I work as a behavioural scientist at the Northern Ireland Innovation Lab and in a freelance consultancy capacity across the UK. A keen STEM ambassador, in each role I apply psychology and design thinking to tackling ‘wicked problems’ through increasing understanding of human behaviour and its drivers in areas ranging from COVID transmission to debt, and from obesity to environmental sustainability. My PhD at Ulster University explores theory of behaviour in an area close to my heart - driving pro-environmental behaviour change, particularly on our beaches. I am the current Chair of Sustainable NI.

I would describe the route my career has taken as ‘indirect’. My first job was in the NI First Minister’s Private Office, after which I worked for 14 years as a government Environmental Policy Advisor. Here I experienced frustration with the gaps in citizen informed, behaviourally driven policy making. I believe that policy designed to guide population level behaviour should, at its heart, be better informed by insight into that same population – existing behaviours, barriers to the preferred alternatives and potential drivers of the same. Traditional policy approaches can be limited in their impact, which is costly – financially, societally and environmentally.

I am an advocate for user-centred approaches that position understanding of people and their behaviours centrally. I believe psychology to offer a wealth of possibility to areas far beyond its more typical field of application. We have so much outstanding scientific progress being made but when we fail to build in understanding of the people, whose uptake of the resulting products and innovations is key to their successful implementation, we fail to capitalise on that science. For me, psychology can be the science that closes the intention-behaviour gap, and our planet has never needed this more.

I graduated from Queen’s University in 1999 with BSc psychology, from Open University with MA English, and will submit the thesis for my Ulster University interdisciplinary (psychology and business) PhD research in the coming months. My most vivid memory of Queen’s was the moment, in the Science Library, when I realised that despite being a law undergraduate I was much more inclined to read books that considered behaviour from the perspective of psychology rather than through the lens of Tort. It was a lightbulb moment and it took courage to renege on a trajectory that brought pride to my family and secondary school, and to consider ‘dropping out’ and restarting. The ensuing warmth and support of the School of Psychology staff who welcomed me, and that moment in my first lecture where I felt a great sense of belonging, are my fondest memories.

I would recommend that anyone unsure as to what path to follow focuses on what they love to learn about, what sets their heart on fire, and allows these to chart the path. Although mine has taken many twists and turns so far, I continue to enjoy every serendipitous step.

Submitted April 2023