Archaeological investigation is a crucial component of infrastructure projects (including rail, road, airports, energy and aggregates), employing hundreds of archaeologists from across the EU. In the UK over £200m will be spent by government on archaeology within infrastructure projects in the period 2018-2022. Europe-wide, the infrastructure spend on archaeology will be at least £1.5billion. The hundreds of millions invested in the field of development-led archaeology are audited as part of the construction process, but the question of public benefit and value has not been audited in the same way. There are no consistent, transparent criteria for assessing the knowledge generated, or the social, cultural and economic benefits delivered through this archaeology, despite the fact that the historic environment has untapped potential to improve social cohesion and tackle inequalities through knowledge creation and participatory action research. Crucial to the sustainability of the fragmented archaeological profession is the effective and relevant communication of results to a variety of audiences, but appropriate methods and innovative solutions are often instigated on an ad hoc basis and their relative success are not evaluated. This Future Leaders Fellowship project led by Dr Sadie Watson will have the long-term aim of developing systems that allow benefit to be measured across infrastructure schemes and in doing so to transform the outputs from these programmes of archaeological work, helping to deliver knowledge that is relevant, creative and digitally accessible to a wider range of audiences. The UK has the potential to be a world leader in this area. The Fellowship project will undertake a review of existing systems already in place for measuring impact and outcomes across the creative and cultural sectors, sciences and business to identify cross-discipline techniques. The project will consult at different scales - across the archaeology sector, HEIs, government, the public (engaged and not yet engaged audiences) and creative industries to understand which new outputs will deliver the greatest impact. The Fellowship project will study comparator international projects, where infrastructure spending has impacted upon archaeology, and review their success. The research will identify and design consistent and transparent systems that provide frameworks for assessing the social, economic and cultural benefits of archaeological work conducted as part of infrastructure development, and qualitatively improve the relevance and usefulness of knowledge generated through this archaeological work. Resulting guidance will enable standardised and sustainable cultural auditing of the impact of this archaeological work. It will provide a clear set of bespoke recommendations for future projects to enhance policy at central and local levels, and to improve project design, ensuring that the societal impact of archaeological knowledge and experience is considered throughout. It will encourage innovation in the planning, implementation and dissemination of archaeological projects, and collaboration across sectors to increase participation in archaeology, encourage participants in archaeological projects associated with infrastructure (both professional and voluntary) to engage in reflective practice, assessing their own roles and contributions, and encourage participation in archaeology amongst previously under-represented audiences, through innovative engagement methods.

"Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to Public Health in the UK" [DEFRA, 2017]. Air pollution in the West Midlands affects some 2.8 million people, reducing average life expectancy by up to 6 months, and is responsible for economic costs estimated at £860m per year. Air quality is therefore a key priority for local and regional government, and increasingly the general public, with further emphasis arising from the "Diesel-gate" emissions scandal, and ongoing High Court challenges to the Government's Air Quality strategy. Historically, local air quality policy has been the responsibility of the individual Local Authorities. However, air pollution does not respect political boundaries, and the 2016 formation of the West Midlands Combined Authority will lead to an integrated approach to air pollution, under the Second Devolution Deal for the West Midlands (2017). In parallel, the NHS Sustainability Transformation Trust is bringing an integrated approach to health and social care provision - with air quality a core priority. This gives rise to a unique and timely opportunity to translate environmental science research expertise into regional policy and interventions to reduce air pollution. The University of Birmingham group has critical mass, international research expertise and NERC track record in air pollution, and its health and economic impacts. We have a history of links with regional partners, ranging from commissioned work and joint research projects to informal collaborations. Accordingly, we have developed the West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme (WMAQIP), through a co-design process alongside regional stakeholders including the WMCA / Mayor of the West Midlands, Local Authorities, private companies, industry sector bodies and third sector organisations, to deliver: -Situational awareness (understanding of air pollution levels and sources), e.g. applied to refinement of the Birmingham Clean Air Zone and design of future interventions in Coventry, avoiding over £5m annual costs plus benefits to visitors / commuters working in the cities. -Predictive Capability to evaluate AQ policy options, in comparison with business as usual predictions, for pollution levels, health and economic impacts - identifying interventions to achieve Birmingham City Council's goal of halving AQ-related mortality by 2030 (750 deaths/yr and £170m annual costs avoided); avoiding additional healthcare costs of £600m required under business-as-usual scenarios, and informing allocation of recurrent and one-off intra-city transport investment of £250m. -Application of the resulting capability to specific policy scenarios - including infrastructure design around the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games to deliver improved air quality, understanding the air quality consequences of future vehicle fleet evolution to electric vehicles, and optimising air quality co-benefits from green infrastructure for HS2 development. WMAQIP directly addresses the UK Industrial Strategy grand challenge of Clean Growth, which commits the Government to "create a future where our cities benefit from cleaner air", and the Infrastructure foundation of productivity, which identifies a determination to "tackle air pollution and support affected areas, given the significant negative impact it has on public health, the economy and the environment." WMAQIP combines NERC research expertise with direct inputs from a range of partner organisations. The programme will deliver policy impact from application of environmental science applied to specific policy priorities through a cohort of Impact Fellows, physically embedded within stakeholder organisations to provide knowledge transfer and training, and hence lasting impact. Programme legacy will be maximised by formalising capabilities as tools which may be applied elsewhere, and actions to promote their dissemination.