
Partners & Project Supporters
Principal Investigator:
Dr Carolyn Downs
Our Principal Investigator is Dr Carolyn Downs of Lancaster University Management School, Carolyn is a senior lecturer and EU Projects Director.
Carolyn was a late entrant to the academic world, having previously worked as a credit control and quality control manager. Carolyn decided to go to university because she was bored with her job.
As well as being a university lecturer she enjoys knitting; reading; gardening; country dancing; but her favourite think is to go for a long walk on the beach with her dogs.

Advisory Board

LICA:
Professor Emma Rose
- LICA: Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts
- Emma Rose’s research concerns the role of art in health and wellbeing underpinned by the theoretical lens of therapeutic landscapes, as it offers a means through which to conceptualise how particular spaces can contribute to an individual’s mental and physical wellbeing. Her research utilizes this concept to investigate the role of participatory arts interventions for groups marginalised by society.
Crafts Council:
Rosy Greenlees
- Rosy Greenlees, OBE, is Executive Director of the Crafts Council, a national charity promoting the value of craft and making to society.
- Rosy spent her early career as a visual arts curator before taking on senior roles including Director of Visual and Media Art at Eastern Arts Board, Cultural Strategy Manager responsible for the Mayor of London’s first culture strategy; and founder Director of the London Centre for Arts and Cultural Enterprise a higher education partnership promoting knowledge exchange with the cultural sector.


Somewhere Nowhere:
Rob Fraser
- Works with his wife Harriet (writer), bringing together writing, photography and video.
- Somewhere-nowhere is an environmental art and research practice. Using the power of curiosity, pause, collaborative research and public events to engage with elements that give a sense of place, and let stories gradually reveal themselves.
- Self-led and commissioned projects lead to exhibitions, books, presentations and lectures, public events and land-art, both temporary and permanent. Working alongside scientists, farmers and analysts and public organisations concerned with environmental work, landscape care and rural policies; they enjoy being part of university research teams; and run residencies in rural spaces.
Creative United:
Mary-Alice Stack
- Mary-Alice Stack is Chief Executive of Creative United, a community interest company providing a range of finance based products and services designed to increase the growth and productivity of the arts and creative industries.
- Background and professional expertise is firmly rooted in the visual arts. However, also passionate about theatre and poetry having spent many years working with small theatre companies, both as an actor and director.
- Prior to the establishment of Creative United in 2013, Mary-Alice was responsible for the development and delivery of the Own Art, Take it away and Creative Industry Finance programmes at Arts Council England.
- These and other programmes of work are being now developed under her leadership at Creative United.


Anthony Padgett
- Award Winning sculptor, Anthony has works in private, public and academic collections. Work includes sculpture to Chinese Cockle Pickers in Morecambe Bay and the creating of a network of his Van Gogh Sculptures in Europe
- Anthony has also worked as a teacher, an archaeologist, and a conservator of sculpture and monuments in London and the Holy Land.
- Artist Union England Representative for Lancashire. He is a campaigner for artists rights and fairness in art selection (includes tribunal case against Tate Galleries in 2005).
Project Team
University of Lodz
Our University builds academic community around the values of respect for cultural, religious and community identities as well as social sensitivity. UL strives to educate active global citizens who think critically, understand the complexity and the diversity of perspectives which underline most global problems.
The University treats international cooperation as a way to foster its development and continue the city’s tradition.
The University of Lodz was established in 1945 and has long been one of the biggest and most popular universities in Poland.


Drujestvo Znanie
Znanie Association is non-government and non-profit organization established in 1990. The mission of the organization is to foster lifelong learning. Therefore we combine our efforts of experts from different fields with the idea of creating better environment through conducting trainings under principles of non-formal learning, improving professional competences and personal development of citizens.
We work in the field of training and education of children, youth and adults in three main directions:
– Personal and professional development;
– Training of teachers and trainers;
– Vocational trainings;
The Good Things Collective
The Good Things Collective (formerly The Exchange Creative Community) is a community-driven creative hub that uses the arts and creativity as a means to improve individual and collective wellbeing, learning and enterprise locally. We were founded in the Summer of 2015 by local people, for local people. Our activities harness local talents and energy as well as the benefits of collaboration and sharing. Increasingly we understand our role and impact in providing a home and anchor for local creativity, ideas and innovation to flourish and grow. As an organisation, we run a range of projects, courses, events and activities with a growing number of local, national and international partners.
The Good Things Collective is a growing community business that acts to improve creative facilities and opportunities in an inclusive and accessible way. We believe the arts and creative activity can bring people together with a wide range of positive benefits.


Submeet
Submeet – Incontrarsi per Crescere is a no-profit organization established to promote transnational mobility in the areas of education and vocational training.
We work with all organisations active in the following fields:
– social and health care: social operators, health care professionals, cultural mediators;
– school education: school leaders, teachers and staff, pupils in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, vocational and technical schools;
– world of work: SMEs, big enterprises, industrial associations, public entities active in the work policies (regional and local authorities), employment centres;
– adult education: members of adult education, trainers, staff and learners in adult education
Lodzkie Centrum Doskonalenia Nauczycieli i Ksztalcenia Praktycznego
A public educational institution supervised by the City of Lodz, focussed on constant improvement and modernisation of educational systems, along with teacher training and vocational and adult education.
Established in 1996, we are the only institution in Poland that combines teacher training and vocational education.


Rural Hub
The Rural Hub is a not-for-profit organisation based in County Cavan.
We specialise in the development of innovative educational materials and digital resources. These resources aim to address a wide range of target groups including marginalised adult learners, disadvantaged young people not in employment, educations or training (NEETs), older persons, individuals in vulnerable employment, migrant learners and entrepreneurs engaged in the creative sector, with a specific focus on the rural community.
Through the development of e-learning materials and digital resources, The Rural Hub aims to address the current and future training needs of rural residents. We also strive to address the skills gap in the provision of alternative educational materials, innovative approaches and best practices in training and education programmes.
Lancaster University
With over 17,000 students from over 100 countries, Lancaster University is a thriving international university with the
operational capacity to manage large-scale projects and complex partnerships. We have experience of running ERDF, Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus projects using PRINCE2 project management techniques and with extensive expertise in dissemination and valorisation. At Lancaster University we aim to apply our ideas, knowledge, technologies, skills and services regionally, nationally and internationally to the benefit of society, partners and stakeholders. Our place in the upper echelons of the UK and the global university sector means that we achieve these aims by pursuing research at the highest international level. We create new knowledge within a stimulating and innovative learning environment for all students and staff as well as working in international, national and regional collaboration to enhance economic, cultural and social well-being.
We aspire to excellence in all our fields of work and to distribute and exchange knowledge and expertise generated from world class research and teaching through dialogue with all parts of society, public bodies, business and individuals. Lancaster University has won many awards including International University of the Year awarded by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020. Lancaster has also been ranked 8th overall in the league table securing a top ten place for the 4th consecutive year. Lancaster University’s research has been rated as world leading in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) which assesses the quality and impact of research submitted by UK universities across all subjects. Lancaster was13th for the percentage of world leading research out of the 128 institutions listed and 18th in the UK overall. Business and Management – 1st in the UK at Lancaster when ranked for research power and 1st for the number of research active staff, showing LUMS to be the leading research intensive management school in the UK.
