Biography
I am an ESRC-funded PhD researcher in environmental planning and geography interested in the relationships between technology, society, and the environment. Find out more about my research interests here.
I'm currently (2022) in the final year of my PhD at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), a specialist rural research institute based in Cheltenham, UK. My PhD is supervised by Dr Rob Berry (CCRI), Professor Scott Orford (Cardiff University), Dr Beth Brockett (Natural England), and Chris Short (CCRI).
View my academic profile on the CCRI website.
I started my PhD at the CCRI in 2018, which is being conducted within the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Wales Doctoral Training Partnership. I have degrees in human geography, environmental policy and planning, and social science research methods, with advanced training in both qualitative and quantitative approaches. My research sits at the intersection of environmental planning and decision-making, digital technology, and responsible innovation.
My PhD research explores best practice in public and stakeholder
engagement with environmental and planning issues, with a focus on digital
participatory technologies and institutionalising engagement. My research
contributes to debates around the ethical and responsible use of digital tools
for participation, as well as the ways that organisations can undertake and embed best
practice (e.g., as part of a culture change).
During my PhD, I completed two internships with non-academic organisations: a research placement with Natural England on best practice in stakeholder engagement (2021); and a UKRI Policy Internship withthe Welsh Government exploring national statistics for well-being (2019). I have also worked as a Research Assistant on several projects at the CCRI funded by NICRE, Natural England, and Innovate UK.
My research skills include transdisciplinary and participatory approaches, mixed methods research, digital research methods, qualitative and quantitative analysis, NVivo, SPSS, Stata, R Studio, interviewing, online survey questionnaires, research dissemination and impact.
Qualifications
- MSc: Social Science Research Methods, 2018 (distinction). School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University.
- MSc: Sustainability, Environmental Policy and Planning, 2017. School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University.
- BSc: Geography (Human), 2016. School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University.
Publications
A list of my publications can be found on my writing page and on the University of Gloucestershire's Research Repository.
Membership of professional bodies
- Associate Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), since 2018.
- Member of the Participatory Geographies Research Group (PYGYRG) of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), since 2019.
- Member of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Postgraduate Forum (PGF), 2018-20. Serving as Chair of the PGF from 2019-20.
Awards
- ‘Best Early Career Paper’ at the 29th Annual GIS
Research UK Conference (GISRUK), Cardiff, Wales, UK (Online), 14-16 April 2021.
View the paper here and the presentation recording here.
- Letter of commendation for work serving on the Council (Board of Trustees) of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) as the elected Chair of the Postgraduate Forum, 2020.
- Commended for research argument, presentation, and design at the Research Dissertation Conference, Cardiff University, 2018.