Steer collaborates with Active Travel Academy to bridge gap between research and practice

Steer is thrilled to unveil a groundbreaking partnership with the Active Travel Academy at the University of Westminster, aiming to transform the way active travel practitioners engage with academic research. Together, we are breaking down barriers to knowledge, empowering professionals to drive meaningful change in communities worldwide.

Through this collaboration, Steer is proud to support the creation of accessible, reader-friendly lay summaries for key research papers from the Active Travel Studies journal. These concise summaries enable practitioners to grasp critical insights in just 10 minutes, compared to the hour or more it typically takes to navigate an 8,000-word academic paper. Armed with these insights, professionals can seamlessly incorporate evidence-based strategies into active travel initiatives globally.

The partnership was officially launched this week at Steer’s London office, bringing together an audience of forward-thinking representatives from London Borough councils and active travel organisations. Steer Director Lisa Martin and UK Active Travel Lead Dom Smith spoke alongside Dr Tom Cohen from the Active Travel Academy to share their vision.

Dr Robert Egan, visiting from Trinity College Dublin, spoke about his widely read paper for the Active Travel Studies journal, captivating the audience with his latest research into why teenage boys cycle more frequently than girls and what can be done to reduce this disparity.

Building on this momentum, Steer is excited to announce Research Talks, a dynamic online event series spotlighting three pivotal studies in active travel from authors across three continents. These sessions are designed to inspire and equip practitioners with actionable insights, helping them translate research into impactful solutions that enhance communities worldwide.

Register for our Research Talks event series here. Explore the Active Travel Studies journal, available to all, here.

View the photo gallery from our launch event below.