An initial meeting of a participatory research network recently took place in Sheffield. The event was organised and delivered by Prof. Fay Hield. The event included opportunities to network and share experiences to ascertain if a longer term FLF network in the Participatory Research area would be useful and feasible. The event included a guest speaker, delivering a nationwide consultation on PR issues within academic institutions, was engaged to deliver a session and four community partners and their academic contacts took part in a chaired discussion. If you are interested in learning more about the outcomes or connecting with the network please contact hello@flfdevnet.com

Our third FLF-led Research Exchange Day was with Jaguar Land Rover at the National Automotive Innovation Centre in Coventry. The day was designed and led by FLF Dr Lee Skrypchuk and was well attended by University and Industry based colleagues. The day was focused on:

• How JLR go from basic scientific fundamentals through phases of development to get to market 
• The impact of government, policy, market forces as well as industry trends and threats and management strategies 
• The realities of working with industrial partners  

“What struck me most was the shared sense of purpose across such a diverse group. Despite our different scientific disciplines, we faced common challenges and goals which could be discussed universally— making the day feel inclusive, collaborative, and energising.”  Dr Lee Skrypchuk  [Organiser] “The event was incredibly useful and well organised. One big thing I took away was, it doesn’t matter how big or small the organisation is, everyone faces the same challenges. The frameworks the team presented really helped me think about organising the complexity of the [product] development process” Barbara dos Santos Correia  [Participant]

The Spring 2025 Cohort of The FLF Crucible had an inspirational meeting at the  PEARL. PEARL is a global centre of research excellence for developing and running interdisciplinary projects, particularly in transport and large-scale infrastructure design. So engaged were the fellows that a group have since gone on to design and run their own experiments with the PEARL team.

The Crucible programme is designed to give you time and space to collaborate with other FLFs, build a strong professional network and give you a chance to tackle complex interdisciplinary challenges. The programme gives participants the opportunity to hear from thought provoking speakers and look at their own and other's research through different lenses.

It is never too soon to start thinking about your next collaboration and create meaningful partnerships that last. If you are creative, a risk-taker and are interested please arrange a call (hello@flfdevnet.com) to discuss or BOOK NOW for the next Cohort in Surrey in Jan/April 2026

On November 13th 2024, an event was hosted at The Catalyst building in Newcastle upon Tyne. The event brought together FLFs interested in healthcare and AI, along with relevant stakeholders. Presentations included those from industry, charity, and the NIHR innovation observatory. Many FLFs contributed to extensive discussion around current challenges and future opportunities. This included conversations around guardrails for adaptive AI, the use of large patient datasets, and the prominence of radiology and neurology related applications. Future opportunities for FLF-led initiatives were considered, including writing a perspective article based on thoughts from the day. For more information on getting involved in future events and activities or connecting with the network please contact Peter Taylor or Yujiang Wang.

“Last year we organised a meeting in Newcastle to provide an opportunity for FLFs to meet multiple stakeholders in the area of AI in healthcare. This included people from industry, the NHS, and academia. Several collaborative ideas emerged from the discussions, including potential joint projects and cross-sector workshops. The event has led to a range of new contacts and the opportunity to learn from each other. One year on, these new contacts have facilitated peer dialogue and sharing of experiences in a positive manner.” [Peter Taylor, FLF and organiser]

Building on the success of last year’s exciting meeting at IBM in London, this year’s IBM event brought fresh insights and innovative discussions. This event examined anomaly detection, characterisation, and forecasting and included a historical tour of Hursley House and its fascinating computing museum.

"This day has broadened my understanding of the role of anomalies as signals that a theoretical model is inadequate. Assessing the limitations of models and establishing when a paradigm shift may be due are challenges that cut across so many disciplines; discussing them among an interdisciplinary group of FLFs was insightful and enriching. It was also a great pleasure to host the Fellows at IBM again – academic and industrial research complement one another and synergistic activities like Anomaly Day help fresh ideas circulate" Eloisa Bentivegna IBM

Please contact Eloisa for further details on next steps and opportunities for engagement!

In June 2024 Dr Simon Mitchell working with colleagues in Sussex launched the new Sussex Cancer Research Centre. Simon utilised resources from the Flexible Creative Fund to manage some of the external stakeholder engagement element and help build momentum to support the centres launch. As part of the funding Simon has provided his own personal guide to help you think about the strategic and practical hurdles in developing your own research centre from conceptualisation to launch and beyond. You can also download Simon’s video presentation of the work to the network.

“The Flexible Creative Fund was incredibly supportive of an initiative I would be unable to fund any other way. With their support I developed a guide on how to launch a research centre as an FLF, and I have been overwhelmed with feedback from FLFs telling me how useful it has been for them. I can’t thank the FLF Dev Network enough for supporting me to produce these materials and enabling me to support other FLFs.”

If you would like more information about this or other resources please contact the support team hello@flfdevnet.com.

In 2024, ten midlands based FLF’s came together for a peer networking session in Birmingham, which involved a Barista training team building session, where everyone learnt how to “cup” a coffee and how to steam milk to create latte art. FLF’s also had ample time to network amongst the group, sharing experiences of setting up their own research groups, personal perspectives including being a research active parents, and personal approaches regarding leading their respective fellowships. Attendees agreed that this was a very welcome break from academic life and valued establishing a wider network of local FLF peers to gain support from moving forward. If you want to know and connect with the group contact Jessica Mee.

“Not everything is about climate change, but climate change is about everything.” Jonathan Rowson

Observations and projections of the earth system suggest that substantial changes in global and regional climate are imminent. Societies – at the local to international scale – are called to address this challenge in one way or another, with diverse potential strategies ranging from mitigation or intervention to adaptation or acceptance. Understanding and appropriately assessing the risk and reward of any approach touches on topics as widely varying as philosophy, politics, sociology, physics, ecology, economics, geochemistry, human health, ethics, energy systems, technology, and more. We are seeking individuals from across the FLF network – scholars and researchers in all disciplines – to engage in widely cross-disciplinary discussion about the fundamental questions raised by global climate change. To energise this network, we hosted two short, informal, online discussions, in which people can shared their thoughts and ideas about the shape of these discussions, and what types of activities (and DevNet-supported funding opportunities) would help facilitate them. The initial scoping lunch events led to the the first in-person workshop, facilitated by FLF colleague Romina Istratii, entitled 'Collective Intelligence for wicked problems: making sense of climate action through systems thinking' took place on the 29th of November in London If you want to find out more about the ongoing work or join this emerging network please contact Graeme MacGilchrist  

Following an application to the Flexible Creative Fund, Future Leaders Fellows Peter Taylor and Yujiang Wang and 17 team members participated in a Research Exchange Day with the third sector organisation Epilepsy Society at the Chalfort Centre. The aim of the exchange was to explore collaborative opportunities to enhance the translational impact that computation and artificial intelligence research can achieve. During the exchange, Early Career Researchers in Peter and Yuijiang’s team were supported to network with colleagues from the Epilepsy Society and patients who visit the Chalfort Centre. An artist recorded the emergent themes from the discussion and potential areas for collaboration including ideas for Early Career Fellowships. This collaboration has supported Peter and Yuijiang’s leadership development by enhancing their understanding of how to strategically engage a third-sector partner using co-production methods.

"The Flexible Creative Fund allowed us (two FLFs working on related topics) to setup a networking event last year with a UK patient charity and also a group of interested senior academics. We were also able to involve our entire teams, from first-year PhD students to postdocs. One year on, we can see the effects of the event still rippling through our team. Many team members have built and lead fruitful collaborations, and as a whole, our team has widened its network substantially". [Yujiang Wang - Organiser]

In 2022 Future Leaders Fellow Oliver Mytton attended a Development Network Crucible Programme in London. It was during the Crucible that Oliver met fellow Future Leader Laura Carter and the idea for the Next Generation Podcast Series emerged. Oliver says, “I was initially sceptical about the Crucible Programme. I thought that it would be a challenge to make connections in two days. Maybe it was all down to chance and luck, but I found points of connection (with other FLFs) around the podcast idea. Long-term support for the idea followed and so engaging in a Crucible early was very worthwhile.” The Next Generation podcast series showcases the work of Future Leaders Fellows and explores some of the shared issues that Fellow’s experience. The podcast is available to listen to by clicking on the following link: Next Generation Research – Future Leaders Fellows Development Network (flfdevnet.com)

Eloisa Bentivegna recently secured Flexible Creative Funding to design a co-creation experience designed to help participating Future Leaders Fellows (Patrick Parkinson, Panos Papadopoulos, Maria Secrier) with the dissemination of research around anomalies, using communication modalities outside of their specific domain language. The day followed a structured process. Working with a visualisation expert the team considered;

• The importance of the motivations and expectations of the general public, policy makers, funding agencies and clients and; the distinction between fast-think and slow-think audiences.
• Three different frameworks for storytelling, based on different ways to articulate a research effort as a conflict-resolution process.
• Building visual experimentation with concepts from the different projects.

A common theme of the day was the desire to communicate research as an ongoing, open-ended process, where anomalies (unusual, unexplained occurrences) are just as relevant to new discoveries as the accumulated background knowledge in each field. The team are now considering dissemination channels, from outreach activities and wider public-engagement campaigns organised by professional societies, such as the Institute of Physics.

This work is part of an ongoing theme that will be explored further at an upcoming event at IBM Hursley. Newcomers welcome!