Contact Neil
Neil joined the University in 2016 as Senior Policy Engagement Manager and since then has led the Policy Hub’s research engagement activities. He is responsible for building effective relationships with key policy stakeholders, particularly central government and local and regional bodies. As well as providing leadership to the Policy Hub team, Neil supports stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange activities on a range of research projects.
Neil’s background is in voluntary sector development work and funding. Prior to joining Durham he worked for the National Lottery Community Fund, leading a range of strategic UK wide funding programmes.
Contact Lisa
Lisa provides support for the development of public policy partnerships and networks and for the coordination of policy engagement activities across the University. Lisa also facilitates and delivers public policy training to the academic community in a range of topical areas.
Lisa has over fifteen years’ experience of working within higher education and has substantial experience of facilitating relationships between the university and our partners.
Contact Britta
Britta received her PhD from the Department of Geography at Durham University in 2016. She worked as a researcher across Geography, Anthropology and Engineering until she joined the Policy Hub in 2022. Britta’s work focuses on local government, particularly strengthening policy engagement, knowledge transfer, and research collaboration through an ESRC funded project with Durham County Council, where she is co-located.
Contact Rob
Rob joined the University in 2024 as Knowledge Exchange Manager for the externally funded Conservation and Sustainability Consortium of AcaDEmic Institutions (CASCADE) project. He is responsible for providing knowledge exchange advice to the CASCADE network that is looking to bring together higher education institutions from across the UK working on finding sustainable and socially just solutions to the biodiversity crisis.
Rob’s background is in the conservation sector. Before joining Durham he worked for Natural England as a senior adviser on local nature recovery strategies in the north east of England.
Contact Claire
Claire is the Policy Fellow for the collaborative research programme the UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub comprising 19 universities and over 80 project partners. This research programme focuses on lower technology readiness levels to inform future research, development and deployment to decarbonise the maritime and shipping sector. Claire is active in knowledge mobilisation and engagement activities with policymakers to support the clean maritime transition.
Contact Alison
Dr Alison Whelan is Lead Evaluator for the Into the Light Programme. Now based at Durham University, she was previously a Research Associate at Newcastle University and a freelance Research Consultant specialising in collaborative curriculum innovation. She combines a strong foundation in classroom teaching with research expertise to design and evaluate impactful learning experiences across schools, cultural organisations and communities.
Passionate about cultural and creative education, she aims to broaden opportunities for everyone to engage with the arts, heritage and diverse cultural experiences, fostering curiosity and connection. Her work thrives on collaboration, building partnerships that unite educators, communities and the cultural sector to create meaningful, sustainable change
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