I have been researching rural, island and regional development issues for over 25 years, working for both academic and policy organisations across the UK. My main areas of interest are: rural economies and businesses; rural community change; and rural policies and the policy-making process. I have managed and (co)delivered applied research projects for a variety of clients including the Scottish Government, the Rural Committee of the Swedish Parliament, the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe, the European Network for Rural Development, Amazon, Scottish and Southern Energy, Defra, the Commission for Rural Communities, and various enterprise agencies, local authorities and third and community sector organisations.

I am a mixed method researcher with experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, including large scale business surveys, analysis of secondary data, interviews, focus groups, and facilitating participatory workshops.

My current position as Senior Lecturer and Manager in the Rural Policy Centre involves managing a number of staff, research projects and high profile knowledge exchange and policy engagement activities, including conferences, events and Parliamentary meetings.

I have been an invited speaker at several international events, organised by the OECD, the EU's Rural Pact and the Council of Europe. I am currently External Examiner at Newcastle University (2025-2028) and act as reviewer for research proposals and commissioned project reports submitted to government departments. I have acted as reviewer for several academic journals in the field of rural and regional development. 

I contribute to teaching on a number of undergraduate modules relating to different degrees at SRUC, usually on topics relating to rural and island communities. 

I am currently co-supervising three PhD students:

• Bryn Smith "Community-Owned Infrastructure to Support Community Wealth Building in Rural and Island Scotland"
• Emma Currie "Addressing workforce shortages in the care economy in rural and island areas of Scotland"
• Malina Modlich "De-risking agri-food business through enhanced water scarcity awareness"

I also supervise undergraduate and MSc projects at SRUC.

Current

• 2025-28 Digi-Rangeland, Horizon Europe funded project 
• 2026: Models for Strengthening Rural Proofing in Wales, commissioned research project for LPIP Rural Wales (Co-Investigator)
• 2023-26: FORTH20 Local Policy Innovation Partnership - Optimising water resources in the Forth Water Basin (Co-Investigator)
• 2023-26: Land Use for Net Zero hub (LUNZHub) (Co-Investigator)
• 2023-26: Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network on Covid-19 related mobilities (Principal Investigator)
• 2022-27: Scottish Government RESAS Strategic Research Programme "Reimagined policy futures: Shaping sustainable, inclusive and just rural and island communities in Scotland (ReRIC)" (Principal Investigator)
• 2022-27: Scottish Government RESAS Strategic Research Programme "Novel insights on Scotland's rural and island economies (NISRIE)" (Co-Investigator)

Recent (selected)

• 2024-26: Scottish Rural Communities Policy Review, commissioned work for the Scottish Government (Principal Investigator)
• 2024-25: Research into behaviour changes needed to achieve Scotland's goals for a circular economy (Co-Investigator)
• 2023-24: Informing the future of Angus Rural Partnership, for Angus Rural Partnership (Co-Investigator)
• 2023-24: Rural and Agricultural Development: Maximising the potential in the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides (Co-Investigator)
• 2023: SEFARI Strategic Advisory Group to advise the Scottish Government on implementing a 'rural lens' (Principal Investigator)
• 2022-23: Climate change, the land-based labour market and rural land use in Scotland - an evidence assessment (for Climate XChange) (Principal Investigator)
• 2022: Research to investigate island depopulation in Japan (for Scottish Government)
• 2022: Input to the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) Thematic Group on Rural Proofing (Principal Investigator)
• 2016-22: Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme 2016-22, Work Package 3.4. Communities and Wellbeing, Research Deliverable 3.4.2: Place-based policy and its implications for policy and service delivery (Principal Investigator)
• 2016-22: Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme 2016-22, Work Package 3.4. Communities and Wellbeing, Research Deliverable 3.4.1 Demographic change in remote rural Scotland (Co-Investigator)
• 2021-22: Understanding the 'cold spot' areas where Plunkett Foundation supports fewer community businesses, for Plunkett Foundation (Principal Investigator)
• 2021-22: Evaluation of the Scottish Government's Rural Communities Ideas into Action Fund, for Scottish Government (Principal Investigator)
• 2021-22: An exploration of child poverty in rural and island Scotland, for Scottish Government (Co-Investigator)
• 2021-22: Informing the development of a rural movement in Scotland, for Scottish Government (Co-Investigator)
• 2020-21: Review of the Kilgallioch Windfarm Community Fund, for Kilgallioch Community Benefit Company (Principal Investigator)
• 2019-21: Rural Lives: Understanding Financial Hardship and Vulnerability in Rural Areas (Co-Investigator with Professor Mark Shucksmith (Newcastle University), Polly Chapman (Impact Hub Inverness) and Jayne Glass (SRUC), funded by Standard Life Foundation)
• 2019: The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018: Evidence needs for improving outcomes for Scotland’s island communities (Principal Investigator, funded by SEFARI Sparks)
• 2019: A review of early Islands Community Impacts Assessments, commissioned by RESAS, Scottish Government (Principal Investigator)
• 2019: The role of the LEADER approach post-Brexit, commissioned by RESAS, Scottish Government (Principal Investigator)
• 2018-19: Review of international community, communal and municipal land ownership, Scottish Land Commission (Co-Investigator)
• 2018-19: Rural Enterprises in Scotland: The Evidence Base (Principal Investigator, Scottish Funding Council Universities Innovation Fund project)
• 2018-19: Exploring the gender pay gap in rural Scotland, commissioned by RESAS, Scottish Government (Principal Investigator)
• 2017-2018: An evaluation of the Griffin and Calliacher Enterprise Fund, commissioned by Scottish and Southern Energy (Principal Investigator)
• 2017: Exploring the digital potential of rural areas, led by Rural England CIC and commissioned by Amazon UK (Principal Investigator)
•  2017: Seasonal Migrant Workers in Scottish Agriculture, commissioned by Scottish Government (Co-Investigator)
• 2016-17: A better future for Europe’s rural regions, commissioned by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (Co-Investigator)
• 2016: A study of rural proofing in the UK, commissioned by the Swedish Agency for Growth Analysis for the Rural Committee of the Swedish Parliament (Co-Investigator)

Jan 06 – Jun 10: Lecturer in Rural Development, Centre for Rural Economy (CRE), Newcastle University

Mar 05 – Dec 05: Research Associate, CRE, Newcastle University

Aug 03 – Dec 04: Research Adviser (Regional Influencing), Evidence and Analysis, The Countryside Agency, Cheltenham

Nov 99 – Jul 03: Research Assistant (PT), The Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research, University of Aberdeen (included work on the EU Framework IV project “Dynamics of Rural Areas, DORA”)

Jun 98 – Mar 02: Contract Researcher, The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit