Partner with Us:  Accelerating Change & Making a Lasting Impact on the Environment & Society

The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  seek to end poverty through strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, spur economic growth, tackle climate change and work to preserve our oceans and forests.  Their purpose is to lay out a path for securing a sustainable, resilient, and stable environment for all. 

The SDGs have become the common language of sustainability and the role of private and public sector organisations is key to making progress in this direction.  It is increasingly common for private and public sector organisations to develop Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies and objectives in order to be seen to be considering the positive and negative impacts of their activities on the environment and society. 

These ESG policies and objectives are structured around short-term and long-term environmental and social goals that are often explicitly aligned to the SDGs, requiring the organisations to engage with wider stakeholders and regularly report on progress.  The setting of an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Strategy is seen as a way for an organisation to demonstrate that it is an environmentally and socially responsible one.  An effective ESG Strategy highlights a responsible approach to climate change, stakeholder wellbeing and governance.

Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Ireland is a charity that works towards shaping a world where everyone has a decent, affordable and durable place to live.  It is an advocate for affordable housing, promoting dignity and hope, through sustainable and transformational development initiatives.  HFH Ireland works locally to help build strong, vibrant communities, while at the same time also raising funds to support partner programmes around the world.  These partnerships are focused on: peace building; orphans and vulnerable children; water and sanitation; the impacts of urbanisation on vulnerable communities; and disaster response and mitigation.   

Habitat for Humanity Ireland would like a team of students to research and identify which private and public sector organisations in Northern Ireland have embraced the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular developed related Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies.  HFH Ireland is also interested in better understanding how HFH's programmes align with these ESG strategies.  The charity would like recommendations on how to build stronger partnerships with a range of local private and public sector organisations by signposting how HFH's programmes align with local organisations' ESG strategies.

This research project will likely provide opportunities to further develop skills and experience in desktop research (researching organisations' websites, public relations materials, corporate strategies and management structures), social surveys (of organisations' public relations or investor relations departments), and semi-structured interviews (with senior personnel who are responsible for implementing ESG strategies).  Your goal will be to produce evidence-based recommendations for HFH Ireland to take forward in building stronger partnerships with private and public sector organisations in Northern Ireland.

Mapping Northern Ireland’s Picture House Past

The 1930s witnessed a cinema boom in Northern Ireland. By the end of the decade over 40 ‘picture houses’ existed in the city of Belfast alone, with an additional 100+ across the rest of Northern Ireland. But today, the Strand Arts Centre  in East Belfast is the only surviving, operational 1930s cinema in NI.

The Strand Arts Centre is currently engaged in a heritage project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to preserve and promote NI's picture house past. The Strand Arts Centre would like a team of students to utilise ArcGis to create interactive resources that will engage a wide audience with NI’s picture house heritage. This will involve: (1)  reviewing and refining an existing ‘Cinematic Tour of Belfast’ map  (see: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=ab4de4af627348e2a83d800b216d3faf ; and (2) researching and creating a StoryMap on a specific theme or covering a specific location of NI’s picture house past (e.g. cinemas of 1930s, cinemas of east Belfast, cinemas of west Belfast, etc). The outputs have the potential to be used both in-venue and as a valuable tool in the Strand's education and out-reach programme.

Students will have access to a wide range of research and archive material held by the Strand Arts Centre and will receive guidance and advice from the Strand's Heritage Officer.

In relation to Nature-Based Solutions, how could the Belfast Hills could be used to mitigate against potential impacts of climate change on the city of Belfast, drawing upon examples of best practices from around the world? 

Nature-based solutions for the sustainable management and use of natural features and processes to tackle socio-environmental issues.

The Met Office has produced a ‘Belfast Climate Pack’ which outlines some of the potential impacts of Climate Change on the city:

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/research/spf/belfast-city-pack_august-2022.pdf

Within the Belfast City Council Climate Plan, they state “The effects of climate change present the greatest economic, social and environmental risks to the city of Belfast, in this decade and beyond”. Research what Nature-Based Solutions could apply to the Belfast Hills to mitigate against these potential impacts of climate change on the city. Draw upon examples of best practices from around the world (the Resilient Cities network could be a good starting point for this research).

Using GIS (or even Google Maps Street View), predict the potential loss of Ash trees to Ash dieback and suggest new planting proposals to mitigate these losses. 

It is estimated that Ash dieback will kill up to 80% of ash trees across the UK. At a cost of billions, the effects will be staggering. It will change the landscape forever and threaten many species which rely on ash.

Ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) is a fungus which originated in Asia. It doesn’t cause much damage to its native hosts of the Manchurian ash (Fraxinus mandshurica) and the Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis) in its native range. However, its introduction to Europe about 30 years ago has devastated the European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) because our native ash species did not evolve with the fungus and this means it has no natural defence against it. The disease tends to kill saplings and young trees fairly rapidly, but it may take 20-30 years for mature trees to succumb.

Ash dieback was first observed on Cave Hill in 2014 and has now been observed in most woodlands within the Belfast Hills area.  We are still in relatively early stages of the epidemic, so we won’t know the full impact for a while. The slow progress of the disease exacerbates this, hence the need to predict the potential loss of ash trees along with the visual impact that this would have on the landscape and what new planting should happen to mitigate these losses.

Connecting lived experience with global issues to eradicate extreme poverty & preventable disease

The ONE Campaign is an advocacy and lobbying organization focused on eradicating extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. We have a global presence, with offices in Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa, and staff across Europe and North America. While ONE has historically focused on a range of issues – COVID-19 vaccine access, transparency and accountability, and girls’ education – we are currently laser-focused on unlocking transformative financing to reduce poverty and preventable disease in sub-Saharan Africa. ONE’s unique value is bringing clarity to complex issues, and deploying global non-partisan connectivity, credibility, and creativity to convince policymakers to invest money in ending poverty and preventable disease.

To help achieve ONE’s promise, our Global Policy Team delivers industry-leading analysis featured on our platform, data.one.org. Our work and analysis typically focus on a global level, like compelling G7 countries to commit to transformative World Bank reform. However, we are increasingly seeing the value in identifying local case studies that exemplify the need for policy shifts at a global level. This is important because it humanizes our issues, and helps make them feel personal, urgent, and actionable to the average person, no matter where they live.

ONE would greatly benefit from a team of students from Queen’s University Belfast conducting individual research and interviews that could surface evocative case studies to augment our policy analysis and storytelling. The project team would be asked to:

1. Participate in a learning session with Micaela Iveson, Policy & Projects Manager at ONE, to learn more about our issues and how we see ourselves using this work. Micaela is also an experienced storyteller and public speaker, who will also use this time to instruct students on combining data and case studies to tell a clear and compelling story.
2. Research avenues for local case studies that connect back to our overarching policy agendas.
3. Speak (via Zoom) with partners in African countries to understand their context of poverty and identify what stories could be shared.
4. Craft a 1-page brief on the issue with relevant citations, accompanied by a prototype social media asset. Examples include:

1. An X/Twitter thread
2. A TikTok or Instagram reels video
3. An Instagram carousel with designed images

Project outcomes would include:

1. Concrete examples of how ONE’s issues have a local impact, helping us “package” our issues in an engaging way.
2. Draft assets that can inform ONE’s global campaigning efforts and brand-building.
3. Students will develop: research and interview skills; storytelling skills; a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of people facing extreme poverty and inequality.

Barriers to Active Travel

Belfast City Council would like a team of students to create a map within the Belfast City Council boundaries: identifying existing Active Travel projects such as Active Travel Hubs and covered cycle stands; identifying barriers to Active Travel such as gates to public parks; and providing ideas/projects how to overcome these barriers

Active travel and connectivity are strategic priorities for Belfast, identified within the Belfast Agenda, underpinned within A Bolder Vision.    There is a need to address connectivity and active travel from and to the city core right across the city to provide access for communities to key destinations and facilities. 

The proposed travel solutions developed by the student team should align with several key strategies and policies aimed at improving transport and community well-being in Belfast:

• Belfast Agenda: Focus on sustainable and active transport options, while addressing health inequalities.
• Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy (BCCRIS): Create a greener, walkable, and cyclable city centre.
• A Bolder Vision: Prioritise walking, and cycling, and promote overall well-being for all citizens.
• Making Belfast an Active City: Belfast Cycling Network 2021: Reimagine public spaces to support cycling, building a greener, cleaner, and healthier community.
• NI Changing a Gear Strategy: Contribute to the “Build” pillar by improving cycling infrastructure, parking, design, and safety.
• Building a Better Future: Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS): Support efforts to reduce greenhouse gases through more walking and cycling.
• Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (BMTP, 2004): Encourage increased walking and cycling across the city.

The project should strategically identify a number of interrelated projects as “Active Travel Projects”. Collectively they will form a compelling programme of small-scale catalytic interventions to support citizens to have the freedom and confidence to travel by bicycle for everyday journeys.

There are a number of improvements required to continue to enhance active travel infrastructure within the city to make walking and cycling more attractive and safer for the citizens. The objective of this project is to remove barriers in the first instance and open up areas for safer cycling. The project should also propose innovative ideas on how to make Active Travel more attractive for a wide range of people.

Belfast as a City of Greenways?

Belfast City Council would like a team of students to create a map within the Belfast City Council boundaries that: highlights all existing Greenways/open spaces/path connections; and shows plans and ideas of BCC, other relevant departments and organisations (such as the Department for Infrastructure – Cycling Unit, Sustrans); shows how they are connected/interrelated; identifies the gaps between existing connections; and proposes how to fill these gaps

The Council has a long-standing aspiration to create Greenways connections throughout the city into the surrounding communities.  Sustainable transport is a key element of the Belfast Agenda under the City Development priority with a stretch goal to increase the use of sustainable transport by 15 per cent by 2021. A number of key infrastructure projects are currently in place to help achieve this stretch goal including the £150 million Belfast Transport Hub and the Belfast Glider system.

As part of the sustainable transport plan for achieving our stretch goal in the Belfast Agenda, we have committed to supporting walking and cycling as sustainable modes of transport, improving the city’s pedestrian routes and cycling infrastructure.  The Comber Greenway and Connswater Community Greenway, as well as the Lagan and Lough Cycle Way, have proven very successful in providing safe cycling and pedestrian infrastructure that connects neighbourhoods to each other as well as to the city centre.

There exist a range of proposals of differing scale, impact and viability from diverse stakeholders but a critical overarching programme of work is not yet established - this poses a major risk to the coordination and synergies between these proposals. The Council wants to harness existing support and utilise preliminary work done by key stakeholders to fulfil their aspirations by developing an overarching delivery plan to increase Greenways connections.