Impact

We are committed to the development of research with impact. We work with partners from business, industry, culture, and heritage, at the regional, national, and international level.

The University has been awarded an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account of £750,000 (April 2022-March 2027) to invest in impactful projects that draw on research in the Arts and Humanities.

Read about a selection of IAA-funded projects across our core themes: Creative Economy; Cultural Heritage; Policy; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; AI & Digital Transformation; and Place-making & Community, including two major multi-partner collaborations: Sussex Retold, and Speaking Solidarity.

  • Class of '37: Making local history teaching in Bolton schools more engaging and interactive

    A black and white photo of schoolchildren outside their school in 1937 

    Prof Hester Barron's public history project worked with Bolton Museum, Pikes Lane Primary School, St Peter and St Paul RC Primary School, Ladybridge High School and several other Bolton schools to engage children in innovative co-created learning experiences. Her co-authored book, Class of ‘37, was inspired by essays written by schoolchildren in 1930s Bolton, held in the Mass Observation Archive’s ‘Worktown’ collection at The Keep. Using the words, images and stories of children living in their streets and communities nearly acentury ago, the project brings the past to life for today’s primary and secondary-age children.  

    It has inspired older pupils to produce a history trail for younger children, film ‘diary’-style videos on the same topics, and recreate photographs of the children in 1937, which were then displayed at an exhibition in Bolton Museum. Funds have also enabled several special events (e.g. World Book Day activities) and an educational trip (to Blackpool) for the children, as well as a set of teacher-generated classroom resources, for other schools to access and use. Teachers are reporting that they’re now able to deliver the ‘local history’ aspect of the Key Stage 2 curriculum in more accessible, engaging and relatable ways, and that the children are gaining greater understanding of the history of their local area, how it has changed over the last century, and finding their place within it.  

  • CheatGPT? Enabling ethical use of generative text AI in the UK communications industry

    The front cover of the Cheat GPT white paper

    Working with Brighton-based PR agency Magenta Associates, Dr Tanya Kant’s research responds to urgent calls in the UK PR and Communications sectors, to better understand AI use and its implications. Using Savanta (market research agency), the project surveyed over a thousand content writers and managers in PR/communications professions – the largest in the UK to measure and map generative text AI use in these sectors – and conducted a further set of in-depth interviews. Kant worked with Magenta to co-author a White Paper, in which they distilled their findings and disseminatedbest practice guidelines for writers (on how to use generative AI ChatGPT legally, ethically, productivelyand creatively), and companies (on how to improve their policies on AI use).

    Initial responses from participants indicate intentions to increase/engage with more AI training, and to improve transparency around AI use within teams. The project has attracted substantial interest, including in the media (e.g. PR Week podcast, The Times etc.), major industry events (e.g. Brighton SEO – the world’s biggest search engine optimisation conference), and in policy debate (e.g. the IAA has supported Dr Kant to engage in UK policy discussion on the future of online advertising and AI and copyright).

    Read the White Paper: CheatGPT? Generative text AI use in the UK’s PR and communications profession (Dr Tanya Kant and Magenta Associates, 2024), and watch Tanya Kant talk about her work in this University of Sussex YouTube short: What happened when ChatGPT interviewed one of our AI experts? 

     

  • Tuning in: awakening climate hope and action through nature sounds

    A group of children in a woodland with headphones on looking for birds

    Bird Bath and Wilding Radio are applied sound art interventions, led by Prof Alice Eldridge, that experiment with approaches to forging sonic connection to wider nature, positively impacting listeners in numerous ways.

    ‘Bird Bath’ (created in collaboration with Alistair Appleton) transforms cultural venues into restorative ecocultural spaces, by inviting visitors to ‘bathe’ in recordings of local birdsong-filled soundscapes. For Brighton Festival 2024, over 1600 people attended a week-long installation and events (funded by the AHRC IAA). First created for Newhaven Festival in 2017, it has more recently featured in Arundel’s Great Big Green Week 2025. In June 2024, Bird Bath was installed at Martlets Hospice in Hove, bringing the healing power of nature to sanctuary spaces for families visiting relatives and staff. An artist’s toolkit supports communities interested in creating their own Bird Bath, and learning resources have been created to introduce children to the basics of sound walking, deep listening and sound technologies.

    Wilding Radio is a livestreamed soundscape experiment, monitoring ecological changes associated with the reintroduction of beavers at Knepp Estate in 2022. It has attracted widespread media coverage and global audiences (over 31,000 people from 120 countries, by the end of 2025). The project inspired an eco vinyl release, “Sounds of Rewilding,” by Brighton-based Republic of Music to encourage creative approaches to carbon-offsetting in the music industry, and Wilding Radio also soundtracked a major exhibition Water Pressure (touring design museums across Europe with audiences of over 100,000). The team have developed an open-access Wilding Radio resource to support other spin-off initiatives, such as Gair Wood in Yorkshire and Helsinki Central Park in Finland. Both Bird Bath and Wilding Radio audiences describe positive experiences of varying intensity, using synonyms of calmness, joy, contemplation, excitement, connection and gratitude.

    In this short project film, Bird Bath is described by Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere’s Programme Manager as “really powerful and important, to enable many people to experience our biosphere in different ways” by bringing nature “into the heart of the city”.

    Read more about Bird Bath and listen to Wilding Radio.  

     

  • The Art of Entertainment: Animating an Unfamiliar Cultural Past

    The Art of Entertainment book cover

    In partnership with galleries and museums in London and the South East (principally Islington Local History Centre), Dr Jason Price led a programme of public-facing events aimed at reassessing British modernism through the lens of popular entertainment, and generating new awareness of overlooked artists—particularly Thérèse Lessore. These included an exhibition, open house event, walking tour and six public talks (2024-2025), including as part of London Art Fair 2024 and Islington Festival of Music and Art 2024.

    Price encouraged audiences to consider and challenge dominant narratives of British modernism, through showcasing the voices and artworks of women, working-class, and queer artists and performers – key themes discussed in his book The Art of Entertainment: Popular Performance in British Art 1880-1940. When surveyed, respondents frequently cited the talks as memorable for illuminating overlooked histories, and many noted improved awareness around themes of gender, circus culture, and/or artistic marginalisation.

    The ‘Thérèse Lessore and the Circus’ exhibition, originally developed and shown at Islington Museum, has since been adapted so that it can be easily re-mounted elsewhere.