Blogs & conversations
The Churchill Fellowship
apply here

News & views

Blogs & conversations

Churchill Fellows offer their views and advice on topical issues, based on global research and UK activities.

To connect with a Fellow, please go to their Profile page. To find related content, click the tag under each item below. To receive regular blog alerts, sign up at the foot of this page.

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.

Blogs & conversations

Health, Homelessness, and Hope: Children in Temporary Accommodation

Monica Lakhanpaul’s Fellowship took her to Australia to explore how different systems respond to the health and wellbeing needs of children living in temporary accommodation. Back in the UK, her work has already helped launch the In Their Own Words report in the Scottish Parliament and continues through research, media, and international collaborations. She now hopes to build on this momentum to ensure that children’s voices are heard – and acted upon – in shaping a fairer future.

By Monica Lakhanpaul, 18 September 2025

Blogs & conversations

Health, Homelessness, and Hope: Children in Temporary Accommodation

Monica Lakhanpaul’s Fellowship took her to Australia to explore how different systems respond to the health and wellbeing needs of children living in temporary accommodation. Back in the UK, her work has already helped launch the In Their Own Words report in the Scottish Parliament and continues through research, media, and international collaborations. She now hopes to build on this momentum to ensure that children’s voices are heard – and acted upon – in shaping a fairer future.

By Monica Lakhanpaul, 18 September 2025

Blogs & conversations

The environmental saviour that is… Donkey milk

As part of his Churchill Fellowship, Ross Watson travelled to the Balkans to see how four countries collaborate to remove invasive non-native plants along the 1000km Sava River. In Serbia’s Zasavica reserve, he found donkeys and horses grazing semi-ferally on invasive plants – turning a major environmental problem into prized products like milk, cheese, and soap. His Fellowship showed how being creative and using the right tools in the right way can bring environmental, economic, and community benefits – lessons he is keen to apply in the UK.

By Ross Watson, 11 September 2025

Blogs & conversations

From idea to award – what we learned from last year’s Churchill Fellowship applications

Abigail Campbell, Head of Fellowship, reflects on what we learned from the 2025 application round – from who applied and where they wanted to go, to the ideas that really stood out. She also shares what makes a strong application, and offers tips for anyone thinking of applying for a Churchill Fellowship in 2026. If you’re considering applying this year, Abigail’s reflections will give you an inside look at the process and some helpful advice to guide your journey.

Blogs & conversations

In conversation with Antonia Charlton: How a Fellowship contributed to the televising of Parliament

We spoke to Churchill Fellow Antonia (Toni) Charlton about how her Fellowship helped pave the way for televising the House of Commons. Travelling to the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, Toni explored how parliaments overseas managed live broadcasting. Just weeks after her return, Parliament voted to trial televised Commons debates – and Toni was appointed BBC project manager to make it happen. She reflects on how the Fellowship shaped her career and fuelled her ongoing passion for public service broadcasting.

By Antonia M J Charlton, 21 August 2025

Blogs & conversations

Where the Churchill Fellowship magic happens

Tim Woodhouse travelled to Iceland, Slovenia, and the USA to explore how to reduce domestic abuse-related suicides. Here, he reflects not only on the people and projects he encountered during his travels, but on the impact that followed – from giving over 100 talks to frontline teams and securing national media coverage, to influencing policy discussions and beginning a PhD. As Tim writes, “the years after you return home is actually where the power of the Churchill Fellowship can kick in – and where all the magic can happen.”

By Tim Woodhouse, 7 August 2025

Blogs & conversations

How rural Canada is rethinking migration

Keith Ruffles travelled across Canada to explore how rural communities are using migration to reverse population decline. Over five weeks, he visited six towns taking part in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), meeting with local coordinators, federal agencies, and migrants like Natalia and Mohammad, who shared their experiences of settling in Canada. In this blog, Keith reflects on what the UK could learn from Canada’s community-driven approach to migration, and how the Fellowship gave him the time, space, and connection to explore these issues in depth.

By Keith Ruffles, 31 July 2025

Blogs & conversations

In Conversation with Elizabeth Carrington: Championing new physiotherapy techniques for children

We spoke to Churchill Fellow Elizabeth Carrington about her 1973 Fellowship, which took her to Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy to explore new physiotherapy techniques for children with cerebral palsy and neurological disorders. She reflected on how the experience shaped her lifelong international career – from India to Yemen to the World Health Organization – and why she still feels so connected to the Fellowship more than 50 years on.

By Elizabeth Carrington, 10 July 2025

Blogs & conversations

Advancing Sexual Self-Advocacy for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Sue Sharples travelled to the USA and Canada to explore new approaches to preventing sexual harm among adults with a learning disability – including linking self-advocacy skills to sexual rights education and using trauma-informed practice. Since returning, she has co-authored a training pack for social care staff and worked with learning disabled colleagues in Lancashire to develop a new sexual self-advocacy resource. Grounded in the belief that people should be their own first line of defence, it’s already helping people feel safer, better informed, and more in control.

By Sue Sharples, 19 June 2025

Blogs & conversations

Advancing Sexual Self-Advocacy for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Sue Sharples travelled to the USA and Canada to explore new approaches to preventing sexual harm among adults with a learning disability – including linking self-advocacy skills to sexual rights education and using trauma-informed practice. Since returning, she has co-authored a training pack for social care staff and worked with learning disabled colleagues in Lancashire to develop a new sexual self-advocacy resource. Grounded in the belief that people should be their own first line of defence, it’s already helping people feel safer, better informed, and more in control.

By Sue Sharples, 19 June 2025

Newsletter Sign Up