Knowledge Exchange Visits Call

Knowledge Exchange Visits

* We are RE-OPENING this call to support applications for cross-sectorial Knowledge Exchange Visits . *
Deadline for applications 19th Jan 2025. To apply
CLICK HERE

We have funded 6 Knowledge Exchange Visits with the aim of fostering knowledge exchange and mobility among non-academic stakeholders (e.g. people from businesses, governmental organisations, charities and environmental groups) as well as early career researchers, including PhDs and post-doctoral researchers.

To view our ‘Knowledge Exchange Visits’ to date including videos and blogs, scroll down below:

  1. Xizhen Huang - Visited GCARE, University of Surrey

  2. Andrea Berardi - Visited Spelthorne Borough Council

  3. Dr Karina Corada - Visited University of Surrey

  4. Dr David Fletcher - Visited Portsmouth City Council

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE VISITS

Xizhen Huang - GCARE, University of Surrey, UK

Xizhen Huang is currently studying a PhD in Energy and Environmental Engineering at the University of Reading. The RECLAIM Network Plus funded Xizhen to take up a 3-month knowledge exchange visit with the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) in the areas of urban greening and heating.

Xizhen why you are taking up this RECLAIM Network Plus funded Secondment?

‘Because the network’s focus area shares similar interests with my PhD study. Taking up the secondment offers fresh thinking and new approaches to my research about improving outdoor thermal comfort for coping heatwaves by a green infrastructure approach. There are also grants to cover non-salary costs. Therefore, I would like to work with the like-minded people through the RECLAIM Network Plus funded Secondment’.

What you are most looking forward to from this opportunity?

‘This is an incredible opportunity for me to work with experts in this field. I could expand horizons and increase opportunities to establish key contacts with senior managers and leaders for supporting my career development and progression’.

To find out more about her visit click on the video above & blog here

Andrea Berardi - Spelthorne Borough Council, UK

Andrea Berardi is currently co-director at Cobra Collective CIC. The RECLAIM Network Plus funded Andrea to take up a 3-month knowledge exchange visit with Spelthorne Borough Council in the area of Green Blue Grey Infrastructure Planning and Co-Design.

Andrea why are you taking up this RECLAIM Network Plus funded Secondment?

‘After successfully contributing to the inclusion of a 'Green Corridor' policy within the Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale Neighbourhood Plan -  one of the first Neighbourhood Plans to explicitly include a GBGI policy - I am looking forward to working with Spelthorne Borough Council to establish a strong GBGI baseline for assessing the impacts of emerging developments, including Heathrow expansion and the River Thames Scheme. The Neighbourhood Plan intervention was also a first in that it involved a highly participatory approach, with input from community members and a range of stakeholders. This secondment is therefore a great opportunity to explore the potential to scale up the participatory design approach to engage with the needs and desires of local stakeholders, especially low-income and vulnerable communities’.

What are you most looking forward to from this opportunity?

I am especially keen to deliver an ambitious set of outputs in this secondment, including:

- Developing participatory videos to showcase the community GBGI co-design process;
- Producing a GBGI participatory and systemic co-design guide;
-Contributing to Spelthorne Borough Council's GBGI strategy within its 2022-2037 Local Plan,
-Sharing the experience of output development and the result with the RECLAIM Network while also learning from the Network's other contributors.

To find out more about his visit click on the video above and blog here

Dr Karina Corada-Perez - University of Surrey, UK

Dr Karina Corada is currently working as a Research Fellow specialising in Air Quality and Green Infrastructure at the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of East London. The RECLAIM Network Plus has funded Karina to take up a 3-month knowledge exchange visit with the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) to encourage an early career researcher to publish research papers that showcase her experiences and knowledge about GBGI.

Karina why are you taking up this RECLAIM Network Plus funded Knowledge Exchange Visit?

‘I am taking up this RECLAIM Network Plus funded Knowledge Exchange Visit to promote knowledge exchange and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. This visit aims to expand our understanding of Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructures and their impact on urban environments. By collaborating with Professor Prashant Kumar from the University of Surrey, we aim to advance our research and improve our contributions to the field of sustainable urban development’.

What you are most looking forward to from this opportunity?

- ‘I am eager to finalise and publish our research paper on "Air Pollution Abatement from Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructure." This will allow us to share our findings on the impact of 51 GBGI categories on air quality, contributing valuable insights to the scientific community’.

- ‘I am excited to compile and analyse data from the Clean Air Garden project. This visit will allow me to gain mentoring on publishing real-world research projects and disseminate the results of the relationship between domestic garden designs and air pollution’.

- ‘I look forward to identifying potential funding sources and collaborative research projects. An initial meeting has been scheduled between the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of East London and the Global Centre for Clean Air Research at the University of Surrey to discuss research impact and establish funding partnerships. This will help enhance our research capacity and improve our dissemination efforts’.

To find out more about her visit click on the video above video & blog here

Dr David Fletcher - Portsmouth City Council

Dr David Fletcher is an academic in a research organisation, with expertise as a spatial analyst and modeller, and developing ecosystem services models in urban settings at the UKCEH. The RECLAIM Network Plus has funded David to take up a 3-month knowledge exchange visit with Portsmouth City Council to further his understanding of the nature evidence needs of a city council as well as an understanding of the opportunities, constraints & mechanisms for delivery of GBGI in densely populated cities.

David why are you taking up this RECLAIM Network Plus funded Knowledge Exchange Visit?

‘This exchange visit with PCC will further my understanding of the very different nature of evidence needs on a day-to-day basis in a city council environment. This understanding can help shape the development of decision tools such as the City Explorer Toolkit (https://www.ceh.ac.uk/city-explorer), but will also have wider ramifications in terms of understanding the opportunities, the constraints and the mechanisms for delivery of GBGI within densely populated cities. Portsmouth is a city with very little spare space, so learning how to maximise GBGI under such constrained conditions will be incredibly valuable’.

What you are most looking forward to from this opportunity?

‘Using the Portsmouth case-study to drive development of the City Explorer Toolkit (https://www.ceh.ac.uk/city-explorer), to improve model outputs and summary statistics and make sure that they are useful and useable by people in planning and policy roles, so that Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions can be integrated into city development plans’.

To find out more about his visit a video and blog will follow shortly