Two new EARC ‘Communities of Common Interest’

As part of our work in developing and embedding collaborations across Eastern Arc, we have been supporting the creation of ‘communities of common interest’. These are simple directories of colleagues with shared interests in a broad area of work, through which we can share opportunities, knowledge, ideas and insights, and which in time will act as a platform for events, workshops and other collaborations.

We’ve now established two further directories:

• Heritage management, material and visual culture: The Eastern Arc region is home to some of the most significant historical and cultural sites in the country, including the Roman capital of Britain and the site where Christianity was established in the UK. It is also home to significant contemporary art collections and cultural organisations, including the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts on the UEA campus and the Turner Contemporary in Margate, as well as a number of creative arts bodies such as Metal Culture in Southend. Our universities are a reflection of this, and our expertise in heritage management, material and visual culture is broad and diverse.
• Natural capital: Our understanding of – and relationship with – the natural environment has never been more important. With the challenges of the climate crisis we need to work sustainably and think differently about how we farm, how we consume, and how we manage our natural resources. The idea of ‘natural capital’ extends the economic notion of ‘capital’ to encompass the world’s stock of natural resources, including its geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. This directory demonstrates the range and diversity of research going on across EARC to look at how we quantify and use our natural capital, and these analyses and insights will enable us to live more sustainably.