The University Research Institute for Sustainable Places: invitation to become an

Affiliated Research Member.

Dear Gavin,
As Im sure you are aware, the research team of the new University Research Institute for
Sustainable Places is now busy setting up the Institute, recruiting staff and developing its
research programmes. We have an official start date of the 1 st of November when the hub of
the Institute will be located in 51 Park Place.
We are now writing to formally invite you to become an Affiliate Member of the Institute, and
to take part in this exciting new University-wide development. As the attached document
outlines, we see the development of the Institute as a new venture which will build on our
already excellent research on sustainability by creating a new platform for progressing leading
edge and place-based sustainability science. We very much want you to be part of this
endeavour and to further build a collegiality at Cardiff around undertaking cutting- edge
research on sustainable places.
As well as collectively advancing theory and progressing new knowledge about the
complexities and interactions associated with creating more sustainable places, membership
to the Institute will provide both an interdisciplinary forum and a more practical and coherent
research platform to develop individual and collective research capacities and long-term
external funding. This will be progressed by a number of research seminar series, the
development of the research hub, six interdisciplinary research programmes led by the
members of the management team and core research fellows, a related researcher and
graduate research network, and a range of innovation and engagement activities and
partnerships with key stakeholders, both here in Wales and in selected locations overseas.
Also, for the first time in Cardiff we will have a much more enhanced capacity to support
interdisciplinary research bids.
As Affiliate Members you will have access to these research resources and be able to
participate in the research programmes along with the core Institute staff we are currently in
the process of appointing. Many of you have already indicated potential areas of synergy with
your own research and where in the work of the Institute you see yourselves developing some
research activity. This will inevitably evolve and build up over time, and the success of
achieving University wide recognition as a University Research Institute represents solid
institutional support and encouragement, building upon the excellent research already being
conducted in our partner schools and research centres. We would now like to formalise this

involvement and create an active list of Affiliates and their associated research activities and
interests who will be invited to the first research seminars of the Institute and take part in the
development of the research programmes.
We would therefore be grateful if you could confirm your acceptance or otherwise of being an
Affiliated Research Member of the Institute in the first instance to Esther Mellowes
(MellowesEH@cardiff.ac.uk). This will enable an active members network to be established
which will contain all the details of the development and work of the Institute.
We look forward to your involvement and participation in developing the Institute over its
first phase of development.
Best Wishes,

Terry
Professor Terry Marsden
Director of the Sustainable Places Research Institute
Professor Susan Baker School of Social Sciences
Professor Mike Bruford School of Biosciences
Professor Ian Hall School of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Professor Phil Jones School of Architecture
Professor Robert Lee BRASS and Cardiff Law School
Professor Stephen Palmer School of Medicine
Professor Ken Peattie BRASS and Cardiff Law and Business Schools
Professor Nick Pidgeon School of Psychology
Professor Yacine Rezgui School of Engineering
Professor Hywel Thomas School of Engineering