University of York launches £1m fund to tackle poverty, housing and mental health in the region

A new £1 million fund will support research aimed at solving local social challenges.

Projects will focus on issues including poverty, housing and children’s mental health.

Researchers must work with communities across York and North Yorkshire.

The University of York has launched a new £1 million fund designed to support research tackling some of the biggest challenges facing communities across York and North Yorkshire.

The initiative, called “New Horizons: Driving Social Change for People and Places to Prosper”, funds projects that aim to turn academic research into practical solutions for local issues.

The five year programme will be run by the university’s School for Business and Society in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

What the fund will focus on

The fund invites researchers to work with community organisations, policy makers and local authorities to develop projects addressing challenges currently affecting local families and neighbourhoods.

Key areas for the first round of funding include:

• Health inequalities, particularly children and young people’s mental health
• Housing and the built environment
• Poverty and the cost of living crisis
• Community storytelling and local action
• Regional decision making, including how communities can benefit from changes in local governance

The university says the goal is to develop research that leads to real world improvements for people living in the region.

Different levels of funding available

A total of £1 million will be distributed over five years, with funding available at three levels depending on the size of the project.

Researchers and community partners can apply for:

• Up to £3,000 for small-scale community projects
• Up to £30,000 for collaborative research initiatives
• Up to £150,000 for larger regional projects

The fund aims to support everything from small local initiatives to larger long term research programmes.

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‘Research should be a catalyst for change’

Professor John Hudson, Dean of the School for Business and Society, said the fund intends to translate research into real benefits for local communities.

He said: “At the School for Business and Society we believe that research should be a catalyst for social change.”

“The New Horizons Fund will help us deepen our partnerships across the region by investing in co-produced research that addresses complex challenges such as housing inequality or the cost of living crisis, translating our academic research into a tangible public good for York and the wider region.”

‘Delivers lasting social impact across York and North Yorkshire’

Dr Aniela Wenham, Co-Head of Social Policy as the University of York, said the programme is designed to connect research directly with the needs of local communities.

She said the initiative would generate “place-based knowledge” to help address challenges across York and North Yorkshire.

“Working in partnership with key stakeholders, the New Horizons Fund connects research with the priorities of local communities, generating place-based knowledge and insight that delivers lasting social impact across York and North Yorkshire,” she said.

‘Research has always been central to how we understand and tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality’

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which is partnering with the university on the project, said the fund builds on a long history of research into poverty and inequality in York.

Victoria Hughes, Programme Lead in JRF’s Emerging Futures team, said the initiative continues a tradition of using evidence to influence social policy.

She said: “At JRF, research has always been central to how we understand and tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality, from the pioneering Rowntree surveys of poverty in York in the early twentieth century to our work today.”

She added that the new programme would support research developed in partnership with communities, helping generate ideas and evidence that could shape fairer futures across the region.

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