Impact Awards 2022

As part of the wider Dwoskin Project, Dr Chamarette, Professor Rachel Garfield and Dr Henry Miller used material and expertise from Reading’s Stephen Dwoskin Archive to curate a series of accessible online film screenings and discussion events using LUX’s online platform and publicity, featuring the work of disabled Jewish-American experimental artist and filmmaker, Stephen Dwoskin.

The events brought together disabled artists and policymakers to discuss disability, accessibility, and inclusion through screenings of three of Dwoskin’s films, each chosen to highlight Dwoskin’s complex relationships with disability, accessibility, and sexuality.

To facilitate engagement and participation by disabled audiences and creative practitioners, closed captions were produced for each of the films, while the panel discussions included live captioning and BSL interpretation by experts specialising in arts events. The series attracted a large, international and diverse audience from both academia and industry, with most respondents reporting that the events had changed their attitudes towards disability.

In partnership with Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image, The British Film Institute and LUX Artists’ Moving Image Agency.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of Reading (Centre for Film Aesthetics and Cultures, Arts Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Fund).

A project led by Professor Angelique Chettiparamb has resulted in an evidence-based strategic action plan accompanied by an urban vacant land inventory with the potential to improve the lives of thousands of people.

Chettiparamb and her team developed partnerships with academics and organisations at international, national and local levels, to access state of the art knowledge, and secure contacts required for rapid field studies to evaluate current issues in providing adequate rental housing for migrants in the city.

The strategic action plan to deliver rental housing for internal migrants in Kochi was formally adopted by the Local Government Council. Further partnerships led to the first ever rapid urban vacant land inventory carried out in a city of Kerala incorporating local academic and professional institutions.

This work has attracted interest of national and international development agencies with a view to formulating broader, city-wide planning strategies.

In partnership with Kochi Municipal Corporation, The Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED), The Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID) and SCMS School of Architecture.

Funded by Research England.

But until recently, UK rainfall data from before 1960 was largely inaccessible, with much of it stored within 66,000 sheets of hand-written paper in the National Meteorological Archive.

This data has now been given a new lease of life through an online citizen science project, led by Professor Ed Hawkins in collaboration with the Met Office, in which members of the public were invited to transcribe measurements from scans of the archived records.

Over the course of 16 days, 16,000 volunteers transcribed 66,000 pages containing 5.28 million numbers. With each of these numbers transcribed four times for quality control, a total of 21 million observations were recorded by the volunteers in just over two weeks.

This extraordinary response enabled Hawkins and his team to produce a comprehensive digital record of UK-wide rainfall variations dating back to 1836, developing invaluable insight into how the UK’s climate is changing and significantly expanding the Met Office datasets available for use by scientists around the world.

In partnership with the National Meteorological Archive and the Met Office National Climate Information Centre.

Funded by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.

A team led by Dr Weizi (Vicky) Li from the Informatics Research Centre at the University of Reading and Eghosa Bazuaye from the RBH Informatics Department have co-developed a tool that has been successfully used by RBH to reduce missed outpatient appointments by 40%.

The tool uses AI to predict the probability of a patient not attending an appointment, based on factors such as travel distance, level of deprivation, and attendance history, before presenting tailored suggestions to hospital staff for interventions to encourage attendance.

Following an initial pilot, which achieved a 30% reduction in missed appointments at RBH by high-risk patients across three departments, improvements were made to the way that risk data was presented to staff. A subsequent pilot using the improved model was conducted in 2021 and resulted in a 40% reduction in patient groups with high risks of missing appointments and the tool has been implemented across all departments.

The project has attracted significant interest from the healthcare sector, including an invitation from NHS England and NHS Improvement to present proposals to scale up the application for use in other hospitals.

In partnership with the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the University of Reading and the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Led by Professor Sally Lloyd-Evans as part of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone programme, the team behind the Oxford Road Project: Reimagining the High Street Through Your Stories used participatory action research methods to explore the lived experiences of the people and communities who live, work and play on Oxford Road.

Through a series of structured interviews, Alice Mpofu-Coles, Robyn Woronka and Toby Barlow, gathered information about the social history of the area along with photographs, memories and stories from local residents, to co-create a multimedia online storytelling exhibition for Reading Museum.

Three local artists were also commissioned to create artwork inspired by the stories, highlighting how each generation has contributed to enrich the history and culture of Oxford Road.

This project has significantly strengthened Reading’s existing community networks, while providing the foundation for further student-community research training and collaboration with local organisations and the arts sector.

In partnership with Reading Borough Council, Baker Street Production, UNTOLD, Lifespring Church and Reading Museum.

Funded by Reading Borough Council, Historic England and the University of Reading.

To address this issue, Professor Ciara McCabe (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) and Kizzi Keast (University Access and Outreach Manager) conducted inclusive studies involving students from under-represented ethnic backgrounds as both researchers and participants.

A cohort of 200 students from the Reading Scholars widening participation programme took part. The students were taught to conduct and present research using semi-structured qualitative interviews on how ethnicity affects university access in the UK.

Based on analysis of the resulting data, the research team, which included MSc and PhD students, published the Pioneers Report and a peer reviewed research article in the Journal of Further and Higher Education. The publications contain a series of recommendations for HE institutions and outreach practitioners, with a view to improving and facilitating access by black and minority ethnic students.

The recommendations have influenced policy and practice across the UK, both at Reading itself – where documents for parents of prospective students have now been translated into different languages – and via changes to the policies of the Study Higher partnership, which includes universities and colleges across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Swindon.

In partnership with and funded by Study Higher.

An innovative project designed to alleviate this poverty has been developed by Professor Steven Mithen, who saw first-hand the challenges faced by the local population while he was excavating a Neolithic settlement in Faynan and developing a local museum to support heritage-based eco-tourism into the region.

Working with Professor Fatima al-Namari from the University of Petra, and with Obyda Hummas and Nebras Maslamani from ‘Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities’, a Jordan-based non-profit organisation, Professor Mithen secured funding to create a small business, owned and managed by Bedouin women. The business makes and sells handicraft products based on archaeological finds from his excavations: the translation of academic research into a commercial initiative to alleviate poverty.

Professor Mithen and his team brought together women from each of the five tribes in Faynan and Greigra to form the Faynan Heritage Women’s Cultural Association (FHWCA). The women received two years of intensive support, including business training and professional advice on product design and manufacture to supplement their traditional craft skills.

In March 2022, FHWCA successfully launched Faynan Heritage Home, a physical and online shop selling jewellery, pottery, and a range of hand-woven products. The project has already had a major impact on the self-esteem and status of the women, and some have used the training to find employment elsewhere. Establishing the business is only the end of the beginning – the aim is for the business to be sustainable over the long term.

In partnership with the University of Petra and Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Newton Fund.