8 Impact Report
Keele establishes doctoral scholarships programme to tackle issues facing rural communities
Keele University researchers from across the humanities and social , physical , and environmental sciences have come together to establish the new doctoral scholarships programme to tackle the multifaceted issues facing rural communities in Britain .
The Sustainable Rural Futures Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Programme ( SURF ) has been funded by a £ 2.2m grant from the Leverhulme Trust to understand and solve the realworld problems faced by those who live and work in the British countryside .
Collaborating across disciplines
SURF will provide up to 21 PhD Scholarships to study a range of topics like peat restoration , artisan quarrying , sustainable transport and energy , the rural housing crisis and rural poverty , through to biodiversity entrepreneurship and adventure . Those on the scholarships will also offer insight into such problems as engrained land management structures , declining and difficult-to-access rural services , inadequate rural housing and transport provision , agricultural profitability and hidden rural inequality .
As well as the issues facing British wildlife , highlighted by the prominent ‘ Save our Wild Isles ’ campaign , rural communities in the UK face a wide variety of complex and multifaceted problems , often exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic , Brexit and climate change .
Solutions for rural communities
This programme aims to tackle a growing sense of rural crisis by bringing together an interdisciplinary team of humanities scholars , ecologists , environmental scientists , geographers , geologists , social scientists , economists , psychologists , astrophysicists , and technologists to support the next generation of innovative rural researchers .
SURF ’ s scholars will work alongside rural communities to develop replicable real-world solutions which will allow them to prosper , live healthier and more sustainable lives , and preserve their heritage and traditions .
Professor Clare Holdsworth , Director of SURF , said : “ We have allowed the problems of rural areas in Britain to suffer from relative neglect for too long . I am absolutely delighted to be leading this essential Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Programme , which will refocus our attention towards the many challenges for rural people in Britain .”
Dr Ben Anderson , Deputy Director of SURF , said : “ I am thrilled at the opportunity to help direct a new generation of rural researchers . A healthy , prosperous , and sustainable rural domain is crucial to any positive vision of a future Britain ; SURF will help to tell us how that can be achieved .”
Paul Miner , Head of Policy and Planning at CPRE , The Countryside Charity , added : “ Our rural areas face some major , if often little understood , challenges . Key among these are low average incomes , a severe shortage of housing people can afford , and a lack of sustainable transport options . Our countryside is , at the same time , a unique environmental resource and an increasingly important place for peace and quiet and recreation . How we reconcile these challenges and functions is of critical importance . The Sustainable Rural Futures programme is thus very timely , and we look forward to working together over the coming years .”
Professor Mark Ormerod , Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Keele University , added : “ I am delighted by this prestigious Leverhulme Trust award to establish this exciting new cross-institutional Doctoral Scholarships Programme in Sustainable Rural Futures , reflecting the genuine research expertise we have across the humanities and social , physical and environmental sciences in this crucially important area .”
Watch a short video about the project : keele . ac . uk / sustainable-rural-futures