Susan O’Leary

Lecturer in Accounting

Expertise: Participatory and beneficiary accountability within NGOs, social impact, monitoring and evaluation

My work relates to the monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment tools used within NGOs, and how they are used to derive outcomes as diverse as accountability to donors to the fulfilment of social development obligations at a grassroots level. My emerging research interests include the conception of vulnerable minorities by governments, international bodies, NGOs and associated institutions in accountability relationships, particularly in the area of modern slavery, trafficking, and refugee and asylum policy, and I am interested in working with diverse partners in this field. Methodologically, I employ a critical and interdisciplinary style with an emphasis on case-based qualitative methods.

Redell Olsen

Professor of English, Director of Living Sustainably

Themes: Biodiversity and natural capital, Greener futures, Sustainability and creativity

Together with Klaus Dodds and Caroline Harris, I curated the COP26 Forum at Royal Holloway in 2021, which brought together academic, local, and national expertise on climate solutions, policy, and research. I am an arts practitioner, poet and academic who is committed to addressing environmental concerns, biodiversity, plant humanities, climate literacy and justice through research and teaching.

My own creative and academic work approaches the reuse and repurposing of apparently outdated technologies, archives, and historical materials as the basis for innovative literary and artistic practice-based research. My film Now Circa (1918) was shortlisted for an AHRC best research film of the year award in 2018. I was awarded the DARE art prize in 2020 for a collaboration with BioDar scientists at the University of Leeds, the Tetley Art Gallery in Leeds and the Museum of Science and Media in Bradford. I have taught poetic practice, visual arts, literature, environmental literatures, and creative writing at undergraduate and postgraduate level and I am an expert in the field of practice-based research.

I am interested in environmental policy, and specifically how the arts and humanities can be instrumental in the shaping of thriving and sustainable communities within the university and more widely. I have previously collaborated with local groups, scientists, galleries, museums, science and heritage institutions through creative projects and practice-led workshops.

Website: http://redellolsen.co.uk/

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Zoe Raven

PhD Student

Themes: Thriving communities, Reducing health inequalities

Expertise: Ethics of care, business ethics, practice theory, sensemaking, social justice, social inclusion, childcare and early years education

I have extensive experience and knowledge of the UK childcare sector, and am particularly interested in the problem of making childcare accessible, affordable, and inclusive in a marketised sector. My PhD thesis explores the tensions between ethical intentions and marketisation, and I am also hoping to carry out further research on the transition of childcare provision from a local authority to the third sector, and the impact of community-based childcare on the lives of low-income families, particularly women.

Chris Rees

Professor of Employment Relations

Themes: Thriving communities (especially decent working practices, also sustainable work and economic growth)

Expertise: Employee representation and participation, corporate governance regulation and reform, employment consequences of mergers and takeovers

My research has been broadly in sociology of work and employment, with particular focus on employee voice and representation. Recent interest in UK corporate governance reform – especially codetermination at board-level, also ownership and stewardship, directors’ duties, corporate reporting and ESG disclosure requirements, and regulatory / company law mechanisms. Relevant to wide range of debates on sustainable business, socialising finance, and the democratisation of work.

Published recent reports and papers on stakeholder corporate governance, board-level workforce engagement, and the regulation of takeovers. Established connections and contacts across a range of relevant policy-related bodies – e.g. Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Involvement & Participation Association (IPA), Trades Union Congress (TUC), Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), High Pay Centre, and Labour Business.

Erica Rowan

Lecturer in Classical Archaeology, Member of the Food Group

Themes: Biodiversity and natural capital, Greener futures, Thriving communities

Expertise: I am passionate about creating a greener and more sustainable planet for human, plant, and animal communities

My work on ancient diet and fuel consumption contributes to our understanding of past human/environment relationships and provides future solutions for sustainable food production and consumption. My current AHRC project, Negotiating the Modernity Crisis: Globalization, economic gain and the loss of traditional and sustainable food practices in Turkey (AHRC AH/V000454/1), aims to articulate and find solutions to local and globalising pressures by studying the dynamics of both ancient and modern sustainable foodways in the province of Manisa, and especially the agency of women.

I am also one of the founding members of The Food Group at RHUL where I have co-organised and participated in our two sustainability events, Inedible, Unpalatable and Indigestible and Food and Drink on the Brink. I enjoy discussing and sharing the findings of my research with the public through a variety of media, including blogs and podcasts.

Sukanya Sengupta

Professor of Management

Themes: Thriving communities, Sustainability and creativity

Expertise: Employee share ownership, performance management, small and medium enterprises, creative and media sector

My research interests include performance management, employee share ownership schemes and their impact on organisational and behavioural outcomes (e.g. organisational performance, labour productivity, commitment and employee turnover). The research on employee share ownership and performance based on quantitative analysis using the Workplace Employee Relations Survey and similar secondary databases. Another strand of research is predominantly qualitative and focuses on employment relations in small and medium enterprises, particularly in the creative and media sector.

The project report on Employment Relations in SMEs with Professor Paul Edwards facilitated a dialogue between policy and practice and was recognised for its research impact. An emerging area of research interest is precarious employment in the Indian Film industry. I would like to work with UKDA, IOD, Film Council UK and relevant audio visual medium.

Hyemi Shin

Lecturer in Responsible Management

Themes: Greener futures, Thriving communities

Expertise: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability governance, corporate communication, stakeholder engagement

I have worked on exploring corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability as an emerging field at multi-levels as management researcher. My work focuses on how the CSR/ sustainability field has emerged in different contexts by examining CSR/sustainability governance, CSR/sustainability reporting, the role of governments, and professional CSR/sustainability organisations, and how CSR/sustainability professionals work and implement CSR/sustainability policies. My experience includes working with CSR/ sustainability professionals and serving as consultant to business actors (both social enterprises and for-profit organisations) that implement CSR/ sustainability (e.g., UN SDGs) in Slovenia and the UK and as researcher to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to investigate the emergence of the CSR/sustainability function at organisations. I would like to work with various stakeholders that contribute to the field, particularly such as the government, CSR/sustainability professionals, and entrepreneurs.

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David Simon

Professor of Development Geography and Director of External Engagement, School of Life Sciences and Environment

Themes: Greener futures

Expertise: Development–environment relations in theory, policy and practice; cities and climate change; transdisciplinarity; participatory and co-production methods

My abiding concerns focus on understanding the complex interplay between development and environment in diverse contexts and scales, from the global to the local. This is necessarily both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. I have always been passionate about making a positive difference through applications of research ideas and results to policy and practice. Concerns over the limitations of conventional academic research in meeting practical needs, I have in recent years – and especially during and since my period as Director of Mistra Urban Futures (2014-19) – explored the potential of transdisciplinary research teams to engage the beneficiary groups and institutions actively in the research so that it becomes tailored to needs and thus easier to implement the results.

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Laura J Spence

Professor of Business Ethics

Themes: Greener futures, Reducing health inequalities

Expertise: Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, small business social responsibility, sustainability

My research focuses on a range of issues at the intersection of business, society and the environment. In particular I have worked with business intermediaries and policy makers to advise on the small business perspective, such as in the UK parliament, the International Labour Organization, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the United Nations Global Compact.

I would like to deepen these collaborations at the national, European and global levels, for example through the framework of support for NetZero, and continue to influence support for responsible business practice which is relevant to small and medium sized enterprises.

Helen Tregidga

Professor of Accounting

Themes: Greener futures, Biodiversity and natural capital

Expertise: Accountability, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting

How we currently live is unsustainable. As a social and environmental accountant I am interested in the role of accounting and accountability practices in contributing to this current unsustainable state, as well as imagining new forms of accounting and accountability practices which might play a role in the transition towards sustainability. I consider both how organisations account for and discharge accountabilities relating to sustainability (oftentimes through reporting), and also what is needed to create action. With this in mind, I am particularly interested in working with academics, social movements and others in countering or resisting organisations in an attempt to advance sustainability.