Creating a Platform for interdisciplinary and global collaboration
Early in 2024 we launched our Horizons Platform programme, building on our collaborative relationship with colleagues at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
We’ve supported collaboration between researchers from Wits and Leeds for a number of years already, through our Global Crucible programme, which is geared towards developing interdisciplinary skills, connections and projects. With our Global Crucible principally aimed at early career researchers, Horizons Platform has sought to create similar pathways to connection between more experienced researchers.
Focussing on the broad areas of global inequalities, climate and sustainability, through the course of the programme we’re hoping to see some of these partnerships develop into interdisciplinary and international project teams, encompassing researchers at different career stages across both institutions.
University of Witwatersrand Pro Vice-Chancellor for Climate, Sustainability and Inequality Imraan Valodia said: “Now more than ever we need to work across boundaries to address urgent global challenges, which include the complex interplay of climate change with inequality. Climate change is affecting developing nations more than developed countries, and exacerbating inequalities.
“At this time when the global north and global south are thus being driven further apart, we must find ways to work together for a sustainable, shared future. The Leeds-Wits collaboration is one example of how we are doing this, by connecting researchers from opposite hemispheres and with Platform successfully transcending disciplinary barriers.”
Horizons Institute Director Stuart Taberner said: “We at Horizons and the University of Leeds are delighted to be working with Prof Imraan Valodia on this hugely important collaboration.
“It’s building links between the two universities but, as important, between individuals committed to groundbreaking interdisciplinary research with impact. We want to sow the seeds for even more collaboration in the future.
“As always, we are extremely grateful to Dr David Fine, alumnus of both Witwatersrand and Leeds, for his generous support of this programme and other aspects of our Horizons Academy Programme.”
Exploratory fund projects
Our first round of funding through Horizons Platform is the exploratory fund, which provides researchers on the programme with up to £10,000 to develop a collaborative project, with optional travel between the two institutions. Five awards were made for this first round of funding, with projects starting early in 2025.
Horizons Institute Research Manager Kate Kellett said: “It has been great to see the programme come together and to meet some many academics from Leeds and Wits who want to engage and collaborate with each other.
“We received some really interesting proposals for this first round of funding, with collaborative teams extending across all disciplines at both institutions. I’m excited to see what projects are proposed for our larger project funding in the new year.”
The successful awards are for the following five projects:
The political economy of energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa
Led by Celso M Monjane, in partnership with Richard Oduro, Simon Manda, Nokutenda Ntuli, and Sihlosokuhle Zwane, this project will explore the feasibility of green energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa.
The need to transition away from fossil fuels to green energy is widely accepted globally. But, where over 45 per cent of the population in Africa have no access to electricity, and over 68 per cent lack clean cooking fuel, there must also be consideration around affordability, equitable access to energy, and ensuring no one is left behind by the green transition.
This project seeks to understand the challenges the transition agenda poses for African countries that need affordable energy from abundant fossil fuels but also face pressure to protect the environment.
Investigating the impact of climate change on physical and mental health in Sub-Saharan Africa
Co-led by Theresa Munyombwe and Philippe Gradidge, this project also involves nine co-applicants across both the University of Leeds and the University of the Witwatersrand.
Looking to better understand the potential for targeted interventions and adaptations, this project will explore how phenomena related to climate change — such as extreme weather events, including intense heat waves — affects the health of vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Through this initial exploratory project, the team will seek to answer a series of questions in the impact of extreme heat events; community navigation and lived realities; policy and legal frameworks; and unmet needs and interventions.
Air quality, waste burning and health inequalities
This project is led by Mpho Mathebula, Han Fang, Bruce Mellado and Christopher Hassall, representing four different disciplines across both the University of the Witwatersrand and University of Leeds.
The burning of waste is commonplace around the world, either from necessity or due to decisions taken by policymakers. Regardless of context, burning occurs as a response to environmental challenges, but raises more challenges in terms of air quality, water quality, and environmental inequalities.
This project will explore the environmental and health impacts of waste burning in informal settlements and marginalized urban areas. Using air quality sensors and other data-gathering tools, the project investigates how air pollution and waste management practices disproportionately affect residents. The team will also consider how gender, geography, and policy contexts influence health outcomes linked to these challenges around air quality.
Decolonial approaches to environmental monitoring
Co-led by Julian Brooks and Candice Moore, with Pierre-Philippe Dechant, Justine Nasejje and Celso Monjane, this project seeks to develop better understanding of environmental monitoring in Global South contexts.
While environmental monitoring technologies can support addressing climate challenges, their implementation often follows Western-centric models may not meet the needs of local communities and frequently do not respect existing indigenous knowledge systems.
This project seeks to embed a decolonial approach to environmental monitoring methodologies, and the team will host online collaborative sessions to: develop frameworks for community-centred technology implementation; explore integration of technical solutions with local knowledge systems; create protocols for equitable data collection and analysis; and establish evaluation metrics that consider both technical and social impacts.
A just transition for informal human settlements
Led by William James and Marius Muller, with three additional collaborators from Leeds and Wits, this project brings together expertise from a number of different disciplines.
The aim of the project is to assess and map climate risks in selected informal settlements, evaluate the use of social capital as a coping mechanism, and to explore how policymaking at the national, continental and global levels can adapt to better consider this informal communities.
Through this exploratory fund, the team hope to develop the basis for a broader project to investigate how to enhance climate resilience and sustainability in informal settlements. Through both phases of the project, they aim to analyse climatic conditions, policy, socio-economic factors, financial and funding solutions, and geospatial data.
Building a culture of collaboration
These projects are the first to receive funding as part of the Horizons Platform Gray and Fine Interdisciplinary Research Development Programme.
In April 2025, participants will have the opportunity to apply for two-years of funding, up to £250,000, to develop international research teams from Wits, Leeds and collaborators from other institutions. The aim of this is not only to develop connections and capabilities, but also to further build a culture of interdisciplinary and international collaboration at both institutions.
To find out more about this programme, and subsequent rounds of funding, please visit the Horizons Institute website.
