Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

It is critically important to provide social science insights to support the transition to a sustainable and biodiverse environment and a net zero society. We are in a biodiversity crisis, with profound implications for humanity and nonhuman nature. Severe cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed to restrict global temperature increases. This multi-faceted crisis, alongside disruptions such as COVID-19, demands the skills, insights and leadership of social scientists in relation to research, policy-making and action. However, environmental solutions are often framed as technological or ecological fixes, underestimating social dimensions of policy and practice interventions. Social science research is rarely agile and responsive to societal needs in very short time frames, and there is an urgent need for stronger community organisation and coordination. We need to increase the accessibility, agility and use of social science, as well as to further develop the skills necessary to contribute to interdisciplinary research, enabling the co-production of knowledge and action. Advancing Capacity for Climate and Environment Social Science (ACCESS) is a team of world-leading social science and interdisciplinary experts led by the Universities of Exeter and Surrey with the Universities of Bath, Leeds & Sussex and the Natural Environment Social Research Network (Natural Resources Wales, NatureScot, Natural England, Environment Agency and Forest Research). The ACCESS core team is complemented by a wider network of expertise drawn from academic and stakeholder partners across UK devolved nations and internationally: Strathclyde University, Queens University Belfast, Cardiff University, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Manchester University, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, University of Sydney and stakeholder partners including the Welsh Government, Scottish and Southern Energy, the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management, National Trust, Academy for Social Sciences, Community Energy England, Winchester Science Centre and Devon and Surrey County Councils. ACCESS is structured around three cross-cutting themes (Co-production; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Sustainability and Net Zero) that underpin four work packages: 1. Map, assess and learn from the past experiences of social scientists in climate and environment training, research, policy and practice; to develop and test new resources to impact interdisciplinary education, research and knowledge mobilisation, catalysing change in policy culture, institutions, businesses and civil society (Work Package (WP)1); 2. Empower environmental social scientists at different learning and career stages by providing training and capacity building, including masterclasses, placements, mentoring and collegiate networks to enhance leadership and knowledge exchange skills (WP2); 3. Innovate by creating new ideas and testing new approaches; scope future transformative social science and enable rapid and timely deployment of social science capacity in response to key events or emergencies (WP3); 4. Champion and coordinate environmental social scientists across the UK and internationally by providing an accessible knowledge/data hub and innovative public engagement tracker; building new networks, enabling coordination and collaboration; supporting policy and decision-making (WP4). ACCESS' depth and breadth of expertise coupled with the range of innovative resources produced will deliver transformational leadership and coordination of environmental social science. ACCESS will become the key trusted source of environmental social science for UK governmental and non-governmental agencies, business and civil society. In so doing, ACCESS will ensure that social science insights become more visible, valued and used by non-social science academics and stakeholders, supporting the transition to a sustainable and biodiverse environment and a low carbon society.

The acoustics industry contributes £4.6 billion to the UK's economy annually, employing more than 16,000 people, each generating over £65,000 in gross value added across over 750 companies nationwide. The productivity of acoustics industry is similar to that of other enabling technologies, for example the UK photonics industry (£62k per employee in 2014). Innovation through research in acoustics is a key to its industry success. The UK's acoustics industry and research feeds into many major global markets, including the $10 billion market for sound insulation materials in construction, $7.6 billion ultrasound equipment market and $31 billion market for voice recognition. This is before the vital role of acoustics in automotive, aerospace, marine and defence is taken into consideration, or that of the major UK industries that leverage acoustics expertise, or the indirect environmental and societal value of acoustics is considered. All the four Grand Challenges identified in the 2017 UK Industrial Strategy require acoustics innovation. The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF, https://www.ukri.org/innovation/industrial-strategychallenge-fund/) focuses on areas all of which need support from acoustics as an enabling technology. The future of acoustics research in the UK depends on its ability to contribute to the Four Grand Challenges. Numerous examples are emerging to demonstrate the central role of acoustics in addressing the four Grand Challenges and particularly through more focused research. The acoustics-related research base in the UK is internationally competitive, but it is important to continue to link this research directly to the four Grand Challenges. In this process, the role of UK Acoustics Network (UKAN) is very important. The Network unites over 870 members organised in 15 Special Interest Groups (www.acoustics.ac.uk) who represent industry, academia and various non-academic organisations which success relies on the quality of acoustics related research in the UK. UKAN was funded by the EPSRC as a standard Network grant with the explicit aim of pulling together the formerly disparate and disjoint acoustics community in the UK, across both industry and academia. UKAN has been remarkably successful. Its success is manifested in the large number of its members, numerous network events it has run since its inception in November 2017 and contribution it has made to the acoustics research community. Unfortunately, UKAN has not been in the position to fund new, pilot adventurous or translational projects nor has it any funding support for on-going research or knowledge transfer (KT) activities. The purpose of UKAN+ is to move beyond UKAN, create strategic connections between acoustics challenges and the Grand Challenges and to tackle these challenges through pilot studies leading in turn to full-scale grant proposals and systematic research and KT projects involving a wider acoustics community. There is a great opportunity for the future of the UK's acoustics related research to move on beyond this point, build upon the assembled critical mass and explore the trans-disciplinary work initiated by UKAN. Therefore, this proposal is for UKAN+ to take this community to the next stage, connect this Network more widely in the UK and internationally to contribute through coordinated research to the solution of Grand Challenges set by the government. UKAN+ will develop a new roadmap for acoustics research in the UK related to Grand Challenges, award exploratory (pilot) cross-disciplinary research projects to the wider community to support adventure research and knowledge transfer activities agreed in the roadmap and support the development of develop full-scale bids to the government research funding bodies which are aligned with the Grand Challenges. UKAN+ will also set up a National Centre or Coordination of Acoustics Research, achieve full sustainability and support best Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practices.