With thanks to our colleagues at Nottingham Trent University for sharing their learning and expertise.
In September this year, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) launched a funding opportunity to support the development of a Centre for Law and Social Justice. The Centre is to work collaboratively with relevant stakeholders to identify opportunities and drive forward changes across policy, practice, and provision for a range of social justice issues which will lead to positive impacts on people’s lives. This initiative comes at a critical time in the UK, with all the challenges community is facing.
You can find more information about the opportunity here: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/centre-for-law-and-social-justice/
Partnerships within and beyond Higher Education Institution across the third sector, community groups, businesses, and the public sector are identified as essential to the success of the Centre. These partnerships could be new or existing and could manifest as project co-leads, project partners, or collaborating organisations, that could, for example, help to deliver public engagement activity for the Centre.
As an organisation committed to the use of the law as a tool for social justice and community empowerment, we are keen to speak to any Higher Education Institution who is considering making a bid with a view to exploring potential partnership working to ensure and facilitate partnership and co-design with front line services.
We’ve been approached by a number of institutions to be part of their bids for this fund and we’re happy to both be considered by and actively support those who’d like to explore a partnership with us.
If you’d be interested in discussing this opportunity further please get in touch with Martha de la Roche, Partnerships Director, at marthadelaroche@atjf.org.uk.
The aim of this Centre for Law and Social Justice would be to:
- Deliver collaborative, interdisciplinary, challenge-led research on law and social justice,
- Champion the arts and humanities,
- Strengthen and diversify the research community,
- Foreground equitable partnerships, Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and public engagement, and
- Deliver collaborative, interdisciplinary, challenge-led research in law and social justice on themes including trust, accountability, vulnerability, and citizens’ rights and which leads to positive changes including in local, national, and, where relevant, international policy and practice.
Nottingham Trent University wrote an early exploratory report for the Arts and Humanities Council (AHRC) entitled, ‘Scoping the Future Law and Social Justice – Listening & Hearing from the Frontline.’ which was published by the AHRC in July 2023. The report can be found here: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/49438/. The report authors were: Jingchen Zhao, Liz Curran, Jonathan Doak, Sophie Gallop, Helen Hall, Matt Henn, Thomas Lewis, Blerina Kellezi, Helen O’Nions, Loretta Trickett.
The research team at Nottingham Trent University, while not looking lead the project as Principal Investigator, may also be interested in joining other entities considering its expertise and role in the report.
