On 10th-11th June, the JUST Centre’s research and impact teams from across the North of England and beyond came together for the first JUST Assembly at the University of Manchester.
Opened by Director Sherilyn MacGregor and compered by sustainability analyst Rachel Collie, the June Assembly was a chance for JUST members to share insights from their research and engagement activities so far, reflect on how different aspects of the JUST’s work are joining up, and to provide space for collective thinking on collaborative projects in the months and years to come.
Also in attendance were members of the JUST Practice-Builders’ Network – Beatrice Anomah, Brad Barass, Lorenza Casini, Mike Franks and Mark Swift – whose professional and lived experience of climate impacts and strong advocacy in their local communities ensured discussions were informed by diverse forms of expertise
Day One began with ‘Tour du Nord’, a world cafe activity where members moved around the room to share updates on thematic and place-based research in their five regions. This was followed by a presentation by Beverley Seale, Diana Ivanova and Anne Owen on the latest iteration of the JUST Readiness Tool (due to launch Summer 2026) which layers existing datasets to show hyperlocal preparedness for transition to net zero.
Next up was a thought-provoking presentation from Emily Morrison and Samanthi Theminimulle from the Young Foundation, which highlighted the Centre’s impact strategy and real-world opportunities for JUST’s research and insights to be mobilised across policy and practice.
Day Two kicked off with a provocation from JUST Deputy Director Mat Paterson: to create a bold collective statement about the Centre’s distinct approach to just transformations and climate action. Groups discussed what the key themes in such a statement should be and how this could be communicated, such as a policy briefing or manifesto.
Lucie Middlemiss, Jyl Schacher and Martina Ricci then facilitated an engaging, gamified version of The Good Futures Framework (GFF), developed in collaboration with the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission. Teams were given a plan for a fictional town and asked to improve specific areas of life using just transition principles (and dragons!), to simulate the experience of using the Framework.
In the afternoon, Claire Hoolohan presented a session on the purpose, value and associated challenges of developing toolkits and their implications for JUST’s research, drawing on emerging insights from the GFF and Readiness Tool. The final sessions were then dedicated to forward-planning, exploring what the Centre’s agenda should – and could – be, and how we can make an impact in such a fast-moving and saturated area as climate.
Reflecting on the Assembly, JUST Director Sherilyn MacGregor said:
“Being spread across the North of England, for sustainability reasons we don’t have many in-person meetings as an entire centre. But, when we do, it is obvious how important it is to gather us together in one room. The Assembly was a fantastic opportunity to share insights from ongoing research, to spark debate and collaboration and to generate new ideas about how the Centre’s work is developing since we launched last year.”