Our researchers work directly with communities—especially those whose voices are often overlooked—to ensure their perspectives inform law, policy and practice. Examples include:

• Dr Alyson Evans draws on her expertise in Scotland’s children’s hearings system to support reform and inclusion. Her work led to her appointment as Chair of the Scottish Government’s Academic Roundtable on Children’s Hearings Redesign.
• Professor Simon Halliday’s work in the Administrative Fairness Lab focuses on giving voice to benefits claimants’ perceptions of procedural fairness, seeking to influence policy and practice.
• Professor Elisa Morgera led the One Ocean Hub, an international project that worked with small-scale fishing communities in Africa to ensure their cultural and environmental rights are recognised in ocean governance. Through theatre, animation, and legal advocacy, her team’s work has reached global forums, including the UN Ocean Conference and informed legal judgments, including in a South African court ruling against Shell’s seismic mining.
• Professor Barry Rodger has drawn on his research in competition law to take a lead role in a landmark £1 billion collective legal action against Google, supporting small businesses seeking collective redress in the UK legal system.
• Dr Saskia Vermeylen has collaborated with San communities in Southern Africa to challenge marginalisation through visual and participatory research. Her arts-based legal work—exhibited internationally—has influenced public understanding of indigenous rights and informed legal strategies rooted in community voices.