Broadly, my professional and research interests are in the interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral issues around environmental sustainability and, specifically, low carbon energy systems, sustainable urban environments and the human interactions with these.

Over the past few years my research has focused on human aspects of sustainable energy futures. This has included the UK-wide EnergyREV project looking at future skills for Smart Local Energy Systems and ARINZRIT looking at the wider policy, social and cultural factors impacting on the development of net zero digital research infrastructure.

Also in this space is exploring how household energy management can be supported by automated demand shifting services to reduce peak loads; and looking at social value in city decarbonisation approaches.  

Previous City futures-related work includes looking at the role of 'informal governance' by non-state actors in city leadership, taking a case study of the Bristol Pound (2016). Earlier, during Bristol’s year as European Green Capital in 2015, working with the Cabot Institute and the Bristol Green Capital Partnership, a series of conversations brought together academic and city expertise to address 'Delivering the Future City'.

I carried out the UK comparative elements of 'Between Social Activism and Social Enterprise: Socio-legal support structures for grassroots responses to climate change' (2013-16) which examined the regulatory issues of a spectrum of grassroots organisations in different sectors (food, energy, resources, transport, work space) in the UK and Australia. The project was led by Professor Bronwen Morgan, Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of New South Wales.

Community energy-related research included the 'Maintaining Momentum' project (2012-13), exploring the role of intermediaries in supporting community groups to maintain the momentum generated by seed grants, brokering and translating between top-down policy and bottom-up action. This included the 'Energised Communities' seminar which linked with the launch of the Bristol Community Strategy for Energy. I also worked with the Bristol Energy Network on a Connected Communities seed funded project (2014) to understand how the university and community energy groups can constructively work together.