Principal Investigators

Dr Wesley Flannery, Senior Lecturer/Principal Investigator. Email: w.flannery@qub.ac.uk 

Details of any grant/funding connected with the research 

• SHIP - a 3-year project, funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency and Marine Institute

Research Summary

The research involves investigating the sustainable and holistic management of Irish ports which are complex in nature and involve a diverse range of activities and stakeholders. SHIP will illustrate how these issues may be overcome through the application of a ‘Future Thinking’ approach in collaboration with a range of stakeholders. The research will actively contribute to national efforts to transition towards sustainability within this marine sector, and will specifically assist Irish ports in the development of a policy-making framework to help minimise and prevent potential environmental damage caused by unsustainable port operation practices.

Impact of Research

It is anticipated that the research will have an impact on a number of key audiences:

• Policy-makers and decision-makers in Ireland involved in port and harbour management;
• Organisations, businesses and individuals who have a stake or interest in sustainable port management in Ireland (especially those with a high carbon footprint such as shipping and energy sectors), environmental NGOs and governance agencies, will benefit from the project identifying effective steering mechanisms, technological and social innovations, and policy interventions that will govern Ireland’s transition to port sustainability;
• Irish experts in the areas of port and coastal governance, marine and environmental sustainability, transition management, innovation policy, risk management and other fields; 
• Policy-makers and stakeholders in the general area of sustainability, including innovation and the regulation of low carbon technologies, and also those involved in developing strategies to promote the green economy (i.e. Government departments, agencies)– will benefit from learning about the various analytical and policy-relevant findings from our port transition studies and their application in the project to the Irish case; 
• A wide range of academics will benefit from the insights of this research-in-practice project and its dissemination via conferences and peer-reviewed journals: the international, multi-disciplinary academic community engaged in transition and innovation research, particularly as applied to port and coastal management; those in allied disciplines such as environmental planning, environmental politics; economists and geographers interested in the green economy; academics interested in sustainable energy and environmental governance, etc.

How have you been supported at Queen's?

I have been given the opportunity to co-ordinate and assist with undergraduate Environmental Planning modules. I developed module material, presented lectures, prepared tutorials, assessed student assignments and provided student support. I am involved with and participate in a number of research networks such as:

•       QUB Marine Social Science Research Group https://www.mssrg.com/ship 

•       Coastal Transitions http://www.coastaltransitions.org/ 

•       NEST group https://transitionsnest.wordpress.com/ 

•       QUB-EPS Post-Doc Society

I regularly attend and present research at national and international conferences, having recently presented at the Conference of Irish Geographers hosted by Trinity College Dublin [online] 18-21 May 2021.

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