- School of Environmental Sciences
- University of East Anglia
- Norwich
- NR4 7TJ
- UK
- +44 (0)
Email: jacquie.burgess“at“uea.ac.uk
I moved to UEA from the Geography Department in UCL in 2006, becoming Head of the School of Environmental Sciences in August 2007. I specialise in action research which is relevant for environmental policy-making. Over the last 10 years, this has involved experimenting with a variety of participatory environmental decision-making processes that are both analytically robust and able to support deliberation between specialists, stakeholders and citizens. Areas of interest include catchments /river basin planning; urban ecology and green spaces; radioactive waste management; biotechnology issues; and energy futures under climate change.
My other main area of research encompasses what is now called ‘sustainable consumption’ – how to reduce levels of demand for consumer goods and re-orientate lifestyles into more sustainable pathways. My academic research has concentrated on understanding some of the social, cultural, technological and political drivers of different lifestyles, and finding practical ways of helping groups of people make changes in their everyday practices. In support of these action research goals, I was a Trustee of the national charity Global Action Plan 1996–2006, and Chair of the Board from 2000–2006.
I sit on the Economic and Social Research Council’s Strategic Research Board, where I have special responsibility for environmental and cross-council research initiatives, and evaluating the impacts of social science research on wider society.
My current research includes:
2006–08 Science Directorate, DEFRA, An evaluation of ECOTEAMs as a mechanism for promoting pro-environmental behaviour change at household and community scales. Working with Dr Michael Nye, Global Action Plan and New Economics Foundation.
2006–11 work with colleagues on Leverhulme Trust Phase 2 project “Understanding Risk: climate change and energy futures” in partnership with Cardiff and Sheffield Universities, exploring policy and public framings of the risks associated with climate change and energy systems.
2007–08 Carbon Connections, Carbonopoly: action research innovations to promote carbon literacy in households. Led by Dr Gill Seyfang and Dr Irene Lorenzoni, this project with Global Action Plan is exploring the potential of a board game and a driving simulator to help people better understand links between their routine behaviours of the production of greenhouse gases.
2007–09 Carbon Connections, Visible Energy. Working in partnership with Green Energy Options, Ltd. and SYS Consulting, UEA, we are evaluating the impact of an innovative SMART metering system on household behaviours and routines.
2008–11 EPSRC-E.ON, Transition pathways to a low carbon economy. We will begin work on this new grant, in partnership with colleagues in Imperial College, Bath, Loughborough and Strathclyde Universities.
Selected Publications
Corfee-Morlot, J, Maslin, M. and Burgess, J. 2007, Global Warming in the Public Sphere. Phil. Soc Royal Society A: Maths, Physics and Engineering Sciences, (on-line) DOI: 10.10981/RSTA.2007.2084
Burgess J, Clark J, Davies G, Eames M, Staley K, Stirling A, and Williamson S. 2007. Deliberative mapping: a novel analytic-deliberative methodology to support contested science-policy decisions. Pub Und Sci. 16, (3), 299–322. DOI: 10.1177/510
Harrison, C.M and Burgess, J. 2007. Engaging publics in environmental planning: reflections on geographical research in a period of policy flux. In Clout, H. (ed) Contemporary Rural Geographies: land, property and resources in Britain: essays in honour of Richard Munton. London, Routledge, 129–148.
Burgess J and Chilvers J, 2006. Upping the ante: a conceptual framework for exploring participatory technology assessments. Sci Pub Pol. 33 (10), 713–728. DOI: 10.3152/78551
Burgess, J. and Clark J., 2006. Evaluating public and stakeholder engagement strategies in environmental governance. In Peirez, A G, Vaz, S.G. and Tognetti, S (eds). Interfaces between Science and Society Sheffield: Greenleaf Press, 225–252.
Carvalho A, and Burgess J, 2005. Cultural circuits of climate change in UK broadsheet newspapers, 1985–2003. Risk Analysis. (25), 1457–1469. DOI: 10.1111/j.1539–6924.2005.00692.x
Burgess J, 2005. Follow the argument where it leads: personal reflections on policy relevant research. Trans Inst Brit Geog (30), 273–281.
Jones PJ and Burgess J, 2005. Building partnership capacity for the collaborative management of marine protected areas in the UK. Journal of Environmental Management (77), 227–243. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.04.004
Davies G, and Burgess J, 2004. Challenging the ‘view from nowhere’: citizens reflections on specialist expertise in a deliberative process. Health and Place (10), 349–361. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2004.08.005
Burgess J, Bedford T, Hobson G, Davies G and Harrison CM, 2003. (Un)sustainable consumption. In Berkhout, F., Leach, M. Scoones, I. (eds) Negotiating environmental change: new perspectives from social science. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 261–292
Harrison, C.M and Burgess, J. 2003. Social science concepts and frameworks for understanding urban ecosystems. In Bekowitz, A.R., Nilon, C.H. and Hollweg, K.S. (eds). Understanding urban ecosystems: a new frontier for science and education. New York, Springer, 137–149.
And in press…
Burgess, J,. et al. Practitioner evaluations of participatory processes in environmental decision-making. In Jordan, A and Adger, N. (eds) Governance for Sustainability. (CUP Press) (due 2008).