My research examines how governance systems address emerging sustainability challenges.
Governance systems shape how sustainability challenges are recognised and framed, how decisions are made, which actors participate, what knowledge informs policy, which responses are considered appropriate, and how interventions are implemented. Understanding these processes is essential for developing more effective and adaptive approaches to sustainability challenges.
Rather than focusing on a single environmental issue, my research investigates governance across a diverse range of sustainability contexts. These include climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, coastal and marine governance, sustainable agriculture, the blue economy and emerging sustainability technologies. Together, these contexts provide opportunities to investigate broader questions about how governance systems respond to novelty, uncertainty and change.
My research is currently organised around three interconnected areas.
Governance of Emerging Sustainability Technologies
I investigate the governance, policy and regulatory implications of emerging technologies developed to address sustainability challenges. This work examines how governance systems respond to technological novelty, uncertainty and rapid innovation, with current and recent research spanning areas such as reef restoration and adaptation, offshore renewable energy and RNA-based biotechnologies.
Environmental Policy and Governance
I examine how governance systems address changing environmental, societal and technological challenges. This research investigates institutional arrangements, policy processes, multilevel governance and governance innovation across a wide range of sustainability contexts.
Innovative Analytical Methods
I develop innovative approaches for analysing governance systems, including governance analytics, comparative governance and AI-assisted qualitative analysis. This work aims to strengthen the rigour, transparency and comparative capacity of governance research.
An increasingly important direction of my research is comparative governance. By comparing governance across different sustainability challenges, jurisdictions and governance levels, I seek to identify recurring governance patterns, transferable lessons and broader contributions to governance scholarship.
For more information about my research projects, visit the Policy, Innovation & Sustainability Research Group website.