The Policy Pod

Rehabilitating Probation: Rebuilding culture, identity, and legitimacy in a reformed public service

In this episode of the Policy Pod, we spotlight the ESRC funded project Rehabilitating Probation and discuss it with Professor Harry Annison from the University of Southampton, Dr Matthew Millings from Liverpool John Moores University, and Cassia Rowland from the Institute for Government.

Rehabilitating Probation explores the experiences and consequences of the unification of probation services in 2021 for managers, practitioners, partners, and service users. The research team has examined the lessons that emerged about how to rebuild culture, identity, and legitimacy in a reformed public service. They have conducted 340 interviews, across three annual sweeps, and run research-led workshops in and beyond their case study region.

Read all the publications from the team here and find more details about their project on their website. snip

The Shaping Tomorrows Playbook - for everyone working at the intersection of climate science, policy, and leadership

In this episode of the Policy Pod, we spotlight the Shaping Tomorrows Playbook - the main output of the Shaping Tomorrows Project, a project led by the Climate Coaching Alliance and funded by our New Things Fund.

This episode features two of the Playbook’s key contributors -  Dr Ruby Campbell, executive coach, leadership consultant, author, and chief editor and project lead of the Shaping Tomorrows project; and Dr Wassim Dbouk, marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, project finance lead, and co-author.

Together, they discuss the Playbook’s evidence-based approach and its value for climate coaches, researchers, and anyone working at the intersection of climate science, policy, and leadership, and how our universities can support their inner development process. 

The Shaping Tomorrows Playbook introduces a structured, six-step framework designed to help readers navigate the political and organisational complexities of climate action by guiding them to develop the inner skills and capacities needed for effective leadership and change. It offers practical tools and reflective exercises grounded in current research to support impactful leadership and decision-making in sustainability contexts. The Playbook also encourages critical reflection, theory of change development, and interdisciplinary collaboration - key priorities for today’s research community. Download the Playbook here.

Whether you are a climate coach, a researcher, or a professional working to advance sustainability and climate action, we invite you to listen to this discussion to explore how the Shaping Tomorrows Playbook can enhance your engagement with policymakers, and support the translation of evidence into meaningful climate action.

And Towns: Understanding the role of culture in place-based decision-making

In this episode of The Policy Pod, we discuss And Towns, a series of AHRC-funded projects that develop culture-led solutions by working with places and communities. Dr Joseph Owen and Isaac Fravashi bring their knowledge and expertise on place-based approaches in the discussion of four different projects:

• Towns and the Cultural Economies of Recovery: a scoping project examining how English towns understood the role of culture in their recovery from the pandemic
• Feeling Towns: a knowledge exchange project exploring place attachment that uses creative methods to understand what pride means to different communities
• Neighbouring Data: an interdisciplinary research project analysing the use of qualitative and creative data in local authority and community-led decision-making
• Poetry, Policy and Place: a research project assessing the role of poetry as a tool for community engagement and for representing felt and lived experience

Southampton Coproduction Corner

In this episode, Professor Lucy Green, Head of Engagement in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton and Rebecca Kinge from Southampton Voluntary Services talk about Southampton Coproduction Corner. Coproduction is a term that is being used more and more these days; it is all about working together as equals to develop policy, and to design and deliver services, “doing with” rather than “doing to.” Lucy and Rebecca reflect on how this Community of Practice evolved, creating a space for people to share knowledge and develop their confidence around coproduced approaches. They mention the range of people that have been involved in Southampton Coproduction Corner and how everybody worked together to identify key principles and recommendations that are published in the Making Coproduction Meaningful Policy Brief.

This work has received funding from the Centre for the South’s New Things Fund, HDRC Southampton, and has been possible thanks to the goodwill of many people who have given their time and energies to the project.

Leakage Border Adjustment Mechanism (LBAM)

In this episode, Dr. Chiara Forlati from the University of Southampton and Professor Alessia Campolmi from the University of Verona present their collaborative project—joint work also with Harald Fadinger, Sabine Stillger, and Ulrich J. Wagner—on the Leakage Border Adjustment Mechanism (LBAM). The LBAM is a trade policy designed to prevent carbon leakage induced by decarbonization policies. To enhance the project's impact, Dr. Forlati organized a roundtable discussion in London with policymakers and industry representatives, supported by the New Things Fund. Further information about the project can be found here.

AHRC Hub for Public Engagement with Music Research

In this episode, collaborators Dr Erin Johnson-Williams and Dr Benjamin Oliver from the Department of Music at the University of Southampton discuss the launch of the new AHRC Hub for Public Engagement with Music Research, which they run together with a team of independent experts (external co-lead Lisa Tregale), public engagement professionals (Caz Creagh, alongside training from Southampton’s PERu), and support on policy development from Public Policy Southampton. This Hub is hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and run through the Centre for Music Education and Social Justice. Over two years, the Hub will fund 4 large ‘spoke’ projects that will involve collaborations between academics and non-academics along the lines of social justice, music research and public engagement.

Erin and Ben talk about their careers in music and academia, the challenges of demystifying academic funding processes, and how social justice played a role in their vision for the Hub.

Dr Wassim Dbouk - insights from COP29

In this episode, Dr Wassim Dbouk, marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute reflects on his experience as a negotiator as part of the Lebanese delegation during COP29. He shares insights he gained from his experience and talks us through his main responsibilities and activities during this COP. He highlighted support he received on his journey from the UUCN, the Women and Gender and YOUNGO constituencies, the Youth Negotiators Academy, and individuals he collaborated with on his PPS New Things Fund project "Shaping Tomorrow: A Playbook for Coaching Leaders in Sustainable Decision-Making and Policy. You can find out more by reaching out to Wassim on w.dbouk@soton.ac.uk"

Storm Surge Barriers

In this episode, Prof Ivan Haigh and postgraduate researcher Sunke Trace-Kleeberg discuss their work, which is helping storm surge barrier teams around the world better prepare for the impacts of climate change on the management, maintenance and operation of their barriers. They are joined by Andy Batchelor from the Environment Agency, who was the former operations manager of the Thames Barrier and associated gates that projects London and communities along the Thames from flooding. Andy is also the chair of I-STORM, the international storm surge barrier network. The podcast is hosted by Dr Wassim Dbouk, a policy research fellow at the University of Southampton. 

By sea swimmers, for sea swimmers: benefits and barriers of sea swimming around the Isle of Wight

In this episode, researchers Fiona Middleton and Dr. Giulia Champion at the University of Southampton discuss their work with the Isle of Wight sea swimming community, exploring the benefits of – and barriers to – sea swimming. In a project supported by the New Things Fund, Fiona and Giulia hosted participatory workshops to identify conditions for more, safer sea swimming on the Island. 

They’re joined by Sue Barker and Victoria Thorneton-Field of Swim the Wight, a community interest company that runs regular supervised swims and promote sea swimming education, to discuss their plans for an accessible, eco-friendly tidal sea pool on the Isle of Wight. 

You can find out more about the sea pool at @isleofwightseapool on Instagram.

Policy making for emerging technologies: responsible research and innovation

In this episode of The Policy Pod, we discuss about emerging technologies and the importance of pre-emptive discussions for policy making and public engagement with Dr Rafael Mestre and Abdul Afzal from the University of Southampton. Rafael and Abdul will bring their knowledge and expertise on this topic while talking about three different projects: 

• Biohybrid Futures: a research project aimed at understanding the societal, ethical, and environmental implications of bio-hybrid robotics, funded by ESRC. Find more information here;
• RAI4MH, Responsible AI for mental health initiative: a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Northeastern University (US), funded by RAI UK; find more info here;
• SOUNDSCALE: an interdisciplinary research project studying the emergence of distributed acoustic sensing for smart cities, funded by the new UKRI's cross-research council scheme; find more info here.