As part of the development of the new cross-council research theme 'Connected Communities' the AHRC has funded a number of Pilot Demonstrator Projects aimed at showcasing its distinctive approach. CRESC researcher Michelle Bastian has been involved in developing three of these collaborative Pilot Projects, each of which has recently received funding. She will be the PI on "Memories of Mr Seel's Garden: Engaging with historic and future food systems in Liverpool", which will bring together academics from four institutions, three community groups and local government stakeholders. Local volunteers will use oral histories, historic map research and archive research to develop a multi-layered account of historic food systems in Liverpool. The outcomes of the research will feed into a variety of outputs, including a historic walking tour for the iPhone.

As Co-I on a second project "The Time of the Clock, the Time of Encounter: Pathfinders for Connection", Michelle will be exploring political and artistic interventions into public understandings of the clock. This will include analyses of the reception of devices such as the Doomsday Clock, the Clock of the Long Now, and the 100 months Clock, as well as work with community art organisation Encounters Arts.

Michelle was also involved in the development of a third Pilot Project "Connection, Participation and Empowerment in Community-Based Research: the Case of the Transition Movement" which will examine the interface between the Transition Movement and academic researchers in order to develop mutually beneficial protocols and networks that support collaborative community research. This work will complement Michelle's involvement in the development of the Transition Researchers Network, which will have its second meeting in February.

Finally, she has also received follow-on funding from the AHRC for her Temporal Belongings project, which will support the further development of a research network on community and time.