In this second instalment of the PEFF Chronicles, we look back at our semester 2 events, including the PEFF seminar, grant writing workshops, a sandpit training session on demand-led calls, and the inaugural PEFF Symposium! But first a brief introduction…

About Us

The Political Economy Futures Forum (PEFF) is an interdisciplinary community of researchers committed to addressing big, enduring questions about the relationship between the economy and society. We share a common research interest in political economy and its potential to build democratic, equitable, and sustainable economies and organisations. As a College of Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Theme, we are a core strategic initiative at the University of Glasgow.

The PEFF leadership team is comprised of Dr Sean Vanatta (SPS), Dr Mingzhe Zhu (Law), Dr Maha Rafi Atal (SPS), Prof Bernhard Reinsberg (SPS), and Dr Franziska Paul (ASBS) . If you are interested to get involved, please reach out to any of the co-leads, or come and speak to us at upcoming events.

The PEFF Research Seminar

Our ‘flagship’ activity, the PEFF Research Seminar series returned in semester 2 and was held weekly on Wednesday afternoons from 3-4:30 in the Advanced Research Centre. In the 2024/25 session, the PEFF seminar hosted a total of 20 interdisciplinary talks from across our research community. Following on from last semester’s update, here is an overview of the semester 2 seminars:

As in the previous semester, seminars were diverse and dynamic, and sessions ranged from full paper presentations to workshopping of findings and initial analysis. Again, topics cut across some of the big challenges we face, including questions of climate change (from energy justice in the US to China’s developmentalist paradigm of climate governance), the social, cultural and political impacts of finance and financialisation (from a legal theory of price formation, to war-time bond financing, and a historical analysis of trusteeship), government-business relations (from firm’s administrative burdens and their link to corruption to neoliberal service provision in the UK), as well as impact evaluation and the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary research work.

We would again like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our fantastic semester 2 speakers for their insightful and stimulating contributions! Many thanks also to the PEFF community for making the seminars a place for interdisciplinary exchange and collegial discussion.

PEFF Grant Writing Workshops

Alongside the seminar we also continued with our grant writing sessions. Co-lead Dr Sean Vanatta ran another further grant writing workshop, which focussed on framing an effective and arresting hook for large research grant application. Participants received an overview of where their hook fit in the larger ‘key 15’ framework and were invited to workshop sample hooks for their own grants (prospective and in progress).

PEFF Sandpit Session

This semester also saw a ‘sandpit’ training session on demand-led calls, organised by PEFF’s impact lead Dr Maha Rafi Atal and co-led by Dr Sarah Weakley, who is Research and Knowledge Change Lead at the College of Social Sciences and an Affiliate of the Centre for Public Policy. The event titled “Mastering Demand-Led Research for Policy Impact” took place on 23 April 2025 from 9:30-13:00 in the Gilbert Scott Building.

The session provided an introduction to ‘demand-led calls’, which are increasingly used by funders and government bodies to call for research to address specific policy problems in a short time frame. As these calls account for a growing percentage of UK research funding and are a key avenue for achieving policy impact it is important for colleagues to be aware of the nature and requirements of these cross- and interdisciplinary funding opportunities, and to be able to respond to these effectively.

Alongside an introduction to demand-led calls, the PEFF sandpit session provided hands-on training on how to respond to these quickly and effectively as participants worked together in small teams to develop rapid responses to a real demand-led call for climate policy research. The session provided an important opportunity for colleagues to work through the process of formulating a demand-led project proposal, from vision, through approach and work packages, effective team building, partnerships, and impacts. Participants’ problem-solving skills were also put to the test when hot beverages, pastries and lunch were initially delivered to a different room – but thanks to a group effort all catering was retrieved and enjoyed in good time.

The PEFF Symposium

The first year (or technically 9 months!) of PEFF’s existence culminated in the inaugural PEFF Symposium, a significant milestone for our IRT. The day-long event took place at the University of Glasgow’s historic Kelvin Hall on 16 May 2025, and brought together political economy scholars from across the University. The Symposium served not only as a celebration of PEFF’s first year but also as a springboard for new discussions and collaborations. We were particularly honoured to welcome two fantastic keynote speakers: Prof Judith Clifton and Guy Arnold.

Professor Judith Clifton, Full Professor of Economics at the University of Cantabria, Spain, shared her perspective on the achievements and limits of public action in driving sustainable futures, reflecting on her work on state-owned enterprises and public development banks. Her opening academic keynote was titled: “The achievements and limits of public action for a sustainable future”. Judith’s keynote was introduced by our Dean of Research and Deputy Head of College, Prof Mel Simms while Dr Franziska Paul provided a brief reflection and chaired the Q&A session.

Delivering the closing policy keynote, Guy Arnold, Head of Cross-Cutting Policy and Supply Chains at GB Energy within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, provided a policy-oriented view of setting up GB Energy, exploring the opportunities and challenges of publicly-owned energy. Guy’s keynote was introduced by Prof Gioia Falcone, Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering and Director of the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy while Dr Maha Rafi Atal chaired the lively Q&A session.

The remainder of the day was designed to showcase political economy research in Glasgow through two panels and a ‘structured’ networking session. A first panel was made up of 5 PEFF community members and provided an opportunity to reflect on a busy but rewarding first year of the Political Economy Futures Forum. Panellists Gemma Milne (ASBS), Scott Lavery (SPS), Saurabh Lall (ASBS), Anna Chadwick (Law), and Marco Goldoni (Law) provided reflections on their experiences participating in a range of PEFF events, presenting in the PEFF Seminars, and being part of the wider PEFF community. The panel was introduced by Dean of Learning and Teaching and Deputy Head of College, Prof Duncan Ross and chaired by Dr Sean Vanatta.

In a commitment to interdisciplinarity, the second panel of the day focussed on one of biggest challenges of our time, inequalities, and explored how the interdisciplinary research at the University of Glasgow is engaging and responding to this challenge. To allow a wider discussion, our own Dr Mingzhe Zhu was joined by Dr Adrian Florea (P&IR) representing the ‘Peaceful, Secure and Empowered Societies’ IRT, and Dr Josephine Adekola (ASBS) representing ‘Global Health and Environment’. The panel was introduced by SPS Research Director, Prof Jude Robinson and chaired by Prof Bernhard Reinsberg.

Importantly, the Symposium was also a moment to thank colleagues across the University of Glasgow whose engagement has helped shape PEFF into a young but thriving intellectual community. Their contributions made for a dynamic and thoughtful day, with clear energy and enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

The PEFF co-leads, keynote speakers, and Dean of Research of the College of Social Sciences at the PEFF Symposium. From left to right: Mingzhe Zhu, Judith Clifton, Bernhard Reinsberg, Franziska Paul, Guy Arnold, Mel Simms, Maha Rafi Atal, Sean Vanatta.

 

Stay in touch

If you haven’t already, do sign up for email updates to stay informed about our events and activities going forward. You can sign up to weekly updates and our newsletter here.

As PEFF enters its second year, we hope to deepen its impact by fostering further collaboration across schools and sectors, and by continuing to position the University of Glasgow as a hub for cutting-edge political economy research. If you would like to get involved and/or have ideas, suggestions, and proposals for future activities and events, please do reach out to any of the co-leads (linked above). We look forward to hearing from you!

First published: 3 June 2025

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