Prior to taking up the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), I was Head of the School of Human Life Sciences and Director of the Centre for Sport, Physical Education and Activity Research (SPEAR) at Christ Church. I have also held positions at Loughborough University and the University of North London.

I remain an active researcher, and am Professor of Applied Policy Sciences. Drawing on a wide range of social science disciplines, including social psychology, sociology, economics, geography and policy science, my work has focused on informing, improving and interrogating policy in the applied domains of public health, physical activity, physical education, sport, tourism, transport, urban development and major events.

Work to inform policy through the development of robust evidence bases, funded by, inter alia, the Department of Health, the National Health Service and Kent County Council, has included systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the health benefits of major events.

Research interrogating the policy process and policy efficiency, funded by, inter alia, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Greater London Authority and 4Children, has included analyses of the use of evidence and evidence analysis techniques in the development of physical activity policy.

Finally, analyses to improve policy through the evaluation of its impacts, funded by, inter alia, the Department of Health, Change4Life, Lloyds Banking Group and the Youth Sport Trust, have included evaluations of physical activity and health interventions for the least active, including the Change4Life programme.

I also remain Strategic Director of SPEAR, and am Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sport and Tourism (Routledge), Editor of the SAGE Library of Sport and Leisure Management, and I sit on the Editorial Boards of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health (Routledge) and Psychology of Sport and Exercise (Elsevier). My research has been cited in Parliament and in Ministerial speeches, and in the REF2021 period to date (2014+), I have authored 10 peer-reviewed journal outputs, two books, seven book chapters and five reports to funders.

I am responsible for the strategic leadership of research, knowledge exchange and enterprise, and for research and enterprise integrity, governance and ethics. My role also involves the development of strategy and policy for research quality enhancement and the Research Excellence Framework, as well as responsibility for the postgraduate research degrees framework and programme oversight. The development of strategy for enterprise, innovation and business and community engagement also falls within my remit, as does responsibility for the implementation and enhancement of the Athena SWAN Charter at the University.

What are your current priorities?

Following the transition from the previous Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Exchange) to my role as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), we are undertaking a fundamental review of strategy, structure and oversight for research and enterprise during 2017, which will guide and support the University’s work and activities in this area over the next five or more years.

What inspires you about Christ Church?

At the heart of our institutional mission is a commitment to transform lives: of our students; of our staff; and of our partners in, and the users of, our research.

This, together with our long-standing commitment to public service, I believe inspires us to deliver high-quality research across our broad subject portfolio that is universally acknowledged as having public value. We do this by supporting staff to engage in research that shapes their discipline and influences policy and practice in the industries and sectors that we serve, and in which our students aspire to be employed.

Our research is designed to make a significant contribution to the issues and problems that matter to society. From contributing to debates about Christianity within an increasingly secular society, through understanding how school summer holidays might affect children’s activity levels, to the contribution worms might make to understanding Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Universities must lead growth — CCCU shows how