Across March, Prof Vian Bakir (School of History, Law & Social Science) participated in a series of high-level workshops by US-based Social Science Research Council and the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council, who are working together to better understand and further explore theoretical, analytical, methodological, and empirical challenges surrounding trust in democratic institutions. These organisations brought together experts from both sides of the Atlantic to share ideas, knowledge and experience. This will inform a joint call from the US and UK research councils that will fund a series of international and interdisciplinary projects that can better inform policy, improve public trust, and have positive societal impact. Bakir contributed ideas on Understanding Trust from her edited book with David Barlow, Communication in the Age of Suspicion: Trust and the Media (2007). She contributed ideas on Manipulating Trust from her forthcoming book with Andrew McStay, Optimising Emotions, Incubating Falsehood (in press 2022).