Alison Leigh Browne

Alison Leigh Browne

Dr

  • 1.58 Arthur Lewis Building

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Personal profile

Overview

Alison Browne is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography (affiliated with the Sustainable Consumption Institute, Manchester Urban Institute). She is the SEED (School of Environment, Education and Development) Associate Director of Research: Business Engagement and Internationalisation. From 2015-2020 she chaired the Society and Environment Research Group in Geography, and has contributed to the Management Group of the Sustainable Consumption Institute, leading and coordinating Business Engagement, Knowledge Exchange/Impact and Internationalisation strategies and activities within the SCI. In 2018 Alison was nominated by her PhD students, and awarded, 'Faculty of Humanities Supervisor of the Year' within the Manchester Doctoral Colleage Excellence Awards. 

She teaches within undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within Geography including convening the 2nd year Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Global South (@UoM_SCP) and 3rd year Decolonising Geography: Theory, Methods, Praxis modules (@GEOG31011), and contributing to a range of other undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research programmes. 

Her work is structured around the following topics:

Dynamics of Everyday Life, Disruption and Change:  Alison's research primarily focuses on the social, performative and material dynamics of everyday life related to water, energy, and food. In a mixed methodological and transdisciplinary way she play with ideas of how such practices come to be disrupted, changed and governed. This includes a focus on everyday life and infrastructure and materiality, but also a consideration of the ways in which the practices of professionals shape the emergence, and governance, of everyday practices. She engages with a range of theories from social practices, feminist and everyday geographies, embodiment, material culture, intervention and (urban) experimentation. Her work spans discussion of the transitions in everyday practices and sustainability related to water, energy and food in the UK, China, Australia, and Europe. 

These ideas find expression in these current projects: 

Recently completed projects where I also explored these ideas include:

Impact and Knowledge Exchange: I work collaboratively on a range of research and consultancy projects that attempt to transform my academic research into governmental and business impact. This has involved funded work with a range of stakeholders including UKWIR (UK Water Industry Research), Artesia Consulting, CCWater, Thames Water, and Unilever etc. These industry engagements have led to further academic funding namely through two ESRC CASE PhD studentships: “Reframing water efficiency: towards interventions that reconfigure the shared and collective aspects of everyday water use” (Claire Hoolohan funded by Thames Water co-supervised with Alice Bows), and “Practices on the Move: Investigating trajectories of water and energy consumption in China” (Harriet Larrington-Spencer funded by Unilever co-supervised with Saska Petrova).

In 2020 to 2021 she leads, with Dr Sarah Marie Hall, the 'Methods for Change' project funded by ASPECT and Research England, showcasing innovative social science methodologies.

Critiquing Research Process and Methodology: I am committed to developing a critical reflexive academic practice within geography and interdisciplinary settings by reflecting upon research process and methodological innovation, and policy/public engagement. Recently I have explored the need to more seriously consider humour and laughter when developing research on everyday geographies (Browne, 2016), and the role of methods in intervening with policy and business stakeholders to reconfigure water and energy consumption (Browne et al., 2015). In previous research in Australia I have also explored policy and research processes which extend traditional notions of engagement in NRM/climate change (Browne & Bishop, 2011), mining and social licences (Browne et al., 2013), public participation and engagement with Indigenous Australian communities (Bishop et al., 2009). 

 

PhD Supervisions

Beth Brockett (2016). An interdisciplinary approach to mapping soil carbon. University of Lancaster. (Primary social science supervisor).

Claire Hoolohan (2017) Reframing water efficiency: Designing approaches that reconfigure the shared and collective aspects of everyday water use. University of Manchester, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change. (Primary social science supervisor, ESRC CASE studentship with Thames Water)

Joe Blakey (2019). Post-democratic carbon accounting: Creating the climate for disagreement. University of Manchester, Geography. (Main supervisor, SCI Studentship)

Harriet Larrington Spencer (ongoing). Practices on the move: Trajectories of water and energy consumption in China. University of Manchester. (Main supervisor, ESRC CASE studentship with Unilever)

Cecilia Alda Vidal (ongoing). Uneven trajectories of urban sanitation infrastructures development and everyday practices of sanitation and hygiene in Lilongwe, Malawi. (Main supervisor, SCI studentship)

Qi Liu (ongoing). Staying Green in Travel: The dynamics of lodging consumption in China. (Main supervisor). 

Chujia Cai (ongoing, visiting PhD student from University of Shanghai funded by the China Scholarship Council)

Godfred Amankwaa (ongoing) From policies to practicalities? Digitisation of water services in Ghana (SEED Scholarship) (co-supervisor)

Purva Dewoolkar (ongoing). Making Sanitation: Mumbai’s Blurred Terrains (SEED Scholarship) (co-supervisor)

Juliet/Juliet Yan (ongoing). International students’ everyday encounter with urban green spaces: The transcultural journey (SEED Alumni Scholarship) (co-supervisor)

Chantal Bright (ongoing) Water Security and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in Liberia (Main supervisor)

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Sustainable Futures
  • Sustainable Consumption Institute
  • Manchester China Institute
  • Manchester Urban Institute

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