Regional Inequality
The overarching goal of the Regional Inequality Research Team is to reduce disparities between people and places within the North West. We view regional inequality as a vicious cycle that is perpetuated through stark unequal opportunity, lack of support, and even exploitation. Through our research, we hope to help break that cycle, focusing this year on investigations regarding ‘Zero-hour Contracts'.
Our Regional Inequality research team will explore the causes and impacts of Zero-hour Contracts on university students across Greater Manchester. Having started last Spring with the background research, the challenge will be to carry out the next stages of the project and deliver impactful policy recommendations!
The team will endeavour to devise implementable policy solutions to incite change across Greater Manchester and combat the insecurity young people experience.
Structural Racism
The Structural Racism research team strives to combat systemic barriers that actively impede individuals' opportunities and social development, particularly from underprivileged backgrounds. Refugees and asylum seekers experience a lot of legal and social issues trying to lead productive lives in the UK, and those issues are only exacerbated by the lack of support, hostile environments, and the general lack of awareness.
This year, in collaboration with the Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), our Structural Racism team will explore legal issues refugees and asylum seekers face. The research will be concerned with the drastic impacts of the loss of official documents, such as the Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and the legal structure surrounding the rights to live and work for refugees in Greater Manchester. Through volunteering at the MRSN, our research team will work to devise implementable policy changes to help support individuals with refugee status and strengthen their influence in shaping decisions and processes that affect their lives.