A recent article in 'Nature: Climate Change' (Castree et al. 2014) asked what kinds of global environmental change research for what sorts of earth futures? In other words it queried the questions and methods the research community should use to develop the knowledge required to understand and face the challenges posed by ongoing and uncertain changes in the earth's environmental systems. The paper notes challenges the science community face from global environmental change (hereafter GEC) as both a complex research problem requiring multiple perspectives beyond those of science, and as a pressing issue that demands the gap between knowledge and action be closed. The solution its authors proposed was a more robust engagement with social science and humanities research perspectives. While they note that GEC research does recognise the value of interdisciplinarity, they find the current field to be based on limited conceptions of social science and to virtually ignore the humanities. The aim of this fellowship is to investigate and promote the value of arts and humanities approaches to GEC research. It does so not only to assert the value of these approaches, but also as part of the wider advancement of the interdisciplinary field known as the GeoHumanities. GeoHumanities is not a new field, but recent years have seen a convergence of arts and humanities scholarship and practice with geography's interdisciplinary concerns with environment, place and community. Key to current GeoHumanities work are creative research approaches that either produce art and/or use arts based research methods to generate 'data'. This might include, for example, a geographer-artist generating sound maps to explore the effects of sea-level rise or the development of community-based participatory-writing and performance workshops to explore local flood experiences and questions of water and citizenship. While not as established as the fields of Medical Humanities or Environmental Humanities, GeoHumanities is becoming an increasingly formalized research terrain through edited collections, a new journal and a series of events, research projects and centers. As yet however, it lacks the critical commentary and strategic reflection found within more established fields. In response, this fellowship is designed to advance the GeoHumanities at a crucial point in its evolution and it will do so though exploring the value of arts and humanities approaches, specifically creative research approaches, to GEC research. The fellowship will be delivered through three work packages of activities: 1)GeoHumanities Ethnographies: Ethnographic research on creative approaches to GEC, including projects in the global north and south and an artist residency instigated as part of the fellowship. 2)Networking GeoHumanities: An online forum and series of events designed to develop much-needed advocacy of creative approaches to GEC within and beyond that research community. This includes organising a series of early career collaborations to support the next generation of scholars and practitioners to develop new creative projects in this field. 3)GeoHumanities At Large: An exploration of audience engagement with creative approaches to GEC, and public advocacy for these approaches. Working with two fellowship partners (an arts organisation engaged with GEC and a research networking organisation) these activities will; a) generate intellectual leadership on the form and import of creative research approaches to GEC b) advocate for creative research approaches within and beyond the academy by creating spaces for dialogue c) respond to widespread calls for an evidence base around the effects of creative approaches to GEC on their publics Together these activities will shape research agendas in GEC and in the emerging interdisciplinary field of the GeoHumanities, and advocate for such agendas within and beyond the academy.

Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network (PDN) brings together academics and arts professionals to reimagine an inclusive, extended and sustainable ecosystem for dance. Encompassing dance as a broad and diverse practice and an academic discipline, the network enables dialogue, exchange and strategic developments at a time of significant challenges. PDN will respond to the unprecedented convergence of Brexit and Covid-19, coupled with acute concerns regarding diversity, social justice and climate change that have been exacerbated by war in Europe and surging inflation. This requires a collective and inclusive approach. We will develop new discourses and practices of ecosystems research and of dance ecologies, reflecting the growing need in this time of change to consider connectives between higher education and the cultural and creative sectors in terms of deeply interconnected systems. Producing dance is viewed as central to this ecological project. Producers are mediating catalytic agents, activating the creation and curation of meaningful engagements across a range of contexts that address broader social and cultural issues of equity and inclusion. Over recent decades formal and informal networks of dance producers have placed dance as a leading ambassador for a creative and vibrant global Britain. Yet, despite these contributions, little is known about the practices or specific roles of those involved in producing dance. As such, PDN opens both a new scholarly agenda by focusing on producing as an essential and meaningful area of enquiry for the field of dance studies and proposes ways in which an expanded concept of producing can significantly activate the symbiotic nature of creative and research practices, increasing the visibility and impact of dance research and practice-research in particular. PDN addresses another important absence: there is no road map to renewal, or model for understanding the producing ecosystem. PDN will therefore consider and evaluate emerging developments to promote resilience, renewal and new opportunities for the sector. By encompassing a diverse range of dance cultures and research practices, PDN seeks to expand approaches to future dance research, to cultivate and renew the environment for the professional dance sector, to inform policy-making for dance and to demonstrate an ecosystem that is inclusive and dynamic. To this end, PDN brings together experienced and early-career HE researchers, dance artists and leading dance organisations from across the UK, including members with diverse social, cultural and racial backgrounds to ensure richly informed exchanges. The network is organised through regional hubs in Scotland, North-East England, Yorkshire, the Midlands and London. Each region is represented by leaders in the field including Anita Clark (The Work Room, Glasgow); Anand Bhatt (Artistic Director (AD)/CEO Dance City, Sunderland); Tanya Steinhauser (Yorkshire Dance, Leeds); Paul Russ (AD/CEO Fabric - formerly Dance4/DanceXchange, Nottingham and Birmingham); and Eddie Nixon (The Place, London). In addition, the network will be supported by two leading national partners, OneDance UK and The Cultural Capital Exchange.

The CDT in Media and Arts Technology will train PhD students to become skilled researchers and practitioners at the intersection of science, technology, digital media and the arts. The proposed CDT builds on the outstanding success of Queen Mary's current Media and Arts Technology (MAT) programme, introducing new training elements in Design, Innovation and Materials and expanded industrial and international partnerships. It addresses all 3 of EPSRCS's Digital Economy themes, particularly Digitally Connected Citizens and many ICT themes, especially Next Generation Interaction Technologies, Data to Knowledge and ICT for Manufacturing; Digital Healthcare. MAT is firmly grounded in Britain's Digital Economy (DE), which contributes the biggest share of GDP in any g20 nation and is projected to increase by a third by 2016. The Creative Digital sector in East London, on Queen Mary's doorstep and known as Tech City, is the fastest growing DE cluster in the UK, outstripping Greater London and the UK for jobs growth since 2001. It now accounts for 48,500 jobs in over 3200 companies, ranging from micro-business and SMEs to global players like Ustwo and Last.fm, and is attracting inward investment from international players such as IBM, Facebook, and Google. The Creative Digital sector demands workers with a high degree of technical skill coupled with creative skills, able to work in multi-disciplinary teams: exactly the type of graduate MAT will produce. The MAT CDT has an established network of over 40 external partners including: large companies (BBC, IBM, Orange, Sony and Procter & Gamble) health organisations (Royal Hospital of Neurodisability) and Tech City SMEs (Cinimod, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, Ustwo, Playgen, United Visual Artists, Hide&Seek, Troika), cultural institutions (Barbican, Science Museum and V&A), and governmental bodies (UKTI, TCIO, DSTL and London & Partners). Many partners host students' Advanced Placement Project, provide data sets and technical resources, supervision and mentoring, and exposure to a wide range of markets and audiences. The CDT acts as a focus bringing together otherwise disparate external bodies who discover shared interests and values. Because DE is a key strategic area for QML, the university invests heavily in the area. The existing MAT CDT catalysed the formation of qMedia, a cross-Faculty Research Centre based in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and continues to be at its core. qMedia includes the world leading Centre for Digital Music, the newly formed Cognitive Science Group, the Multimedia and Vision Group, and members of the Networks, Vision and Antennas Groups. In EECS alone, qMedia has >40 academics, 41 RAs, 102 PhD students and a portfolio of grants with a current value of over £21 million. The CDT led to a major expansion in Digital Media research and teaching at Queen Mary. It inspired the creation of both a MSc in Media and Arts Technology and a BSc(Eng) in Multimedia and Arts Technology. The University invested around £3M in 200m2 of facilities for the MAT CDT, including Media and Arts Technology Studios, CDT hub (work/meeting space), 'maker' workshops, and a multimedia IT suite for audio/video editing. In conclusion, the existing CDT and its proposed renewal brings value nationally, locally and to the university. It is also a major international beacon of excellence that has led to several international partnerships, particularly in USA and China.