to bats and birds by both direct mortality and behavioural disruption. The PI is already funded to conduct the first major study of the effects of British wind farms on bats. The present application widens this work by investigating another type of unstudied wind-energy system, mid-sized, single-turbine installations (50-300kW; 25-50m high). There is virtually no evidence available about the potential effects of these installations on wildlife. Yet construction has increased dramatically over the last two years, reflecting technological advances and alterations to subsidy schemes. Later this year they are will become 'Permitted Developments' which will require less planning scrutiny. However, particularly in rural areas, they may adversely affect local bat populations because: i. While formal surveys are only just beginning, there are anecdotal reports by qualified ecologists of noctule and soprano pipistrelle deaths at 3 large 'wind farms' in suboptimal bat habitat in the UK; and mortality in other countries is established. ii. Mid-sized turbines have lower heights and could therefore present a greater risk, since most species fly below 50m. iii. Single mid-sized turbines are commonly sited on agricultural land, often close to features of high value for bat commuting or foraging. Pilot data collected by the PI in South West England has already recorded protected Annexe II species at target sites for turbines. iv. Mid-sized turbines are designed to work efficiently even at low wind-speeds, when bats are likely to be flying. Impact Through national and EU law, all bats are protected from actions leading to mortality and from disturbance likely to affect local populations. Several species with strongholds in South-West England and Wales are also protected under Annexe II of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Uncertainty about the mortality and disturbance caused by wind turbines compromises the ability of Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations (SNCOs), local planners and professional ecologists to discharge their responsibilities and this study will address that deficiency. Effective guidance on mitigation and siting of turbines, and on pre-and post-construction monitoring protocols will be produced. This may allow continued construction of turbines which could otherwise be prevented. Methods This project will use methods developed in the DEFRA/CCW/SNH/Renewable UK-funded project on commercial wind farms and bats to evaluate mortality rates and bat activity levels. In addition, we will investigate whether there are behavioural differences in bats at wind turbine and control sites using acoustic monitoring. Deliverables Determination of whether mid-sized wind turbines cause bat mortality Estimation of effect size, with confidence intervals indicating level of uncertainty Estimation of effect of wind turbines on bat foraging and commuting Contributions to clarify legal position regarding wind turbines and bats Guidance on mitigation and and protocols for pre-/post-construction monitoring

On face value, community seems like a simple word: one that we all understand. But, if we start to ask questions about how we or others might think about their own communities, or the idea of community in a wider sense, we begin to realise that it is far from straight forward. Instead, it can stand for a complex range of social, political, religious and economic networks of people, places and concerns. How we think about it is shaped by our own life experience. The project concerns two different communities who are working together to create a new community. The research team will be collaborating with Devon County Council's Children in Care Scheme [DCCCCS], and the young people they work with, to better understand a crucial moment in these young peoples lives: the time when they leave care to live as independent adults. Young people who are in care have been ejected by their communities. They have left their birth families and, through the process of being fostered, are often removed from the immediate community they grew up in. This leads to changes in schools, the ending of friendship groups and links with birth family members. These transitions are problematic, and tend to be a chaotic period of time. When these same young people then leave foster care to live independently this rite of passage is particularly challenging. Their disrupted and often traumatic early lives mean they are operating from an insecure emotional base, and struggle to build positive and safe relationships in new communities. Moreover, for most of these children, leaving care is a very final event with no option to return 'home' if they face challenging situations. In response, their tendency is to seek out others who share their life experience. This often results in communities who share powerful and potentially overwhelming emotional needs, and who can find themselves unable to give or receive what is needed. These new communities can often be unstable and become a place of conflict. During this time, in addition to issues caused by a lack of independent living skills, research has shown care leavers commonly experience three difficulties in securing their independence: isolation from former communities, accommodation breakdown due to problem behaviour and wider problems around mental/emotional health which impacts on their ability to cope with independent living. In this situation the young people's notion of community, and how they find a new community to move into is tested, often to the point of collapse. This case study will work with both groups to better understand the processes at work and facilitate a proactive evaluation of that is taking place. It will then become the spine of a review which seeks to enable the academy and policy makers to gain a clearer understanding of how vulnerable, young people think about community and how this shapes how they see themselves. This project will have four phases to examine what is happening during this transition to independence. (1) It will interview both the young people and DCCCCS team members about their understanding of community and contextualise this by critiquing contextualising documentation used by policy makers (a process that will be repeated in the second, third and fourth phases). (2) It will use this data to facilitate a series of workshops and seminars facilitated by Exstream Theatre Company (specialists working with 'at risk' youth) tailored to meet the differing needs of (i) the young people and (ii) the DCCCCS team. These will lead to (i) a performance and (ii) a report tailored towards service providers about the idea of community. (3) A two-day seminar will brings the two groups together: the young people will perform their work, the DCCCCS team will present on their paper and collectively we will reflect on our experience, evaluate the process and plan for future collaborations. (4) We will reflect upon and share our findings via the review and papers.

Increasing evidence suggests that there are several social determinants of educational outcomes and half of all mental health conditions are established before the age of fourteen. Identifiers of these social events present as poor school attendance, disruptive and aggressive behaviour and poor transition to secondary school and are frequently seen in children and young people at risk of exclusion. This may also result in unfocused, disruptive, controlling, withdrawn, and destructive behaviour within a school setting. In addition there are iatrogenic factors affecting school attainment, where a lack of training and collaboration may prevent a deeper understanding of the problem. Stressful events occur in the lives of children aged 0-18 years old involving neglect or abuse. Indeed, neglect can be physical, emotional or sexual and neglect can be physical or emotional. Household dysfunction is an important social determinant and can be caused by mental illness, a relative in prison, domestic violence, divorce and substance abuse (alcohol and drug) in the family, often unrecognised for a significant length of time. Other factors affecting childhood academic achievement are poverty and children’s caring responsibilities as well as parental separation. Adverse child experience (ACE) provides links between adversity, learning and behaviour and supports the concept that schools can have a significant role in providing an inclusive environment for such children experiencing stressful events occurring between the ages of 0-18 years old. New learning paradigms for professionals to explore new ways to combine expertise, delivering IPL programmes where child safety and quality of care can be improved. Collaborative activities with IPL should be considered as important in childcare training, ACEs can be identified and strategies put in place to address these. Building teams in this interprofessional way requires an understanding of team dynamics and leadership values. Five elements have been identified to support this; participation, training in group skills, networking, information sharing and lastly critical reflection. Aims • Improve the social context so that children are better able to learn in school. • Improve the communication and collaboration between professionals involved in safeguarding for school age children. • Promote improved trust relationships, particularly in the classroom and potentially reversing the effects of toxic stress in a child’s life • Training programmes to promote the understanding of the science of toxic stress • Strategies to address this are proposed. • Explore interprofessional strategies to improve learning environment for children experiencing toxic stress with implications for practice. • Innovate interprofessional collaboration experiences Objectives • Familiarizing the employees with the job descriptions of employees in other agencies/organizations • Discussing what inter-professional collaboration means to each individual employee and to different professions. • The training will discuss what the perquisites of inter-professional collaboration are and how it could be promoted. • Disseminate experience and outcomes using press, blogs, local TV and radio stations • Sharing information gathered government officials, educational authorities, professional training establishments • Enabling professionals to meet trauma with understanding not discipline Action Intervention • International participation, transnational learning, teaching and training o Training in group skills o Transnational learning o Networking o Information sharing o Critical reflection • Equipping professionals with toolkit to address ACE • Action research (develop questionnaires and open-ended questions to guide the key interviews, prompting reflection and conversation. • Evaluation of impact • Development of electronic learning using analogues and cases studies Intellectual outputs • Pilot course for interprofessional learning in collaboration • Handbook of strategies and procedures • Teaching resources • Electronic learning in decision making using virtual case studies • Presentations on results • Webinars on interprofessional learning and collaboration • In-service training

This project aims to provide a more effective way for communities to become resilient in the face of changing risks associated with anthropogenic climate change. It will focus on the issue of flooding in a rural Devon community as a way of exploring the potential for using 'co-learning' between community members, academic researchers and local agencies to understand the flood risks associated with current climatic conditions and how those risks and associated vulnerabilities are shifting as a result of climate change. In so doing, the project will work towards a community flood resilience plan that will seek to represent the different types of knowledge demonstrated by the different constituencies. The project has the following objectives: 1. To adopt a deliberative and collaborative approach for engaging a range of community participants in a dialogue for co-creating knowledge for understanding risks associated with fluvial and surface water flooding; 2. To use this social learning process as a way of promoting informal learning about public engagement for representatives of the local state, environmental agencies and climate researchers across the physical and social sciences; 3. To enable a collaborative and jointly agreed assessment of current levels of flood resilience between the research participants and to develop place-based strategies to flood risk management within the context of future impacts from anthropogenic climate change; 4. To consider the role this methodology can play in promoting community resilience at a time of local government service re-structuring. The project will be developed in collaboration with two main partners. First, Devon County Council, as the co-ordinating local authority with responsibility for emergency planning, will provide knowledge, expertise and access to the community flood planning process for the selected case study community of Crediton. Second, in order to meet objective 2 of the project, the Climate Outreach Information Network (COIN) will participate to ensure that the wider policy and practitioner community can benefit from the learning gained by the project. The project will also include contributions from statutory agencies (Environment Ageny and Fire authority). The project will use a competency group approach to build knowledge and confidence amongst the different stakeholders in the community for developing a flood resilience plan. Over the course of six months four group meetings will be held at intervals of two months at which there will be representatives from the community of Crediton, Devon County Council, the Environment Agency, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and a small group of physical and social science academics. These meetings will explore current understandings of flood risk and associated vulnerabilities, the ways in which such vulnerabilities will change in the future and the most effective way of making the community resilient to future flood events. The purpose of the competency group approach is to overcome many of the current barriers to effective community resilience, which is often framed by a top-down, government-led approach to policy making and implementation that can hide or distort vital local knowledges of risks and how to deal with them. The project therefore provides an opportunity to explore the potential for re-configuring risk governance that re-balances knowledge and decision-making between the local state and publics. In this way, the project aims to explore the potential role of social learning about an environmental hazard to assess the role such a methodology could play in re-configuring relations between the local state, statutory agencies and communities. In so doing, the project has the potential to demonstrate the value of a deliberative and knowledge-based approach to tackling a range of changing vulnerabilities.