I am a research fellow at SRUC, working on work packages around the rural economy, rural communities and land reform. I am a multidisciplinary qualitative researcher and have expertise in rural and regional development, rural sociology, governance, innovation and economic geography. Previously, I have worked at the Centre for Rural Economy, the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (all Newcastle University) and the Centre for Rural Policy Research Centre at the University of Exeter, on a variety of project. These include; sustainable rural tourism, the innovativeness of land-based sectors and SMEs, and policy nexus work.

I gained my PhD at the Centre for Rural Economy, focusing on rural enterprise hubs which are physical infrastructure aimed at bringing rural businesses into closer proximity to share knowledge, network and collaborate. The PhD also critiqued (urban-centric) Territorial Innovation Models (TIMs) and analysed the role the hubs played in contributing to these systems and providing rural businesses with access to these.  

I am based in the Edinburgh Campus but largely work remotely from rural Northumberland, where I enjoy spending time walking along Hadrian's Wall and many other sites along the Tyne Valley.