Rural climathons – transitioning to net zero

Research Fellow

I am a Research Fellow at NICRE and the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI). At NICRE, I work with rural businesses and communities to deliver and evaluate innovation projects in the South West. My focus at the CCRI is the Horizon Europe RUSTIK project, which aims to improve knowledge exchange between rural businesses and communities across Europe. Specifically, I am exploring innovative approaches to societal transformation in Monmouthshire.

I continue to support research projects in areas related to my doctoral research which focused on the social dynamics of farmer groups in receipt of Countryside Stewardship Facilitation funding in England, and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Natural England. These include monitoring and evaluating agri-environment policy and understanding the drivers of farmer and land manager decision-making.

Head of Business and Innovation

I’m Head of Business and Innovation at NICRE. With 25 years working in rural business support in a variety of roles from practical environmental projects, supporting businesses to start, grow and export as well as training both businesses and community organisations, I bring a wide range of practical and applied experience to NICRE. My role is to engage with the wide range of organisations, businesses and stakeholders operating in rural areas to promote the work of NICRE, to help them find the support that they need to grow and to provide a range of training and best practice sharing events. I also support the Living Lab innovation projects, supporting organisations and communities to get involved and disseminating their findings to interested parties. As someone who lives, and raises a family in a rural community, the work of NICRE provides an exciting opportunity to play a part in shaping the future of those communities and helping to tap into their natural ability for innovation and extend their business talents for a sustainable future.

Research Fellow

I am a Research Fellow at NICRE and the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI). I am a sociologist, with particular interests in the lived experiences of families and young people; migration and diversity; community and identities; and qualitative methods.

My current work with NICRE involves evaluation of effectiveness of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) grants to Action for Communities in Rural England (ACRE) network members, and undertaking qualitative case studies of rural enterprises. I also work on the Horizon Europe RUSTIK project at the CCRI, which aims to improve knowledge exchange between rural businesses and communities across Europe.

Prior to joining the CCRI in 2023, I was Academic Subject Lead for Social Sciences and Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Gloucestershire. I have worked on research projects including the EU Horizon 2020-funded CHIEF (Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future) project which examined the challenges faced by young people across nine countries in the course of their cultural socialisation and in accessing diverse forms of cultural participation. In addition, I have researched and published in the fields of migration and diaspora, diversity in religious communities, and families’ experiences of poverty and austerity. Before entering academia, I worked in the third sector for organisations including the Arts Council, BBC Children in Need and the Refugee Council, with a focus on supporting participatory and empowering projects for disadvantaged children and young people.

Research Associate

I am a Research Associate in Rural Innovation at NICRE, engaging with our partners to help deliver and evaluate our practical innovation projects with communities and businesses in the North East.

The projects include topics such as lower carbon food business logistics, innovation in agriculture, net zero transitions in community spaces, redevelopment of rural buildings and community-led housing. My work involves community and stakeholder engagement, the planning and delivery of events, and primary research through surveys, interviews, observations and workshops.

My main research interests are innovations in food, agriculture and technology, and their social and policy implications. I have completed a PhD in Sociology which explored stakeholder views on the future of synthetic biology in UK food and agriculture and how this might affect or be affected by food policy. I also have experience researching rural food poverty interventions in and around my home town of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.