Churchill Fellows offer their views and advice on topical issues, based on global research and UK activities.
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If you are a Fellow and would like to write a blog for us, please email digital@churchillfellowship.org to discuss the topic you have in mind.
Forty years on, my Churchill Fellowship to Japan to study traditional handmade paper still shapes how I think, create, and teach. It sparked a lifelong journey exploring paper, place and identity – one that continues to evolve as I balance creativity with care, and remain rooted in community and resilience.
By Cas Holmes, 22 May 2025
Forty years on, my Churchill Fellowship to Japan to study traditional handmade paper still shapes how I think, create, and teach. It sparked a lifelong journey exploring paper, place and identity – one that continues to evolve as I balance creativity with care, and remain rooted in community and resilience.
By Cas Holmes, 22 May 2025
Exploring how European funding could support community development took me to Austria, Belgium, and Spain for my Fellowship – a journey that continues to shape my work today. That experience helped build momentum in my career and deepened my belief in the power of backing people and places to realise their potential.
By Susan Waterson, 15 May 2025
Visiting cities across the East Coast of the USA, I explored how parent-led organising is creating change in education – from winning funding for school buildings to building trust between families and institutions. My Churchill Fellowship is now helping shape how we grow our Parent Power programme at The Brilliant Club, embedding lessons on community, leadership and long-term impact.
By Jimmy Pickering, 8 May 2025
A BBC debate on the Assisted Dying Bill pushed me out of my depth – but my Churchill Fellowship had prepared me to feel the fear and do it because. What began as a modest research plan became a five-week tour across the USA, connecting with trauma institutes, service providers and experts. The relationships I built continue to shape my work today, including through Unique Connections – our growing effort to build a social care system grounded in love, belonging, and equity for people with intellectual disabilities.
By Beverley Samways, 1 May 2025
What began as a creative experiment at Central Saint Martins has evolved into a wearable scent technology designed to support mental wellbeing. My Churchill Fellowship enabled me to explore how sensory fashion could be used to manage stress – learning that now underpins the development of Scent Bubble®, supported by NHS innovation partners and recently featured at London Fashion Week.
By Jenny Tillotson, 24 April 2025
My Churchill Fellowship took me to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and the USA to explore how fatality review systems can help prevent domestic abuse-related deaths. That learning now underpins my ongoing research and my new book ‘The Potential and Peril of Reviewing Domestic Abuse-Related Deaths’, which brings international insights into dialogue with current practice in England and Wales – highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of meaningful review.
By James Rowlands, 10 April 2025
We spoke to Churchill Fellow Cath Snow, survivor advocate at APPEAL, about her upcoming Fellowship to the USA. Her project explores how the UK’s approach to exonerees could be enriched by learning from American innocence networks. She’ll meet exonerees and grassroots organisations to understand how the UK could better support survivors of miscarriages of justice – not just at the point of release, but as they rebuild their lives.
By Cath Snow, 3 April 2025
Through my Churchill Fellowship, I explored how to develop sustainable mental health support for veterans and emergency responders. Since then, I’ve grown Veterans at Ease from an idea into a thriving charity, now supporting over 500 individuals with free, bespoke psychotherapy. We’re continuing to expand, training new therapists from the armed forces and emergency services communities and working with partners to provide holistic support for those facing trauma and mental health challenges.
By Garreth Murrell, 27 March 2025
In a UK study, 61% of disabled people were found to be chronically lonely, with loneliness amongst young disabled people reaching almost 70%. As Emily Hyland explains, behind these figures are real people experiencing consequences which extend far beyond just a feeling of loneliness.
By Emily Hyland, 21 March 2025
Through my Churchill Fellowship, I explored how impact media platforms in the USA, India, and Sri Lanka are funded, structured, and sustained. Meeting over 100 media leaders, I saw thriving models that blend philanthropy, individual support, and social enterprise to drive democratic engagement and social change. The UK faces real challenges in sustaining independent impact media, but by learning from these approaches, we can develop new funding models, strengthen governance, and build a more resilient sector.
By Caroline Diehl, 13 March 2025
Through my Churchill Fellowship, I explored how impact media platforms in the USA, India, and Sri Lanka are funded, structured, and sustained. Meeting over 100 media leaders, I saw thriving models that blend philanthropy, individual support, and social enterprise to drive democratic engagement and social change. The UK faces real challenges in sustaining independent impact media, but by learning from these approaches, we can develop new funding models, strengthen governance, and build a more resilient sector.
By Caroline Diehl, 13 March 2025
