STEM Faculty

Professional biography

I am a senior lecturer in Environment & Systems at the Open University.  My research and teaching focusses on sustainability, especially in water governance using systems concepts and practices and social learning approaches. 

As well as involvement in a range of international and national research projects, I also lead on undergraduate and postgraduate teaching on environmental management and systems.

Research interests

My research and scholarship explores the dyanmic relationships between societies and their environment.  I use theories of social learning and systems ideas and approaches to develop sytemic inquiries into a range of environment issues, particularly managing and the governance of water.  Much of my work is action research, involving policy-makers, stakeholders and practitioners in many different governance contexts and scales from localities and catchments to national and international policy and practice.   

Current and recent projects include:

• 2026-2027       The 1976 Drought: A review of the social impacts and changes (Environment Agency) 
• 2026-2027       Drought Alert: Supporting the English drought alert system; effectiveness 
  and opportunities for improvemen (Environment Agency)
• 2023-2030       Climate Smart Advisors for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) (Horizon Europe)
• 2023-2029       Chalk Bournes: towards a shared understanding of the hydrological and morphological science of intermittent chalk streams (WINEP)
• 2023                Drought: A review of the social and behavioural scientific evidence for public messaging (Environment Agency)
• 2020-2021       Reviewing Approaches for communicating Drought status And Risk (RADAR) (DEFRA/Environment Agency)
• 2019-2021       Agricultural and Knowledge Innovation Systems (AgriLink) (EU Horizon 2020)
• 2013-2016       Drought Impacts: vulnerability thresholds in monitoring and early-warning research (DRiVER) (Belmont Forum/NERC)
• 2012-2015       Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance: Reconciling food security, renewable energy and the provision of multiple ecosystem services (CADWAGO Riksbankens and Volkswagen foundation)
• 2011-2012       Evaluating the Water Framework Directive Pilots (DEFRA)
• 2011-2012       Approaches to Secure Sustained Behaviour Changes to Deliver Multiple  Environmental Benefits Though Sustained Agricultural Land Management (DEFRA)

• social learning
• systems thinking and practice
• environmental and water resource managing
• natural resource managing and governance.

Teaching interests

My teaching includes contributions and teaching on variety of modules centred on environmental managing and systems approaches.

Undergraduate: I am co-author of T219 Environmental Management 1; T319 Evironmental Management II; T220 Environmental Management: Systems and Sustainability and T330 Environmental Management: Pathways to sustainability 

Postgraduate:  T802 Research Project;  TU812 Managing Systemic Change; T891 Making Environmental Decisions 

I am also a co-author of a Guide to Systems Diagramming and Achieving Wisdom in Online Groups (graphic novel)

I currently chair: T802 Research Project. 

External collaborations

Expert member of the OECD Water Governance Intiative developing and implementing water governance principles in OECD countries.

Visiting Professor, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy

Advisory Board member for Italian Inter-university PhD in Sustainable Development and Climate change

Advisory Board member for Sustainable Approaches to Land and water Management in Mediterranean Drylands (SALEM-MED)  (Horizon Europe)