Professional biography
I am a social researcher and my specialisms lie at the interface of technology and society. My motivations are in finding out how people use new technologies and in what ways they can be designed or organised to better serve the interests of the public. I am driven by communicating the findings of that research, making it accessible to users and influencers in a range of domains.
In my academic research at the University of Oxford, I explored this on the ESRC funded project Smart Cities in the Making: Learning from Milton Keynes. This project focused on the effects of a smart city project on social difference, and I contributed to work packages on smart citizenship and on smart city business practices. I also led the project's impact and public engagement activities.
Prior to this, at the Open University, I was a freelance Research Associate on the interdisciplinary Making Meaningful Metrics project which used action research to engage in user design of smart city transport solutions, as well as a series of other short term research projects in varying domains. I have since conducted freelance work in the policy sphere, for instance working with Nesta’s EU funded Digital Social Innovation project to research and write positive future scenarios for social innovation in tech.
I have a PhD from the Department of Geography at the Open University. My doctoral research examined the practice of plant genetic resource conservation. I was interested to understand how seed banking acts as a technology to preserve plant materials of the past and present in order to bring about food security in the future.
In my academic research at the University of Oxford, I explored this on the ESRC funded project Smart Cities in the Making: Learning from Milton Keynes. This project focused on the effects of a smart city project on social difference, and I contributed to work packages on smart citizenship and on smart city business practices. I also led the project's impact and public engagement activities.
Prior to this, at the Open University, I was a freelance Research Associate on the interdisciplinary Making Meaningful Metrics project which used action research to engage in user design of smart city transport solutions, as well as a series of other short term research projects in varying domains. I have since conducted freelance work in the policy sphere, for instance working with Nesta’s EU funded Digital Social Innovation project to research and write positive future scenarios for social innovation in tech.
I have a PhD from the Department of Geography at the Open University. My doctoral research examined the practice of plant genetic resource conservation. I was interested to understand how seed banking acts as a technology to preserve plant materials of the past and present in order to bring about food security in the future.
