I am an internationally renowned researcher, practitioner and consultant in the field of social & environmental innovation & entrepreneurship, whose 30 year career experience has been dedicated to helping people, communities, and organisations make decisions in complex and confusing situations. I am also adept at getting decisions made when I'm not in charge.
I have worked in environmental decision-making, in policy and law and in community development, for governments, major companies and community associations. Whilst working at the University of Northampton, my focus was on the nitty-gritty theory and practice of community organising and social innovation. I taught Entrepreneurship, International Development and Social & Community Development, and latterly Foundation, students how to make decisions in and with communities, but also coach and undertake paid and pro-bono consulting work for third-sector organisations, most recently co-founding Intensive Engagement, a social change organisation working on neighbourhood policing.
I was also Changemaker Campus leader at the University of Northampton who adopted my skill set as a major institutional strategy. I have led on high profile co-curriculum challenges, summer schools and international conferences on social innovation. My PhD thesis "Locally Identified Solutions and Practices: a critical realist investigation into the processes of social innovation in the context of neighbourhood policing" was defended in July 2020 and awarded in July 2020. I was made Associate Professor in Social Innovation in June 2022.
In October 2023, I transitioned to BMT, an employee benefit trust, to develop a brand new team and capability on complex organisational transformation, in essence, helping large organisations improve their work to create positive social, environmental and economic outcomes.
KEY ROLES
Managing Consultant, BMT Group, consultant in complex organisational change, Oct 2023 to date
I have worked in environmental decision-making, in policy and law and in community development, for governments, major companies and community associations. Whilst working at the University of Northampton, my focus was on the nitty-gritty theory and practice of community organising and social innovation. I taught Entrepreneurship, International Development and Social & Community Development, and latterly Foundation, students how to make decisions in and with communities, but also coach and undertake paid and pro-bono consulting work for third-sector organisations, most recently co-founding Intensive Engagement, a social change organisation working on neighbourhood policing.
I was also Changemaker Campus leader at the University of Northampton who adopted my skill set as a major institutional strategy. I have led on high profile co-curriculum challenges, summer schools and international conferences on social innovation. My PhD thesis "Locally Identified Solutions and Practices: a critical realist investigation into the processes of social innovation in the context of neighbourhood policing" was defended in July 2020 and awarded in July 2020. I was made Associate Professor in Social Innovation in June 2022.
In October 2023, I transitioned to BMT, an employee benefit trust, to develop a brand new team and capability on complex organisational transformation, in essence, helping large organisations improve their work to create positive social, environmental and economic outcomes.
KEY ROLES
Managing Consultant, BMT Group, consultant in complex organisational change, Oct 2023 to date
- Deputy Head of Subject & Programme Leader, Integrated Foundation Year, Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology, to Oct 2023
- AshokaU ChangemakerCampus leader, to Oct 2023
- Fellow, Higher Education Academy June 2016
- Member of Senate, University of Northampton May 2015 to July 2016
- Member of Northampton Business School Student Experience Committee 2015-2016
- Holder of the 2014 University Court Award for outstanding contribution to the University
- Founding Director and Assistant Professor Department of Lived Theology, Social Work, and Community Development, St Gregory Institute, Universidad Rural de Guatemala.
- Unltd/HEFCE Ambassador for Social Entrepreneurship in Higher Education
- Unltd/HEFCE Outstanding HEI Supporting Social Entrepreneurship Awardee
- HEI Public Engagement Ambassador
- Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts
- External Examiner, The University of Ulster 2012- present AdvDip Social Enterprise and 2013 -to present AdvDip Civic Leadership and Community Planning
- Executive member, The UK Deanery of the Exarchate Archdiocese of Western Europe
- Member, Constitutional Reform committee, The UK Deanery of the Exarchate Archdiocese of Western Europe
- Member, Pastoral Committee of the Assembly of Orthodox Christian Bishops in the UK
- Trustee, St Ragener of Northampton charity, St Sunniva's Trust and St Anne's, York
I went to St David's University College (SDUC) in the late 80s to study what I thought would be retail geography, and economic geography etc. Instead, I stumbled on the Lampeter Geography School. This group was hugely influential on me, and many people. Notable names who taught me include:
Professor Chris Philo, geographies of mental health and Foucauldian geography
Professor David Sadler, geographies of labour relations
Professor Paul Cloke (RIP), rural geographies and social justice
Professor Joe M. Painter, political geographies
Dr Mike Crang, cultural geography
Professor Mark Goodwin, marxist geographies
I then went on to read a Masters of Law (LLM) in Environmental Law at Aberdeen University. I also studied Environmental Assessment with Professor Brian Clark of the Centre for Enviromental Management and Planning. From that I got my first job with Aberdeen University Research and Industrial Services. Then the Environmental Division was spun out and became Cordah and then BMT Cordah, a leading environmental management consulting firm.
After nine years of consulting experience and hundreds of environmental projects, I decided to try and work my way back to academia, to rediscover my human geography roots. I worked freelance for a while, notably with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford, and ended up at the University of Northampton. For two years I worked for the Northampton Business School developing a taught programme in Social Entrepreneurship and working on other development projects. Since Sept 2010, I moved to the School of Health to continue teaching community development as well as developing a programme in the Study of Spirituality in Public Practice.
Nowadays, apart from wallowing in nostalgia on Lampeter facebook groups I hang out intellectually speaking with a group of radical, engaged and critical academics from a number of disciplines who are committed to fully unpacking the meaning and implications, for social justice, of this 'social enterprise' thing
Professor Chris Philo, geographies of mental health and Foucauldian geography
Professor David Sadler, geographies of labour relations
Professor Paul Cloke (RIP), rural geographies and social justice
Professor Joe M. Painter, political geographies
Dr Mike Crang, cultural geography
Professor Mark Goodwin, marxist geographies
I then went on to read a Masters of Law (LLM) in Environmental Law at Aberdeen University. I also studied Environmental Assessment with Professor Brian Clark of the Centre for Enviromental Management and Planning. From that I got my first job with Aberdeen University Research and Industrial Services. Then the Environmental Division was spun out and became Cordah and then BMT Cordah, a leading environmental management consulting firm.
After nine years of consulting experience and hundreds of environmental projects, I decided to try and work my way back to academia, to rediscover my human geography roots. I worked freelance for a while, notably with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford, and ended up at the University of Northampton. For two years I worked for the Northampton Business School developing a taught programme in Social Entrepreneurship and working on other development projects. Since Sept 2010, I moved to the School of Health to continue teaching community development as well as developing a programme in the Study of Spirituality in Public Practice.
Nowadays, apart from wallowing in nostalgia on Lampeter facebook groups I hang out intellectually speaking with a group of radical, engaged and critical academics from a number of disciplines who are committed to fully unpacking the meaning and implications, for social justice, of this 'social enterprise' thing