In the wake of the 2008/9 financial crash, resulting global recession and the 'age of austerity' introduced by the 2010-15 government, poverty in the UK rose more dramatically than in any other G7 nation. The number of people relying on foodbanks to feed their families rose from 25,000 in 2008 to 1,200,000 in early 2017. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of people in the UK earning less than a 'living wage' grew from 3,400,000 to 4,900,000 and the number of people on 'zero hours' contracts grew to 905,000. By early 2017 more than 30% of British children were living in poverty, 25% of the population were living in fuel poverty and rough sleeping had grown to 4,134, double the 2010 figure. Economic poverty is one aspect of more wide-ranging social exclusion. However the project will demonstrate that broader patterns of social exclusion are largely driven by poverty. In the face of this dramatic growth in poverty and inequality third sector and faith-based organisations have been in the vanguard of the ongoing struggle against social exclusion. Christian communities have been involved in challenging urban poverty since the industrial revolution. However during the 'age of austerity' they have become increasingly important players as a result of their enduring relationships in local communities. Michael Hoelzl and Keith Ward (2008) refer to this as the 'new visibility of religion'. A key arena within which this 'new visibility' has been seen is in relation to rising levels of poverty and social inequality. 'Life on the Breadline: Christianity, Poverty and Politics in the 21st century' is the first interdisciplinary theological analysis of poverty in the UK since the financial crash. It will increase the awareness of the scope and impact of Christian engagement with poverty amongst government policy-makers and within wider society, enrich social policy and research and enable more effective faith-based action on poverty across urban Britain. This project will analyse the nature, scope, extent and impact of Christian engagement with poverty. Six ethnographic case studies of Christian NGOs will be developed, interviews of 120 regional church leaders in Birmingham, London and Manchester and two National Poverty Consultations with 50+ national church leaders attending will enable the project to generate the most extensive evidence-base to date of Christian engagement with poverty in the UK. Fieldwork will analyse two differing approaches to tackling poverty - 'caring' and 'campaigning' - in order to assess whether the 'age of austerity' has affected the nature and impact of Christian engagement with poverty and the values that underpin it. The project will develop a critical dialogue between social geography, political sociology, urban studies, the sociology of religion and urban and political theology in order to forge the first evidence-based theological analysis of poverty in the UK since the 2008 financial crash. The project will increase the awareness of the nature, scope and impact of Christian engagement with poverty amongst policy-makers and facilitate the development of new models of theory and theology capable of resourcing third sector engagement with poverty in the 21st century. Through the development of a wide range of outputs including a photographic exhibition, project briefs and report, 3 animated films, an online research portal, a 'Faith and Poverty Activism Network', an online MOOC and training sessions for government policymakers and church leaders, alongside academic journal articles, a co-written book and a major conference the project will impact directly on policymakers, researchers within the social sciences, theology and political science and wider society.

During a series of international gatherings on global development in 2011 Anglicans from around the world realised that there was more that churches could do to help prevent outbreaks of violence. Most Anglicans live in poor countries and many of these face conflict and violence which the church might be able to help put an end to. Church leaders called for a university partner to help them consider how churches can work more effectively in preventing violent conflict and to what steps need to be taken to achieve this. Coventry University has been working with parts of the Anglican Church for many years, locally in Coventry and also overseas, and is well-placed to provide this partnership. The aim of the project is to answer three questions about the role of churches and other faith groups in helping to spot early signs of violence and stop it from happening. The first question we will ask is what is distinctive about faith-based approaches and what makes them different from the activities that are carried out by people who are not working from a faith point of view. The second question is what are the dilemmas that emerge when faith groups get involved in trying the prevent violence and what possible tensions can we foresee with people who do not share their beliefs. This includes people who want to support churches that are trying to prevent conflict but have a different perspective and way of working, like governments or charities. The third question is what scope is there for improving the work that churches and faith groups do to help prevent violence and what changes do we need to make for this to happen. To find the answers to these questions we will visit Anglican churches in Nigeria and Solomon Islands to study the work that they are doing on preventing conflict. These countries have both experienced war in their recent past and churches have played an important role in efforts to respond to this. A team of researchers will produce a summary of the work that these churches are doing and use it to generate a detailed case study. The researchers will then present the case studies to church leaders from all over the world gathered for a workshop in the UK, and over the course of several days the participants will come up with their own contributions to answering the three research questions. In the final stage, the researchers will present the findings of the project in detailed report which will be used to inform the future planning of partners in the church, governments and charities. The research will be useful for churches and faith groups in conflict zones that want to improve the work they do to prevent violence. It will also be helpful for governments, who see that faith groups do a lot of work on improving relationships between people in communities and want to partner with them more - especially to prevent conflict before it happens because this can save lives. And it will be helpful for universities too, because academics need more information on this topic for their research. We expect that the research will have a big impact. Knowing more about the kind of work taking place will help churches and all of their partners to plan effectively. It will especially help the churches in Nigeria and Solomon Islands because they will have specific data, including facts and figures, to rely on in seeking support for their work. It will also help the UK government, who have said that they need to know more about how to work with faith groups in a practical sense. We are planning a series of activities to ensure that the research makes a difference. These include a high-level meeting of senior people from the church, government and charities hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, sessions with Bishops who sit in the House of Lords and producing a set of resources that local church-goers in conflict areas can use to learn more about preventing violent conflict.

'Engaging with Place and Managing Space' offers a unique opportunity to use historical and social science research to enhance visitor enjoyment and appreciation of the cathedrals and great churches which comprise many of England's most important and best-loved heritage sites. CONTEXT English cathedrals now welcome over 10 million visitors each year and have a growing role in promoting community cohesion, sharing their rich spiritual, cultural, and educational resources, and stimulating economic development in urban and rural contexts through tourism. The AHRC 'Pilgrimage and England's Cathedrals, Past and Present' (PEC) project explored ways in which much greater historical understanding of the use of buildings in the past, coupled with fresh evidenced-based insights into visitor needs today, could support cathedrals in engaging wider audiences and serving communities. Key issues highlighted include finding new ways to accommodate the multiple roles of buildings; the value of creating user-friendly, inviting spaces for visitors from all backgrounds; the centrality of sensory experience; offering an open-ended welcome to all visitors; and the need for greater recognition of these factors in decisions about adapting or changing buildings to enhance visitor provision. In the final year of the project, the opportunities and challenges facing cathedrals were unexpectedly brought into urgent national focus by the publication of three major government and church sponsored reports: Cathedrals and their Communities: A Report on the Diverse Roles of Cathedrals, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2017); The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals (DCMS, 2017); Cathedrals Working Group Draft Report, 2018. The PEC research outcomes have been universally welcomed as offering essential perspectives in the current process of review and planning. Key stakeholders are now requesting help in embedding the PEC research in long-term policy-making, statutory guidance, management and training for all churches. This Follow-on project is thus driven by: - the catalyst of PEC project findings on the value of applying historical understanding of the management of space to visitor needs today - acknowledgement that current processes for assessing 'significance' (the sum of the cultural and natural heritage values of a place), will benefit greatly from PEC research perspectives, promoting understanding and strengthening project evaluation and approval - recognition that greater understanding of the ways in which buildings function will help funders and applicants to develop more soundly-based and effective projects - pressures created by the changing landscape of heritage volunteering and the need for additional information and training to help staff and volunteers engage increasingly diverse audiences OUTCOMES This initiative, requested by the key stakeholders in England's largest heritage sector, will bring about a new, transformative collaboration between Historic England, other statutory bodies, the Church of England, and those managing its 42 cathedrals and 16,200 parish churches. This project has 5 key strands of activity building on PEC research findings: SHAPING NATIONAL POLICY in partnership with Historic England, other statutory advisors, and the Church of England PILOTING FRESH APPROACHES TO VISITOR ENGAGEMENT, working with selected cathedrals and churches to enhance key spaces and offer creative new opportunities for visitor interaction PROVIDING NEW NATIONAL GUIDANCE through an online handbook and workshops, in partnership with the Church of England and Historic England SUPPORTING AND TRAINING STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS through a national volunteer strategy/programme focused on understanding, managing, and adapting spaces to enhance visitor experience and enjoyment WORKING WITH GRANT-MAKING BODIES TO STRENGTHEN SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE FOR PROJECTS