BU Research Blog

Huge congratulations to Catherine Talbot, Xin Zhao and Tabitha Baker who were all successful in winning BA seed funding.  There were 40 applications reviewed across the British Academy South West hub and only nine awards, three of which went to BU!

Catherine Talbot in SciTech secured £1414 to support their project titled “Dementia Grant Development and Knowledge Exchange: Building Cross-University Partnerships” which includes partnership development by conducting a research visit to the Institute of Population Health Dementia Research at the University of Liverpool with the aim of developing grant proposal.

Catherine says, ‘I am delighted to have been awarded seed funding from the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network, which will allow me to conduct a research visit at the University of Liverpool with Dr Clarissa Giebel, a leading expert in dementia research. This funding will open doors to conducting meaningful and impactful research in dementia care, and represents the perfect next step towards my long-term career aspirations.’

Xin Zhao in FMC secured £1025 to support their project titled “Building stakeholder relationships with UK-based East and Southeast Asian community organisations” which includes Network development to build stakeholder relationships with UK-based East and Southeast Asian community organisations.

Xin says, ‘Building stakeholder relationships with UK-based East and Southeast Asian community organisations is the foundation for my dedication to exploring strategies to fight against anti-Asian racism from a media and communication perspective. BA Seed Funding provides me with the perfect support for the relationship building. This will pave the way for my following design of a community-oriented research project.

Tabitha Baker, also in FMC, secured £1700 to support their research titled “Local Democracy in a Time of Crisis” which includes development of stakeholder relationships with local public sphere and civil society organisations in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area through the creation and screening of a short film.

Tabitha says, ‘This project aims to address low engagement and trust in local democracy in BCP, by exploring local government in challenging national contexts. Dr. Ian Gwinn (Co-I) and I seek to reshape understandings of local politics and regional identity, engage the public in conversations about local democracy, and assess its potential to promote social justice and active citizenship, building on my previous research.’

What a fantastic outcome so well done to all involved in this wonderful achievement!