The Policy Pod (Public Policy Southampton)

Dr Wassim Dbouk from Public Policy|Southampton and Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute attended COP28 as part of the Lebanese delegation. In this interview podcast, he shared his reflections on his experience at the summit, highlighting the challenges which the research community faces in engaging with the COP process.

Read his blog here.

In this episode of ‘Policy Pod’ we are joined by Professor Jonathan Havercroft to discuss his project on just and unjust riots and how it has developed throughout his career. He discusses how riots throughout history are received differently depending on the political climate, and how this affects subsequent policy developments. Moreover, he discusses how this is relevant in informing the current landscape with the rise in protest surrounding Black Lives Matter and Climate Justice campaigns.

In this podcast, we explore the MELD-B project, a pioneering study on early-onset burdensome multimorbidity. Learn about its origins, the significance of "burdensomeness," and how stakeholders from patients to policymakers view and tackle this issue. Discover how types of burden are identified and grouped, revolutionizing our approach to complex health challenges. Join us for a deep dive into MELD-B's transformative research.

Learn more about the project here: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Life Course Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

A recent publication to read: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' we sit down with Dr Michael Head, to discuss the ResIn (Research Investments in Global Health study)project, through its growth and development.

BMC Proceedings: bmcproc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.…9-016-0065-2 ResIn Public Policy Page: www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy/w…-diseases.page

In this episode, researchers Fiona Middleton and Dr. Giulia Champion at the University of Southampton discuss their work with the Isle of Wight sea swimming community, exploring the benefits of – and barriers to – sea swimming. In a project supported by the New Things Fund, Fiona and Giulia hosted participatory workshops to identify conditions for more, safer sea swimming on the Island. 

They’re joined by Sue Barker and Victoria Thorneton-Field of Swim the Wight, a community interest company that runs regular supervised swims and promote sea swimming education, to discuss their plans for an accessible, eco-friendly tidal sea pool on the Isle of Wight. 

You can find out more about the sea pool at @isleofwightseapool on Instagram.

In this episode, Dr Wassim Dbouk, marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute reflects on his experience as a negotiator as part of the Lebanese delegation during COP29. He shares insights he gained from his experience and talks us through his main responsibilities and activities during this COP. He highlighted support he received on his journey from the UUCN, the Women and Gender and YOUNGO constituencies, the Youth Negotiators Academy, and individuals he collaborated with on his PPS New Things Fund project "Shaping Tomorrow: A Playbook for Coaching Leaders in Sustainable Decision-Making and Policy. You can find out more by reaching out to Wassim on w.dbouk@soton.ac.uk"

In this episode Dr Emilia Holland and Dr Simon Fraser talk about how their research will help in understanding when multiple long-term condition multi-morbidity (MLTC-M) becomes ‘burdensome’ and the best opportunities for intervention.

Background 

A growing number of people are living with several long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, depression or dementia. We call this multiple long-term condition multi-morbidity (MLTC-M). Many things throughout a person’s life influence the chances of developing health conditions. This includes their biology (e.g. age, ethnicity), things that happen to them (e.g. infections, accidents), behaviours (e.g. smoking, diet) and broader experiences (e.g. the environment people grew up in, their education, work, income). People from more disadvantaged backgrounds and/or certain ethnicities are more likely to develop MLTC-M and to develop it earlier. The impact (or ‘burden’) of MLTC-M, and the order that people develop conditions, also vary. 

The project page: Research project: Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Lifecourse Determinants and Prevention of Early-onset Burdensome Multimorbidity (MELD-B)

New publication: A conceptual framework for characterising lifecourse determinants of multiple long-term condition multimorbidity

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' Giles, the director of PPS, talks about the University of Southamptons Fledgling Cleaner Air Partnership, the signs available at the University of Southampton, the challenge presented by the city and potential reach forward conducted by the University of Southampton. 

In the second episode of ‘Policy Pod’ Giles is talking to Dr Lynn Calman, Deputy Director Macmillan Survivorship Research Group, about ENABLE study which aims to understand the importance of self-management support in people living with cancer. Advances in treatments have massively impacted lives of people living with advanced cancer. On the other hand, it is important for patients to acknowledge what impacts their wellbeing. To learn more about the study, tap into our channels above and listen to Lynn and Macmillan Group work.   

Find more information about the project here: https://bit.ly/3m2twUe , or stay up to date with Macmillan Research group on Twitter: @MacmillanUos @HORIZONS_MSRG

In the first episode of ‘Policy Pod’ Giles is talking with Jakub Bijak, Joint Head of Social Statistics and Demography and Professor of Statistical Demography, about QuantMig project which tackles the problem of complex and uncertain migration. Across Europe, migration is a top policy area, where many policy actions and decisions are taking place. The project aims to achieve the understanding of European migration flows by advancing the methodology of scenario generation.

Find more information on the project website: quantmig.eu, or follow the project on Twitter: @QuantMig 

The project QuantMig: Quantifying Migration Scenarios for Better Policy has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 870299. 

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' the Director of Public Policy office, sits together with Professor Andy Tatem, Professor of spatial demography and epidemiology at the University of Southampton and is the Director of WorldPop - an open Spatial Demographic Data and Research. Tune in to learn more how WorldPop data and research methods, helped decision makers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' Giles talks to Professor Neil Bressloff  about TAVI, transcatheter aortic valve implantation used in the treatment of aortic heart valve disease. Degenerative heart valve disease is a growing problem in the ageing populations of Europe and North America. Also, tens of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries of the global south, experience valve failure following bacterial throat infections. Importantly, so-called, rheumatic heart valve disease affects large numbers of adults of all ages in these poorer parts of the world. Tap into our channels above and listen to Prof. Neil and about this research. 

Dr Nic Pensiero and Dr Christian Bokhove join us for the first episode of a brand new season of The Policy Pod. They discuss the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data, which is the largest longitudinal study of its kind and allowed crucial insights into household dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data indicates that existing learning inequalities were exacerbated during the first school closure, and whilst these didn't worsen during the second, our guests question why they did not altogether reduce. Answering this may lie in considering the role of the home in addition to provisions from schools. Also discussed are the National Tutoring Programme, learning loss, the examinations fiasco, teacher assessed grades and...breathing patterns. 

Bokhove C. and Pensiero N., (2022), Learning Inequalities During the Covid-19 Pandemic, The Policy Pod, University of Southampton, DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/PP0005

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' we take to God's House Tower in Southampton's City Centre to discuss The Cultural Manifesto, and the impact of culture across the city.

Hosted by Gareth Giles, with four influential guests; Andrew Pinnock from the University of Southampton, James Gough the director of the Southampton Cultural Development Trust, Satvir Kaur cabinet member for communities, culture and leisure and Southampton graduate Catherine Laws.

Additional material: The challenge of marketing the Arts to a university student audience in Southampton: drive.google.com/open?id=112fBFgP…IWapIf3F7K6EL1_V

The Cultural Manifesto: drive.google.com/open?id=1D-FtTHJ…7UXHAVQ5NM3LC_ic

In this episode, Dr. Chiara Forlati from the University of Southampton and Professor Alessia Campolmi from the University of Verona present their collaborative project—joint work also with Harald Fadinger, Sabine Stillger, and Ulrich J. Wagner—on the Leakage Border Adjustment Mechanism (LBAM). The LBAM is a trade policy designed to prevent carbon leakage induced by decarbonization policies. To enhance the project's impact, Dr. Forlati organized a roundtable discussion in London with policymakers and industry representatives, supported by the New Things Fund. Further information about the project can be found here.

In this episode Dr Chrissie Jones talks about how traditionally, pregnant women have been excluded from research regarding interventional trials and educational strategies related to preventing infections during pregnancy. 

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' - The Podcast from Public Policy at the University of Southampton - we present Dr Ganeshan Wignaraja as Chair of the Global Economy Programme for the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, Sri Lanka and presentation on 'A Recovering World Economy and the Roles of China and India'. Presented at a visit to the University of Southampton on the 23rd May 2018.

Additional material: Presentation: bit.ly/PPSLKIPresentation Dr Ganeshan Wignaraja: www.lki.lk/people/dr-ganeshan-wignaraja/

In this episode of The Policy Pod, we discuss about emerging technologies and the importance of pre-emptive discussions for policy making and public engagement with Dr Rafael Mestre and Abdul Afzal from the University of Southampton. Rafael and Abdul will bring their knowledge and expertise on this topic while talking about three different projects: 

• Biohybrid Futures: a research project aimed at understanding the societal, ethical, and environmental implications of bio-hybrid robotics, funded by ESRC. Find more information here;
• RAI4MH, Responsible AI for mental health initiative: a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Northeastern University (US), funded by RAI UK; find more info here;
• SOUNDSCALE: an interdisciplinary research project studying the emergence of distributed acoustic sensing for smart cities, funded by the new UKRI's cross-research council scheme; find more info here.

Green Recovery has been adopted as a term proposing a package of environmental, regulatory and fiscal reforms to recover the prosperity after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fourth episode of 'Policy Pod', Giles talks to Dr Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada, Associate Professor at the Southampton Business School. Pawan explains the role of microentreprenurship and why gong green links with a better company performance. He is a co-founder of iPowerz, the global entrepreneurship platform that serves to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit worldwide and author. His book 'Microentreprenurship in a Developing Country' examines the nexus between the entrepreneur, the firm, and the region for drawing a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship in a developing country context.  

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' we discuss the career of Professor Dame Wendy Hall, how universities can support early career researchers, how working with media can help engage with the government, and what it is like to work on a major policy piece for government.

In this episode, Prof Ivan Haigh and postgraduate researcher Sunke Trace-Kleeberg discuss their work, which is helping storm surge barrier teams around the world better prepare for the impacts of climate change on the management, maintenance and operation of their barriers. They are joined by Andy Batchelor from the Environment Agency, who was the former operations manager of the Thames Barrier and associated gates that projects London and communities along the Thames from flooding. Andy is also the chair of I-STORM, the international storm surge barrier network. The podcast is hosted by Dr Wassim Dbouk, a policy research fellow at the University of Southampton. 

In the first special episode on Transformational Coasts, we hear from three experts about the changing coastlines of England and around the world. 

• Professor Robert Nicholls reflects on the history of coastal management in the UK, from defence through to resilience, and past and present management transformations.
• Professor Mike Elliott outlines the “triple whammy” of threat that coasts face, as well as talks us through the ten tenets for effective and sustainable marine management.
• Dr Jenny Brown describes her passion for the sea, and the need for sustainability to be embedded into coastal adaptation discourse and practice. 

Pod Cast hosts-

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Dominique Townsend, coastal geomorphologist, PhD researcher looking at nearshore change, University of Southampton   

Dr Natasha Campling and Professor Sue Latter discuss ways to improve access to medicines and support palliative care at home. 

Background- 

Patient and carer access to medicines during the last 12 months of life (end-of-life) is critical for control of symptoms, including pain and distress, and for reducing urgent, unplanned use of healthcare services. However, data from our previous studies suggested that prescription, dispensing, supply and associated information given about medicines are experienced by patients as often difficult, demanding, lacking co-ordination, and involves a multiplicity of professionals. Although evidence is suggestive of patient and carer access problems with traditional service delivery systems, including General Practitioner care, little is known about this. Additionally, there are indications that critical sectors of the end-of-life workforce – palliative care nurse specialists and community pharmacists - are currently under-utilised.

Furthermore, whilst there are some promising innovations in end-of-life care models, the impact of these on patient access to medicines, as well as their cost-effectiveness comparative to more traditional delivery models, remains largely un-evaluated. Our recent research also suggests that the supply chain ‘upstream’ may be a contributing factor to the complexity and problems with access experienced by patients.  

In this episode of 'Policy Pod' Giles, the Director of Public Policy | Southampton, sits down with Dr Michael Head, co-creator of RESIN, Research Investments in Global Health Study. This project systematically maps the global landscape of research funding, comparing levels of investment with burden of disease, and giving valuable insight to policymakers, funders and researchers on areas of research strength, knowledge gaps and future priorities. COVID-19  has been a challenging year, with many researches and projects put on hold due to funding cuts. To find out more about the funding environment during the pandemic, tune into this episode.  

Get ready to be inspired as Andrew opens up about his educational journey and career trajectory in the fields of mathematics and physics, providing a unique perspective that sets the stage for this enthralling discussion.

For a deeper dive into the FEVER project, make sure to visit their official website at FEVER

Dr Chandni Maria Jacob, Dr Mark Hanson and Dr Daniella Watson discuss the importance of effective policy to improve health outcomes for prospective parents and their children. They talk about the need to look at population health, generational health and how to improve hollistic wellbeing alongside reducing risk factors such as alcohol and smoking, including for those who are not actively planning for pregnancy. 

Dr Lisa Ballard joins us to talk about the EPPiGen research project in this episode of the Policy Pod. Genomic approaches to diagnosis and treatment are becoming more embedded within the UK health care system. This provides a unique opportunity to examine how genomic medicine is understood by those providing and engaging with the service. Dr Ballard discusses "ethical preparedness" as terminology, how genomics is portrayed in the media, ethical issues experienced in labs and more.

In this final special episode on Transformational Coasts, we hear from three experts about the changing coastlines in the east of England.

• Peter Aldous, describes the importance of a strategic, evidence-based approach, working with communities, on the ever-evolving coastline.
• Kellie Fisher stresses the importance of community-led, place-based approaches and being honest in coastal adaptation conversations.
• Dr Helen Jay reflects on the benefits and vibrancy of our coastlines, and the importance of thinking about transformational adaptation now.  

Pod cast Hosts- 

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Rebecca Walley, PhD researcher, University of Southampton  

In this episode, collaborators Dr Erin Johnson-Williams and Dr Benjamin Oliver from the Department of Music at the University of Southampton discuss the launch of the new AHRC Hub for Public Engagement with Music Research, which they run together with a team of independent experts (external co-lead Lisa Tregale), public engagement professionals (Caz Creagh, alongside training from Southampton’s PERu), and support on policy development from Public Policy Southampton. This Hub is hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and run through the Centre for Music Education and Social Justice. Over two years, the Hub will fund 4 large ‘spoke’ projects that will involve collaborations between academics and non-academics along the lines of social justice, music research and public engagement.

Erin and Ben talk about their careers in music and academia, the challenges of demystifying academic funding processes, and how social justice played a role in their vision for the Hub.

In the second special episode on Transformational Coasts, we hear from three experts about the changing coastlines of England, with specific consideration of south coast locations.

• Tim Loughton discusses the particular challenges and exciting opportunities of coastal communities.
• Uwe Dornbusch takes the physical geographical perspective on coastal change, but also reflects on the relationship between nature and people in the coastal context, and the changing perspectives on how to best manage that interface.
• Dr Charlie Thompson describes coasts as an area of exchange, both physically and socially, a dynamic system that needs to be managed as a whole rather than controlled in parts.  

Pod cast hosts- 

• Dr Sien van der Plank, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Exeter / Visting Researcher, University of Southampton  
• Dr Wassim Dbouk, Marine and Maritime Policy Research Fellow, University of Southampton  

In the third episode of ‘Policy Pod’ Giles is talking to Professor Mary Barker, Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Science at the University of Southampton. Mary has been working on young people's mental health and wellbeing over the last year. The project TEC-19 have made clear how challenging the pandemic has been for young people's mental health. TEC-19 has expanded to mirror studies in India, Ghana, Ethiopia and Canada. To learn more about the study, tune into the podcast and visit TEC-19 project, Instagram page.