Biography
Whilst studying for my BA (Hons) Geography at Cambridge University (2007-2010) I became interested in and conducted research on participatory modes of environmental decision-making and governance. I came to UEA in 2010 on a 1+3 ESRC PhD studentship to pursue this interest further, and my Masters dissertation focussed on the organisational network around the Government body Sciencewise-ERC, exploring processes of organisational learning from and about public participation and climate change. I completed my MRes in Environmental Social Sciences and began my PhD in 2011.
Additional Contacts
Key Research Interests
Critical approaches to public participation and engagement; Deliberative governance; organisational learning; reflexivity.
My PhD:
Learning about environmental participation: institutionalizing reflexivity?
My research will explore organisational learning from and about public participation and climate change through in-depth ethnographic work in organisations and the use of action research. Learning is an oft-cited rationale for engaging in public participation around environmental issues, and serves as a common criterion in the evaluation of participatory processes. My PhD will build on this work, generating new theoretical and empirical insights through its specific focus on learning within and amongst organisations and through the study of long-term learning processes. I will seek to describe and explore different learning processes and mechanisms within organisational spaces related to environmental public participation. Furthermore, this research will examine the apparent paradox between the drive to institutionalise certain practices and routines for organisational success, and the need to promote reflexivity to enrich learning.
Research Group Members
Member of the Science, Society and Sustainability group (3S) at UEA -
http://www.3s.uea.ac.uk/
Supervisors: Dr Jason Chilvers and Mr Peter Simmons
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