Dave is a knowledge mobilisation specialist. He has a PhD in climate science and 10 years professional experience in environmental policy, policy-relevant climate mitigation research and leading on knowledge mobilisation activities for multi-year, multi-£million, multi-disciplinary and impact-focused research programmes.

Dave’s leadership at SPRE centres around how to support capacities for more ethical, equitable and effective systems and practices. He is particularly interested in how to applying insights from intersectionality, participatory action research and complexity-aware impact monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Dave also leads on knowledge mobilisation for a 7-year £3.7m research unit on the long-term economics of health and social care supply.

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Catherine-Rose is a researcher and knowledge mobiliser with 15 years’ experience across community development, social work, social care, public health, primary and secondary care. She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the University of Edinburgh and specialises in participatory approaches to research design and systems leadership. She also has specialist expertise in monitoring and evaluation for learning (specifically developmental evaluation and contribution analysis).

Her leadership and methods create a bridge between different kinds of knowledge, with a focus on blending lived experience, practice wisdom, policy know-how, and research evidence. She is also the Co-Chair for the Social Action Inquiry for Scotland, which focuses on what helps and hinders community-led change.

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Andrea works as Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde

Clare works as a Senior Lecturer Medical Microbiology & Head of Equality and Inclusion, at the School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University.

Freya is an early career researcher in the final stages of a social sciences PhD examining processes of racialisation and understandings of racism in professional education. She brings over a decade of practitioner experience in social care, mental health nursing and social work, and currently works as Programme Manager for improvement in children’s social work services in Shetland. Drawing on both her combined practitioner and researcher lenses, Freya is motivated by how research, policy and practice can be enabled to inform and challenge one another in meeting the challenges of our time. Freya joined SPRE as a Trustee in 2023.

Nick works as Vice Principal (Research) at Robert Gordon University.

I live in Stirling and I work as a coach and facilitator with people across the public and third sectors in Scotland. I am midway through a doctorate in organisational change with Hult International Business School (at Ashridge) using a participatory action research approach. My inquiries are around what it means and what it takes to work and learn relationally alongside each other. Over the past five years, I have co-convened (with my friend and colleague, Charlie Jones) weekly ‘Spaces for Listening’ over zoom, listening to and connecting with many hundreds of people across the UK and beyond.

Christine is Director of Research and Insight at the British Council. She has over two decades of experience of international working, with a focus on youth and civil society, and on connecting research with practitioners and policy makers for greater impact. She was formerly a journalist, and remains passionate about telling stories that make a difference to people’s lives. Christine is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Trustee of MND Scotland, and sits on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh.

Working at the intersection of health, wellbeing, and innovation, I have led digital health initiatives and innovation projects, co-founded a rural community research network, and supported knowledge exchange across academic and public sector ecosystems. With Master’s degrees in stratified medicine and health data science, my work focuses on real-world impacts, systems learning, and inclusive innovation. I am passionate about human learning systems, outcome-focused practice, and bridging the gap between policy, lived experience, and meaningful change. I currently hold leadership and advisory roles across national programmes, academic partnerships, industry, and research organisations.

Sam works as a Senior Lecturer in Environment and Development at the University of Edinburgh, where she engages with amazing students whilst helping to run the MSc in Environment and Development. Sam is a feminist political ecologist committed to environmental and social justice, and her work includes long-term engagement with rural villagers in Nepal, action-research with practitioners and policy-makers in Kathmandu, and recently started work where she lives in rural Northumberland. Having trained in ecology and worked in conservation around the world for 10 years before returning to academia to complete a PhD, Sam is committed to building meaningful relationships with practitioners.