Executive Summary

As our climate rapidly changes, there is a vital need for collaborations that meet contemporary challenges by drawing on a wide range of expertise—breaking down perceived barriers between professional silos and academic disciplines. This report documents the activities, outcomes and impacts of one such initiative. 

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Finding the Story Arc was an eight-month impact and engagement project which ran from June 2024 to February 2025. Researchers from the University of Manchester worked alongside colleagues from Leeds City Council and other partner organisations engaged in developing the Aire Resilience Company (ARC). This new, non-profit entity seeks to engage the Leeds business sector in supporting nature-based flood-risk mitigation in the catchment of the River Aire.

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Finding the Story Arc proposed to support the development of this ambitious, experimental enterprise by embedding Arts and Humanities researchers as ‘critical friends’ within ARC’s delivery team. With backgrounds in Drama and Theatre Studies, the researchers applied dramatic analysis methods to an examination of the ARC team’s approaches to potential business partners. This entailed asking questions such as:  

 

• what is the story here? 

• who are the characters and how do their roles relate? 

• how do they speak to each other? 

• what motivates them to act? 

 

This report details the researchers’ working methods and key findings. It also evidences the value of their involvement in ARC’s development, by drawing on feedback from other members of the ARC team. It demonstrates that the application of arts-based methods can help facilitate improved engagement with innovative, cross-sector initiatives such as ARC.  

 

Milo Harries, Stephen Scott-Bottoms 

July 2025