School of Social and Political Science

SPS researchers receive new funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh



Image of Royal Society of Edinburgh building, overlaid with its logo

The Royal Society of Edinburgh has awarded funds to three new ‘exceptional’ research projects at the School of Social and Political Science (SPS). 

Four SPS academics in total will receive support for their research from the RSE’s spring 2026 funding round. These include one prestigious personal research fellowship, and two research grants. 

The RSE’s Research Awards Programme aims to support Scotland’s research sector by nurturing promising talent, stimulating research in Scotland, and promoting international collaboration. The RSE said the funded projects are ‘exceptional’. 

The SPS projects are: 

Personal research fellowship: 

  • Dr Andreas Hackl:  
    Digital lifelines: The promise and peril of remote work for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip 

    ‘The project will conduct research among Palestinian remote workers in the Gaza Strip to understand how online labour markets can support conflict- and crisis-affected populations to survive and remain resilient amid war and devastation. It will partner with the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps and its Gaza Sky Geeks programme, which has supported online freelancer workers and entrepreneurs in Palestine for over a decade. Data collected through innovative remote research and participatory methods will inform future efforts to create a sustainable, inclusive and sage digital economy in Palestine.'

Research grants: 

  • Dr Rebecca Hewer and Dr Ben Collier:  
    The Feminist Policy Project 
     
    ‘The Feminist Policy Project will invite teams of feminist scholars from across the UK to critically, creatively and playfully engage with existing UK policies before producing radically hopeful alternatives. Exploring both the utopian promise of feminist theory and the intellectual and political potential of ‘prefigurative writing’ (i.e. writing as if the future we want has already transpired), the project aims to ‘educate desire’ and to cultivate an audacious hopefulness for challenging times.‘

  • Dr Siobhan Magee:  
    'UV citizenship': Understanding stakeholders’ attitudes towards free and VAT-free sunscreen in a warmer and warmer Scotland 
     
    ‘UV citizenship will collect and analyse stakeholders in Scotland's ideas about free and VAT-free sunscreen to understand sun protection's place in a country whose cultural imaginary often situates it as a cold and cloudy country that is therefore without the need for robust sun protection practices. (Research shows that many people who live in Scotland wear sunscreen while abroad but not while at home; research also shows that the cost of sunscreen can be an impediment to people using it). In addition to exploring sunscreen as a way of learning about how people conceptualise both climate change and preventative healthcare, a focus on sunscreen's cost and worth as a public health intervention asks about care and responsibility- should sunscreen be sold or should it be provided by employers or educational and health bodies?’ 

Another 11 University of Edinburgh research projects will also receive money from the RSE’s total fund of £661,000. 

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, said: “The RSE’s Research Awards continue to be a cornerstone of Scotland’s thriving research community. I am confident that the recipients of these distinguished awards will push the boundaries of knowledge and create meaningful benefits for people across Scotland and beyond. On behalf of the Society, I extend warm congratulations to these exceptional researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their work.”