Research
Will’s research focuses on ethnic and migrant inequalities in Britain and in a comparative European context. He is particularly interested in racialisation and how it operates across different scales and in varied contexts. His work also examines the concept of peripheral whiteness, exploring how it shapes migrants’ and minorities’ everyday encounters and their residential geographies. In addition, he is interested in methodological approaches to working with migrant and minority communities in socially just and trauma-informed ways that support long-term and sustainable engagement.
Will is an Honorary Fellow at the Cathie Marsh Institute at the University of Manchester. He also holds a visiting position at the Identities, Citizenship, Equalities and Migration Centre (ICEMiC) in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham, where he collaborates with researchers on the racialisation of Balkan migrants.
Selected Research Projects
Will has contributed to a range of funded research projects in recent years, including:
2026–present: Trust, Digital and Health Inequalities: Developing Our Understanding and Identifying Cross-Sector Priorities for Intervention (ICSR Pump-Priming Scheme)
2025–present: Demystifying Whiteness on the Peripheries of Europe (School of Sociology and Social Policy Seedcorn Fund, University of Nottingham)
2023–2024: Lives Still on Hold (Impact Acceleration Account funding)
2021–2023: Lives on Hold, Our Stories Told Vulnerable Children in a Hostile Environment – Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Legal and Social Provision for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (Economic and Social Research Council)
https://livesonhold.org/
2020–2021: Together and Apart: The Dynamics of Ethnic Diversity, Segregation and Social Cohesion among Young People and Adults (Economic and Social Research Council)
2014–2020: https://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) (Economic and Social Research Council)
Will takes a public sociology approach, using his expertise to support voluntary and community organisations working with people experiencing displacement and marginalisation.