Dr Claire Kelly

Qualifications

• 1999 BSc (Hons) Environmental Science, First Class Honours (Open University)
• 2002 MRes Sustainable Environmental Management (University of Plymouth)
• 2009 PhD Geography (University of Plymouth). Thesis title: Partnerships in the development and management of marine nature-based tourism: An analysis of effectiveness.

Professional membership

Fellow of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

Roles on external bodies

• Adjunct Faculty Member, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Arusha, Tanzania
• Trustee, Beaford Arts

Teaching interests

• Personal Tutor
• Social Science research methods

Research interests

I hold a Master of Research Degree (MRes) in Sustainable Environmental Management and a Doctorate (PhD) in Geography, focusing on the effectiveness of public/private sector partnerships within the complex and fragmented policy environment of the coastal zone.

I am a senior member of staff, leading and collaborating on a range of interdisciplinary research and evaluation projects in the Peninsula Medical School (Quality Excellence Unit) and the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. As a social scientist, my research interests focus on people, their experiences and their relationships to place across a range of contexts. Specifically, my interests span resilience; co-design for sustainable solutions to complex challenges; partnership working, governance and participation. I also have an interest in qualitative research method development. 

Outside of academia, I have extensive experience of volunteering and engagement at community and regional levels; as a Trustee, and Archive Steering Group Member at Beaford Arts; and as a volunteer in my home community.  

Grants & contracts

2022 - Arts Council England: Earth, Water, Fire! Exploring climate change science with rural North Devon communities, creating a performance storytelling piece. £28,000 

2022 - SEI Small Collaborative Awards (Co-I): Mapping Treescapes Narratives. £3,000

2020 - BBSRC GCRF Translation Awards (Res-I): Integrated community-driven engagement for sustainable enhancement of food production in East Africa: the Jali Ardhi project. £252,581.15

2020 - GCRF with Plymouth University (Co-I): Water security in the agricultural landscapes of Turkey: towards improving the resilience of communities and socio-ecological systems. £59,242.

2020 - GCRF with Plymouth University (Co-I): Nuestro Rio (our river): Local perspectives on water quality in the Rio Santa, Peru. £55,526.

2020 - RGS Environment and Society Scheme (Co-I): Improving socio-ecological resilience to wildfire in the UK via community engagement and integration of deep-time ecological data into landscape management. £14,943

2019 - BBSRC Citizen Science Exploration Grant call (Co-I): SoilSCAN: Soils, Science and Community ActioN. £19,248.02

2018 - GCRF with Plymouth University (PI): 'Ardhi na Kujifunza (Land and Learning): Building a sustainable future on the Jali Ardhi legacy. £73,765.

2018 - RCUK Newton-CONICYT (Res-I): 'Making soil erosion understandable and governable at the basin scale for food, water and hydropower sustainability in Latin America'. £405,509.

2017 - NERC GCRF (RF): Jali Ardhi II: Realising land management change in degraded Maasai grazing lands. £101,243

2016 - NERC GCRF (RF): Jali Ardhi: Socio-ecological resilience to soil erosion driven by extreme climatic events: past, present and future challenges in East Africa. £168,640.

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