51ÁÔÆæ

Since October 2017, this €4m EU INTERREG-funded project has been focused on improving the water quality of rivers and lakes in the South of England and the North of France by encouraging farmers and landowners to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices. The Centre for Sustainable Business is the lead partner on the project, among ten others from both sides of the English Channel.

The project works by piloting PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services) initiatives across the Channel area. The schemes offer financial incentives to farmers to encourage them to reduce the levels of nitrate water pollution in the run-off from their land, maintain soil health, and increase crop yields through increased crop diversity.

Maritime industry in the Channel region has often been challenged by disconnected and incoherent strategies and procedures, as a result of which adherence to regional trade regulations has often been inconsistent.

The Channel Arc Manche Integration Strategy () was a 21-partner EU INTERREG IVa-funded (with the Centre awarded €350,000) programme aimed at designing an integrated in the Channel area that recognised how cultural, administrative and geographical factors were preventing policy adherence.

We worked specifically on maritime clustering and transport, concentrating on topics such as marina clustering, port centricity, and offshore renewable energy.

In 2017, the Centre for Sustainable Business received funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to undertake research to support sustainable development policy in the Manhood Peninsula, a coastal region near 51ÁÔÆæ that suffers from economic isolation.

Sustainable Tourism on the Manhood Peninsula () was the result, replacing the expired Destination Management Plan (DMP) for the Manhood Peninsula in 2018. Our decision to prioritise development plans in conjunction with a wide range of local residents, businesses and councils laid the groundwork for sustainable planning, whilst also attracting funding from local tourism businesses.

The research recommended the formation of a locally-focused Destination Management Partnership to facilitate regional development (). It also recommended that the local authorities’ practice of promoting a short summer tourist season was holding back the growth of yearlong tourism, which is steadier and more dependable than a seasonal business model.

Our researchers drove improvements in leadership capability and organisational development in two Sussex-based NHS Trusts and the UK Civil Service’s Organisational Development and Design (OD&D) Service.

They achieved this through an iterative process of research and leadership development carried out between 2013 and 2018, which drew on our distinctive research base in action learning and leadership impact.