Category: Policy

• Bridging the Gap: From Understanding to Action in Research and Policy

  “Researchers are excellent at understanding things. But they are often very bad at distilling that understanding into precise recommendations for change. Policymakers, by contrast, have no time at all to understand anything. They are under constant pressure to decide what to do about it.” — Jackson (2025), The Care Economy This quote has stayed with…

  Susann Power

  June 12, 2026

  Academic Encounters, Beach, Policy

  Beach Clean 2.0, circular waste management, enviro-leisure activism, Future Island-Island, Knowledge Exchange, marine litter, Northern Ireland Assembly, positive design

• Place as Agency: How Location, Locale and Sense of Place Shape Pathways Back to Work

  Background Last week, I presented research about emplaced agency at the Regional Studies Association British/Irish Section Conference at Queen’s University Belfast. Looking at ‘place’ as a holder of agency was a new exploration on my behalf, despite having come across place attachment and place sensitivity before in my research. My exploration of ‘place as agency’…

  Susann Power

  May 20, 2026

  Academic Reflections, Labour Market, Policy, Speaking Plainly

  Agency, EPIC Futures NI, Labour Market, Northern Ireland, Place, Policy, research