Tag: partnerships

Cost of living crisis stopping Scottish households from taking climate action

  • Recent weather events, such as heatwaves, floods and fires in the UK this year, have made three fifths (60%) of adults across Scotland more concerned about climate change
  • A third (32%) think that it’s too expensive to live more sustainably creating a barrier to climate action, despite 78% of adults in Scotland being concerned about climate change
  • Three in ten (29%) are more concerned with their energy bills as opposed to living sustainably

Recent weather events across the UK this year, such as heatwaves, floods and fires, have made three fifths (60%) of people in Scotland more concerned about climate change. A further 59% are also worried about weather reports from other countries, including in Australia and America, according to new research from mutual life and pensions company Royal London.

More than half (55%) have also said that ongoing media coverage has had an impact on their climate change concerns – and 49% said that having children and grandchildren has made them more worried about climate change.

This has spurred many to act and live more sustainably in the last 12 months. Most popular planned changes include reducing plastic usage (56%), shopping locally (49%), driving less (38%), and consuming less meat and dairy (35%).

However, the cost of living crisis is making it difficult for people in Scotland to act on climate change.

With the majority (83%) of adults in Scotland concerned about the cost of living, 29% are understandably more concerned with their energy bills as opposed to living sustainably. Many people are taking cost-saving measures this autumn and winter with a quarter (25%) planning to buy fewer or cheaper Christmas presents.

Shockingly, nearly half (46%) plan to turn on their heating only when absolutely necessary this winter and one in seven (14%) adults say they are anticipating skipping meals. Sustainability is unlikely to be the priority with a third (32%) thinking that it’s too expensive to live more sustainably.

Royal London’s Changemakers Programme announces partnership with Remake Scotland, a Perthshire based social enterprise, which promotes the reuse of local materials

Set up in 2011 in the town of Crieff, Perthshire, Remake Scotland promotes sustainable living across the local area. Its projects and services, such as its repair cafes, second-hand store, and community tool library (holding more than 300 items for residents to borrow), encourages the local community to reuse materials and become increasingly self-sufficient.

Given its success and growth over the previous years, from a small organisation based in the founder’s own garage, Remake Scotland now seeks to further expand the range of its services to maximise its impact and help the community live sustainably.

As part of this goal, it hopes to work more with commercial partners to develop a second-hand brokerage service.

Each Changemaker participating in the programme will benefit from a £20,000 grant, as well as extensive business support from The School for Social Entrepreneurs, which will continue for two years, to support them with the development of a greener economy that benefits many. 

Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London, says: “Climate change and sustainability are issues which need addressing urgently. 

“Living sustainably doesn’t have to cost more and some measures, such as reducing the food and heat you waste, can save money. However, many of us need a helping hand to get started. 

“We believe that these inspiring social enterprises can provide real solutions to these issues, with innovation at their heart, which is why they’ve been chosen as our Changemakers this year. We are delighted to support people who are looking at new ways to ensure that a just transition and moving fairly to a sustainable world is a possibility for everyone.”

Amulree Welch, General Manager at Remake Scotland, says: “We know that the cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact on our community, particularly in the lead up to Christmas.

“Remake are committed to supporting our community through this crisis and helping people to continue to live sustainably while also living affordably. We do this by providing low cost, second-hand supplies through our Reuse Hub including a wide range of second-hand Christmas gifts, providing free hire of over 300 different pieces of equipment through our Community Tool Library and providing package free, sustainable products through our Remake Refillery, which are price matched with Tesco.

“We know that the cost-of-living crisis will for many people be taking precedence over the larger global concern of the climate crisis, however we hope that by supporting people to make second hand their first choice this winter this will help people save money and the planet.”

Working together on ground-breaking science

Researchers at Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde team up with international partners to develop quantum technologies for medical imaging and new materials for better medicines

  • Researchers at Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde universities team up with international partners to develop technologies of tomorrow
  • Teams at Heriot-Watt will work on developing quantum technologies capable of measuring single light particles that could be used for medical imaging or detecting objects behind barriers
  • A team from Strathclyde will develop new materials which could improve the processing and performance of drugs such as tablets and capsules

Leading UK researchers from Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde universities will work with international collaborators to develop the technologies of tomorrow, including quantum technologies for medical imaging and new materials for better medicines.

They are among 12 projects announced today bringing together UK and international researchers to develop cutting-edge new technologies, funded through a £17 million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

One team at Heriot-Watt, led by Professor Gerald Buller, has been awarded a £1.3 million grant to advance quantum technologies capable of measuring single light particles.

Detectors that are capable of measuring the single quantum of light – the photon – are critical to many quantum technologies.

These technologies include quantum communications systems which connect remote quantum processors, and quantum-enhanced imaging approaches for uses such as medical imaging, detecting objects that are faint or behind barriers and satellite communication networks.

The team will work with collaborators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology in the US.

Professor Buller said: “The impact of this project will be found in both advancing the emerging applications of quantum technology, as well as in more ‘blue-sky’ quantum research. 

“Accessing the state-of-the-art detect single-photon detectors from this project will enable a range of advances in emerging quantum technologies such as quantum communications and quantum-enhanced imaging. 

“In parallel, this project will allow examination of more fundamental studies of quantum entanglement in ultra-high dimensional quantum imaging and communications.”

A team of researchers at Strathclyde, led by Professor Alastair Florence, has been awarded a £1.2 million grant to work with collaborators in the USA, advance the development of amorphous materials, which are rigid and can hold their shape like solids but have disordered atomic structures like liquids.

They have huge potential in medicines manufacturing where they could be used to improve the processing and overall performance of drugs, in particular treatments which are taken orally such as tablets and capsules.

The team will work with collaborators at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and Ghent University in Belgium.

Professor Florence said: “This ambitious new international collaboration will develop new science and digital technologies to de-risk the use of amorphous solid forms, reduce the timescale and cost of their development, deliver innovation in their design and manufacture, and help drive the adoption of this versatile and important class of materials across pharmaceutical industry.

“Crucially, the project will also help to develop the talent pipeline and future research leaders for industry as well as academia.”

UK Science Minister George Freeman said: “From improving cancer treatment and generating clean growth to designing the communication networks of tomorrow, UK science, technology and innovation is developing pioneering solutions to the some of the world’s greatest challenges.

“These 12 international projects will harness the expertise of the UK’s world-leading researchers and global collaborators, helping us accelerate our path to an innovation nation and underline our position as a science superpower.”

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Dame Lynn Gladden said: ““From better, cheaper medicines to powerful quantum computers and next-generation communications networks, these new technologies have the potential to transform the way we live.

“By bringing together world-leading researchers to deliver ground-breaking science and engineering solutions, these projects will generate impact that will be felt across all of society.”

The projects are:

  • A project led by Durham University aims to develop molecular quantum technologies for use in powerful quantum computers. They aim to use ultracold molecules cooled to within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero as the building blocks of new computing platforms, exploiting the rich internal structure of molecules to unlock the enormous processing power of quantum computation.

Partners: Imperial College London, University of Oxford, Harvard University (USA), JILA at the University of Colorado Boulder (USA)

  • Led by the University of Birmingham, researchers intend to develop robust and transportable optical clocks which use light to provide an unparalleled precision in timekeeping. They have a wide range of potential uses, from helping planes and ships to navigate to underpinning ultra-high broadband networks.

Partners: University of Nottingham, NPL, Riken (Japan), University of Tokyo (Japan), the University of Düsseldorf (Germany), PTB (Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt) (Germany), Technical University Munich (Germany)

  • Researchers at Heriot-Watt University will work with US collaborators to advance quantum technologies capable of measuring single light particles. These have a wide range of applications, including medical imaging, detecting objects behind barriers and satellite communication networks.

Partners: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (USA), California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (USA)

Partners: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (Germany) and Rosalind Franklin Institute

  • Working with collaborators in the USA, a team led by the University of Sheffield aims to develop the technology needed to fabricate ultimate visible light communication (VLC) systems and micro-displays. Using lasers on tiny chips in our devices, VLC could potentially offer bandwidth more than three orders of magnitude larger than conventional Wi-Fi or 5G.

Partners: University of Strathclyde, University of Bath, Harvard University (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)

  • Researchers led by Newcastle University aim to ensure that electric vehicles using the Internet of Things to optimise energy usage are cyber-secure. They will test the vulnerability of electric vehicles, national grids and charging infrastructure while developing the approaches needed to protect them against cyberattacks including the zero-day attacks.

Partners: Cardiff University, University of Sydney (Australia), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (Australia)

  • A project led by The University of Manchester intends to increase, by up to a million-fold, the volume of manufactured materials that can be X-ray imaged to identify defects. Focusing on battery, composite materials and additive (3D printed) manufacturing, this will guide the manufacturing of new products and improve their performance.

Partner: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (France)

Partners: National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Metamaterials (USA), Airbus, BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace (USA), Bodkin Design, British Telecommunications, The City University of New York (USA), Dstl, Metamaterial Technologies, M.Ventures (Merck) (Netherlands), NASA (USA), Oxford Instruments, Phoebus Optoelectronics (USA), QinetiQ, Thales, Transense Technologies, Wave Optics

  • A team led by the University of Strathclyde will advance the development of amorphous materials, which are rigid and can hold their shape like solids but have disordered atomic structures like liquids. They have huge potential in medicines manufacturing where they could be used to improve the processing and overall performance of drugs, in particular treatments which are taken orally such as tablets and capsules.

Partners: University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Ghent University (Belgium)

  • A project led by the University of Leeds aims to improve the outcomes of surgical treatments for osteoarthritis, a condition affecting more than 8 million people in the UK and costing the NHS more than £10 billion a year. Researchers intend to use personalised approaches to evaluate devices such as hip and knee replacements so they can be matched to individual patients’ needs, reducing the risk of complications.

Partner: The Center for Orthopaedic Biomechanics, University of Denver (USA)

  • A project led by the Imperial College London ​and UCL aims to develop sophisticated mathematical optimisation algorithms that can guarantee finding the best possible designs and operational strategies in industrial processes and their supply chains. These algorithms will be designed and implemented to facilitate use by decision makers across the process industries to balance economic performance, safety and environmental impacts and handle uncertainty

Partner: RWTH Aachen University (Germany)

  • A project led by Aston University aims to advance frequency comb technology, which allows light to be measured and controlled and has potential in areas such as telecommunications, gas sensing and sensing for the food industry. Researchers aim to design and develop a new family of light sources with improved robustness, performance and versatility to allow for practical applications in a wide range of different fields.

Partners: University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (France), University of Lille (France)

Tackling wildlife crime: Operation Wingspan enters final phase

Operation Wingspan, a year-long campaign to tackle wildlife crime, working with partners, including the Partnership Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland, has seen considerable success and is now entering its final phase.

This involves officers working on the persecution of fresh water pearl mussels and tackling all aspects of poaching, including hare coursing. As with previous phases, it will involve a combination of enforcement action and education.

Overall, the campaign has involved officers engaging with a number of organisations, including the agricultural community, ranger services, land managers and game keepers with the aim of educating the wider public and encouraging them to report wildlife crime to the police.

Detective Sergeant Billy Telford, Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator, said: “We have many internationally renowned species that attract thousands of nature lovers and tourists every year to Scotland, but many crimes against wildlife are cruel and barbaric, often involving a painful death.

“From hunting deer, hares or badgers with dogs, to using poisons or snares on protected birds, and protecting one of our lesser known species, the critically endangers freshwater pearl mussel, Operation Wingspan is raising awareness and hopefully encouraging people to come forward and report this kind of crime.”

Operation Wingspan began in October 2020 and Phase One saw officers tackling the trade in endangered species and included visits to over 300 business premises, such as antique dealers, retro shops and pet shops across Scotland to advise owners and provide information about potential contraventions under The Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) 2018 regulations.

It resulted in the seizure and recovery of alligator heads from across the country.

Phase Two tackled badger persecution, working with the charity Scottish Badgers, to highlight that badgers and their setts are protected, that it is an offence to harm or interfere with them and that badger baiting is illegal. Where ongoing risks were identified, action was taken to protect the sett and the badgers.

Phase Three saw officers taking part in a construction conference to outline the responsibilities of developers, highlighting that it is an offence to destroy or damage roosts, as well as engaging with bat groups and visiting vulnerable roosts, ultimately leading to people being charged for undertaking development that threatened the welfare of bats.

In Phase Four concentrated on raptor persecution. Officers have carried out a number of activities, including patrols of vulnerable nesting sites, warrants executed in relation to wildlife crime and a social media campaign with an educational video that was produced in collaboration with the RSPB.

Detective Chief Superintendent Laura McLuckie said: “Reports of wildlife crime doubled during lockdown and Police Scotland is dedicated to working closely with a wide range of partner organisations to reduce the harm to species targeted by criminals and the communities who rely on them for employment and tourism across Scotland.

“Tackling wildlife crime is not just about enforcement, it is also about working with partners and raising public awareness to prevent it happening. Indeed, the public has an important role in helping up to investigate reports of wildlife crime and I would urge anyone with concerns or who suspect a wildlife crime has been committed to contact us on 101, and if it is an emergency to call 999.”

More information can be found on the website: 

https://www.scotland.police.uk/wildlifecrime

Social media platforms unite to support COVID-19 vaccine drive

Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube partnered with UK government to encourage users to get the vaccine

  • Collaboration comes as all adults aged 18 and over invited to get a jab
  • Filters and a range of stickers will be available on Snapchat from today
  • Other platforms will host live question and answers with medical experts providing vaccine advice

Leading social media platforms popular with young people including Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube, are supporting the vaccination programme by encouraging their users to get coronavirus (COVID-19) jabs.

The partnerships come as all adults aged 18 and over are invited to receive a vaccine in England as the vaccination programme continues at unprecedented pace and scale.

Snapchat users can use NHS stickers, a filter, and later this month, an augmented reality lens that all read: ‘I’ve had my vaccine’ for UK users to share on their accounts.

The platform is also hosting a series of question and answers with medical experts on the Prime Minister’s snapchat account. The most recent took place on Saturday (19 June) with Dr Kiren Collison, the interim Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care for NHS England, who answered questions from the public about the vaccine.

Snapchat has also expanded its: ‘Here For You’ feature which provides in-app resources to people looking for more information around health, mental health and wellbeing.

When someone searches for ‘COVID-19’, ‘vaccine’, ‘NHS’ and ‘vaccination’, they will have access to expert NHS resources on the vaccine to make sure they are well informed, build confidence and tackle misinformation.

The activity supports the NHS ‘every vaccination gives us hope’ campaign encouraging younger people to get their vaccine and join the millions of people who have already received their jabs.

The government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. NHS England has extended the offer of a vaccine to all adults.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “With the offer of the vaccine now extended to all adults in England, we are leaving no stone unturned to boost uptake and encourage everyone to get the jab when eligible.

“I am delighted that Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube – some of the most influential social media platforms – are coming together to support the biggest and most successful vaccine effort in NHS history.

“We’re accelerating our vaccine programme on the road to recovery and I urge everyone to come forward for the offer, roll up their sleeves and join the millions that already have the fullest possible protection from 2 doses.”

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Our vaccine rollout has been a great success story and is now available to all adults.

“We have worked closely with social media platforms throughout the pandemic to promote life saving vaccine information, and this new initiative with popular platforms will help drive take-up even higher.

“We are also tackling misinformation online through our new Online Safety Bill to make sure people are not bombarded by harmful content.”

The community network platform Reddit has hosted 2 live ‘ask me anything’ sessions on its coronavirus forum, featuring experts such as Dr Amalina Bakri answering questions from Downing Street. Reddit will continue to host question and answers over the coming weeks to help people access factual and reliable information from a range of experts.

TikTok’s support for the vaccine rollout includes adding the NHS ‘I’ve had my COVID vaccine’ stickers to its library for users to share, and working with Team Halo – a group of scientists using the platform to provide the latest information on vaccines with entertaining and shareable videos.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “I’m thrilled that some of the leading social media platforms are joining forces to boost vaccine uptake among younger people. This is another incredible asset to our vaccination programme, which is already saving lives.

“The vaccine is our way out of this pandemic and we have made incredible progress so far with more than 4 in 5 adults receiving at least one dose and all adults being invited.

“I encourage everyone to get the jab – it could stop you becoming seriously ill and protect your loved ones.”

Ed Couchman, UK Regional General Manager at Snapchat, said: “With Snapchat playing a key part of the lives of young people around the world, we’re thrilled to collaborate with the government to make sure they have accurate and trusted resources to stay safe, healthy and informed.

“As well as creative tools, it’s great to be expanding our in-app health and wellbeing support portal with NHS resources about the vaccine and to host question and answer sessions with key government officials from the Prime Minister’s official Snap Star account.

“As we enter this next phase of the COVID-19 recovery in the UK, we continue to explore new ways we can collaborate with trusted partners and organisations to help support the health and wellbeing of our Snapchat community.”

In collaboration with the NHS, YouTube has rolled out a video campaign with the tagline: ‘Let’s Not Go Back’ to remind its core 18 to 34-year-old audience of the importance of being vaccinated through messaging that speaks to their personal experiences from a year in lockdown.

The campaign is running on YouTube, and on national billboards and bus stop advertising, and on social media. Collectively, these information panels have served over 400 billion impressions worldwide.

Ben McOwen Wilson, UK Managing Director at YouTube, said: “We are delighted to have been able to support the NHS with our ‘Let’s Not Go Back’ campaign to encourage young people to get vaccinated. From billboards to bus stops, online and off, we reached young people wherever they are to raise awareness of the key role they have to play.

“It has been fantastic to witness the public response to our national initiative and to have seen the rates at which young people have stepped up. We will continue to work to combat the pandemic by using YouTube’s extensive reach among young people to help in this critical national effort.”

Dr. Jessica Ashooh, Director of Policy for Reddit said: “Building bridges between policymakers, industry experts, and online communities is central to how we elevate authoritative vaccine information on Reddit.

“Our partnership with 10 Downing Street has enabled us to promote quality COVID-19 resources for Redditors in the United Kingdom.”

Last year Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden and Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock agreed new measures with social media platforms to limit the spread of false vaccine information and help people find the information they need about any COVID-19 vaccine.

At a virtual roundtable, Facebook, Twitter and Google committed to the principle that no company should profit from or promote false information about COVID-19 vaccines, to respond to flagged content more swiftly, and to work with authorities to promote scientifically accurate messages.

The government has also developed a toolkit with content designed to be shared via WhatsApp and Facebook community groups, as well as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, to tackle false information about the vaccine.

Earlier this year we announced that Facebook and Instagram are backing a new nationwide social media campaign launched by the government and the NHS for people to show their support for the vaccine roll out.

The initiative allows users to update their profiles with a range of specially-designed profile frames and graphics. People can use these to show ‘I’ve had my vaccine’ or make a pledge that ‘I will get my vaccine’.

The government met its target of offering a vaccine to the most vulnerable by 15 April and is on track to offer a first dose to all adults by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned. NHS England has extended the offer of a vaccine to all adults.

More than one million jabs were booked on Friday and Saturday after vaccinations opened to all over-18s in England.

North West Edinburgh Physical Activity Alliance Launch

NORTH EDINBURGH ARTS CENTRE

Wednesday 18 July, 9.30 – 12.30

Physical activity can contribute massively to good physical and mental health for everyone, no matter their age or circumstances and physical activity is about so much more than playing sports or going to the gym.

No single organisation can be solely responsible for promoting physical activity and to enable us to develop opportunities effectively we need to adopt a broad based, community connected, partnership approach.

The launch event will take place at: Wed 18th July, 09:30am-12:30pm, North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15A Pennywell Court EH4 4TZ, wE

Come along to find out what’s going on in your area to promote physical activity; tell people what you’re up to- put your service on the map; join the network and help make things happen

To book a place, please contact Ellie Eaton by email: eleanor.eaton@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or phone 0131 537 9351.

Continue reading North West Edinburgh Physical Activity Alliance Launch

Taking SHAPE: reducing the risk of homelessness

homeless

A new pilot scheme to reduce homelessness has been launched by the City of Edinburgh Council and voluntary sector partners .

Focusing on resolving and preventing homelessness, a range of specialist services will be delivered through a partnership with third sector organisations the Bethany Christian Trust, Edinburgh Cyrenian Trust, Foursquare and CHAI (Community Help and Advice Initiative). The partnership heralds the beginning of a new collaborative approach to supporting people in the Capital who are at risk of losing their homes.

The Council, providers and service users are working in partnership to rebalance housing support services and place more emphasis on prevention, through mentoring, befriending, group work and visits from housing support staff. This approach will help resolve some of the crises that lead to homelessness and also deliver initial savings of £400,000, with potential further savings in the future.

The Council’s Housing Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “Taking early action is the best way to combat homelessness. It is vital that we act quickly so we can prevent more people from losing their homes and better protect their well-being.

“By working alongside our third sector partners, we can gain from their expertise and deliver the highest standard of support to those who need it across Edinburgh. This way we can tackle the root causes of homelessness and provide important advice on budgeting and tenancy issues, to build a better future for those at risk and help them to keep their homes.”

The pilot will provide:

  • Budgeting and debt advice (including rent, utility bills and fuel poverty)I
  • nformation about benefits, including changes due to welfare reform
  • Advice about tenancy issues and housing options
  • Links to employment, including volunteering, education and training
  • Help to avoid social isolation

People who are homeless and in temporary and insecure accommodation will also receive support to move into more sustainable accommodation, in both the public and private sectors.

Iain Gordon of SHAPE, the umbrella organisation representing the third sector partners, said: “Our hope is that this new way of working will help people who find themselves at risk of becoming homeless to be more secure in their homes, so that they can live active and productive lives.”

 

Broughton event to showcase partnerships

Partnership Showcase 2013

Thank you to everyone who has confirmed their attendance at Broughton High School Showcase Event on 5 June 2013 at 2pm.  For those who may have missed their initial invitation there’s still time to confirm your attendance.

The event is a celebration of all the excellent partnership opportunities BroughtonHigh School has had with our diverse partners.  We hope this event will stimulate even more opportunities for our students and staff to work with external partners on a variety of projects.

Refreshments will be provided and there is an opportunity to view a short film showing our students promoting the benefits of working with our external partners.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Best regards,

Partnerships School Improvement Group

Broughton High School

BHS