The aim of this project is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's theory of general relativity with an innovative interdisciplinary project which brings together fiction writers and astrophysicists. The outcome will be a published anthology of short stories inspired by general relativity which will be used as the basis for events and discussions at both literary and scientific festivals around the UK. The overall impact will to inspire a wide group of people about general relativity; by using the medium of fiction rather than popular science we will be engaging with a different audience than that which is traditionally engaged through science communication. This anthology will include a wide range of responses and styles of writing, from classic science fiction to literary fiction. Fiction inspired by real science is a recently recognised genre, often referred to as 'Lablit' (see the website www.lablit.com for examples of this genre) and it offers a unique way of communicating about science, with the ability to reach new audiences and interest people who may not otherwise engage with science. Whilst fiction's main aim is not intended to be educational, it is clear that readers do learn from real material included in fictional settings. As well as exploring the end results, Lablit also offers a way of opening up the often hidden process of doing science to wider audiences (similar in the way that the STFC-funded 'Collider' exhibition at the Science Museum opened up the process of working at CERN). Our proposed anthology is in some ways similar to the critically and commercially successful poetry anthology 'Dark Matter' (edited by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Maurice Riordan and published by Gulbenkian press in 2008), for which several poets were specially commissioned to work with astrophysicists and produce poems inspired by astronomy. The 'Dark matter' anthology was the subject of a very popular event held at Royal Observatory Greenwich in 2009 with Jocelyn Bell Burnell and chaired by one of us (Pippa Goldschmidt) which triggered in-depth discussions between participants and the audience about both the literary aspects of the poems as well as their astronomical content. The anthology will contain stories from commissioned writers (some of whom themselves have science backgrounds and at least two have worked as physicists) and will be edited by established award-winning fiction writers Pippa Goldschmidt and Tania Hershman who will also contribute stories. It will be published by Freight Books who are experienced in publishing themed anthologies such as 'A Bird is not a Stone' and '21 Revolutions'. As well as commissioning stories, we plan to issue an open call to other writers to submit stories inspired by GR and we will include the best three in the anthology. This process will have the added advantage of encouraging a wide community of writers to respond in their work to a scientific inspiration, as well as helping publicise the project and the associated science. Because of the close connection between general relativity and electromagnetism, as well as the the fact that general relativity was the first full theory to describe the connections between light, space-time and mass, the outcome of this project will also celebrate the International Year of Light, proclaimed by the UN to take place in 2015. We plan to make use of this connection when promoting and discussing the anthology at science festivals.

This project seeks to investigate the value of design and innovation through a set of managed dialogues between three key sets of stakeholders who together influence the use and value of design in the context of built environment heritage. These conversations between academics, design SMEs and the national heritage agencies will provide opportunities to narrate accounts of how design focussed SMEs have been able or inhibited from engaging with innovation in relation to heritage, how those agencies which influence regulation and governance are engaging with design sector, and how together they understand the role and value of design in relation to heritage. Our starting point is that while design is widely recognised in novel urban forms (buildings, public spaces etc) that meet future needs, it is less well recognised in conserving selected heritage that integrates with new and extended places. Still less attention has been given to opportunities for innovation to make the vast majority of the existing urban fabric smarter for the future. By bringing together those involved in valuing heritage and design into directed conversation, this project will not only highlight stories of success where design SMEs have been able to create value but also provide a deeper understanding of some of the constraints which hold back others from achieving such success.