For people and planet: New social sciences collaborations awarded funding to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Six new social sciences projects from across the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University have been competitively awarded some £80,000 to pursue knowledge exchange activities with national and international non-academic partners in pursuit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  

From developing young women’s democratic engagement in the UK and improving maternal and newborn health services in Nepal, to enabling more equitable education for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities through responsible uses of educational technology, the projects stem from a wide range of disciplines and span diverse knowledge exchange activities with partners from around the world. Their common goal is simple: to address key challenges laid out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a universal language through which academic communities and other stakeholders can collaborate for the advancement of peace and prosperity for people and the planet. 

The projects were selected from a highly competitive field of applicants to the SDG Impact Fund from the University of Oxford’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, which offers researchers opportunities for creative and responsible engagement with non-academic partners.  

Explore the full list of awarded projects below: 

	Enabling inclusive and equitable classrooms through responsible uses of EdTech for young people with SEND Professor Rebecca Eynon (Oxford Internet Institute and Department of Education) and Dr Laura Hakimi, (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford) partnering with National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen)
	Mobilising and co-creating international human rights law to achieve SDG 4.2's promise of quality early childhood care and education for all children   Professor Sandra Fredman (Faculty of Law, University of Oxford) partnering with Right to Education Initiative (RTE) and African Early Childhood Network (AfECN)
	Building evidence and data use capacity to improve maternal and newborn health services in Nepal   Professor Sassy Molyneux and Dr Katherine Kalaris, (Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford) partnering with One Heart Worldwide
	Co-MapEA: Co-designing Maps for Equitable Access Dr Juan Pablo Orjuela, Dr Valentina Montoya Robledo (Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford)) and Dr Esteban Devis-Amaya (School of Education, Humanities and Languages, Oxford Brookes University) partnering with TRANSMILENIO S.A. and Secretaría Distrital de Movilidad de Bogotá
	Developing young women’s activism and democratic engagement in the UK Dr Michele Paule and Dr Hannah Yelin (School of Education, Humanities and Languages, Oxford Brookes University) partnering with Elect Her and SEX ED MATTERS
	Belonging in education: co-designing an evidence informed model of practice Ms Teresa Williams and Dr Alice Tawell (Rees Centre, Department of Education, University of Oxford) partnering with Clive Harris and Gail Tolley, Local Government Association; Margaret Mulholland, Association of School and College Leaders; Rob Williams, National Association of Head Teachers, and Tony Clifford, Anewarc Consultancy

The SDG Impact Fund is an annual call and will reopen in autumn 2025. For enquiries, please contact: esrciaa@socsci.ox.ac.uk 

Click on the image below to learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals.