Chichester Coastal Laboratory returns with Festival of Research 2026: Back to Our (Re)sources

Chichester Coastal Laboratory CIC (Chi-Lab) will host its third annual Festival of Research on 7 November at 104 The Hornet, following successful events in 2024 and 2025. 

This year’s theme, “Back to Our (Re)sources: What’s Happening in Chichester,” brings together local residents, researchers, architects, engineers, and civic leaders to explore how the region’s natural and community resources can shape a more sustainable future for the city.

The Festival will spotlight water quality, water provision, and sewage management alongside sustainable housing built from farming by-products, such as straw-bale construction. Organizers say the day is designed to connect farming, sustainable housing, and water management into a single, holistic plan for the city, guided by the principles of systems thinking: solving problems by examining the whole picture and the connections between its parts.

Free and open to the public, there will be opportunities to explore exhibits and speak directly with exhibitors during the afternoon. 

The evening program will focus on turning ideas into action, examining how community and civic projects move from concept to reality — and who is needed to make that happen. Discussions will range in scale, from independent restaurateurs to citywide urban planning and harbour restoration efforts, featuring speakers who have direct experience delivering these kinds of projects.

The festival will bring together a wide range of voices, including:

•Chichester Community Development Trust

•Weald and Downland Living Museum

•Local regenerative farming practitioners

•Local restaurant owners and food producers

•SOSCA and the Manhood Peninsula Partnership

•Engineers and architects working with renewable materials and river restoration projects

• A councillor from Hammersmith and Fulham with experience in implementing cycling infrastructure

•An architect from Zeeland, Netherlands — a region with coastal geography similar to Chichester’s

•Representatives from Langstone and Shoreham Harbour research initiatives

•Adrian Moss, Leader of Chichester District Council

•research work from universities in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK.

About Chi-Lab

Chichester Coastal Laboratory CIC (Chi-Lab) is a community interest company exploring how systems thinking can be applied to real-world challenges facing Chichester and its coastline, connecting community members with academic and professional expertise to develop practical, locally rooted projects.