About the UWS-Oxfam Partnership

The UWS-Oxfam Partnership is an innovative model of research and knowledge exchange between the University of the West of Scotland and Oxfam Scotland. The Partnership was launched in 2011 after years of successful collaboration between the University and Oxfam Scotland. In particular, the development of Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme in Scotland and its Our Economy report with its input from UWS researchers were significant milestones for the establishment of the Partnership.

Since its launch, the Partnership has brought together the academic expertise from UWS, the social justice and anti-poverty advocacy strengths of Oxfam Scotland, and a wide range of civil society organisations. Its activities, in particular its research, have critically examined the impacts of public policies on equalities, sustainability and poverty. At the same time, all Partnership activities have sought to provide policy-focussed ideas to inform the policy debate to work towards a more sustainable and equitable Scotland.

 

Contacts

Afternoon tea and policy in Renfrewshire

On the University of the West of Scotland’s Paisley campus, the UWS-Oxfam Partnership and the university’s Sustainable Policy Analysis Research Centre hold a series of five workshops between November 2024 and April 2025.

At these workshops, participants are invited to jointly develop a comprehensive understanding about how a range of issues – cost of living; housing; care and caring; learning and employment; health and wellbeing – play out in Renfrewshire.

This includes questions such as which short-term or long-term policy solutions might work and which have not worked, who should be involved in policy making, what knowledge and experience is missing from the policy process, and who needs to be addressed in order to make change happen.

To the workshops, the organisers invite people who can represent public, private and third sector organisations and their knowledge and insight with respect to the five themes and with respect to Renfrewshire. We also welcome individuals to contribute to the discussion.

There is no cost for participation, and we want the event to be as informal as possible. Below are Eventbrite registration links – on the Eventbrite site, more detail on the workshops is available too.

 

Workshop dates and themes

Friday November 1st, 12 to 2.30pm: Cost of living - Register

Friday December 6th, 12 to 2.30pm: Housing - Register

Friday Feb 7th, 12 to 2.30pm: Care and caring - Register

Friday March 7th, 12 to 2.30pm: Learning and employment - Register

Friday April 4th, 12 to 2.30pm: Health and wellbeing - Register

UWS-Oxfam Partnership Funding Call

The Partnership invites Initial Expression of Interest for a funded research project. We would like civil society organisations (CSOs) and community groups to take the lead in developing a collaborative research project with UWS academics.

The Partnership is interested in receiving proposals that address one or both of the following broad themes:

 

  • Better valuing the work that is disproportionately undertaken by women: this includes paid and unpaid work, such as an unpaid care and domestic work’
  • Climate Justice: delivering emission reductions in Scotland fairly and quickly.

 

The Partnership welcomes your Initial Expression of Interest, if: 

 

  • your organisation works with a marginalised community or under-represented group in Scotland
  • your organisation’s effort to create deep and lasting change would benefit from academic research support
  • you are interested in working collaboratively with an academic researcher to explore a particular challenge or to better understand an issue or proposed policy solution

 

The Partnership wants to place civil society organisations or community groups working with communities that are marginalised or under-represented in policy-making and decision-making in Scotland at the centre of the funded project. Marginalised or under-represented groups may include people who have low incomes, single-parents, unpaid carers, people with a disability, or those who are members of a minority ethnic group.

 

Through this Call, the Partnership wants to match the research needs identified by organisations or groups to the research expertise of academics at the University of the West of Scotland. 

 

  • The deadline for Initial Expressions of Interest is 5pm on 30th of September 2024
  • Applications should be submitted to scotland@oxfam.org.uk

 

If you are interested in developing an Initial Expression of Interest, please read the Information sheet and take a look at the application process flow chart, both linked below.

 

 

Should you have questions on this Call and on the application process, please contact scotland@oxfam.org.uk.

 

Last updated: 19/12/2023