Fiona heads Cranfield University’s Institute for Environment, Health, Risks and Futures (IEHRF) and is a leading international expert in strategic foresight techniques, including horizon scanning and scenario building. RCS partner with Cranfield University to access Fiona’s expertise.  Fiona draws on experience in working nationally and internationally across academe, the EU, central and local government, the voluntary sector, and the private sector. She currently specialises in developing and applying foresight and risk analysis tools to inform strategy and policy, and to ensure ‘real world’ impacts on practice. She brings wide skills in corporate strategy and change, applied research in a social, environmental and economic context, and extensive programme, project and resource management experience. Fiona also has extensive experience in designing, managing and facilitating workshops and seminars, most especially with senior level decision-makers and corporate management boards.

Cranfield University’s Institute for Environment, Health, Risks and Futures (IEHRF). The Institute works across government, academe and industry in the UK and abroad to establish organisational strategy in the short, medium and longer terms, and to develop foresight and risk analysis capacity linked to organisational performance and/or competitiveness. The brief for her Institute is to develop decision making capacity through research and knowledge sharing with academics, private sector companies and governments, fostering and leading innovation and new understanding in futures and risk identification and management, and ensuring an applied emphasis that is relevant to the Institute’s wide range of clients. These clients include Defra, Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Wales, and both the Welsh and Scottish Governments. Amongst others, internationally, she works with the European Environment Agency, the International Risk Governance Council and EPAL (Grupo Águas de Portugal). Fiona is also an associate of RCS.

Previously, Fiona led Defra Horizon Scanning and Futures function (2005 – 2011), working with the Chief Scientific Advisor and Defra Management Board to apply futures analysis to departmental policy and strategy. Prior to that, her roles included leading research programmes for the Countryside Agency to inform rural policy and programmes, leading community capacity building projects for Herefordshire Council, Director of the Herefordshire Nature Trust, and environmental impact assessment at EPCAD Consultants.

Other recent activities include: advising with the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee (2013 – 14), member of the Cabinet Office Horizon Scanning and Futures Working Group (2009 – 2011); BIS Government Office for Science expert panel member (2005-2011); external MSc lecturer on futures research in policy making for Birkbeck College, University of London (2008 – 2011), and advisor to Polish Government Rural Development Service, part of the EU Enlargement Programme (PHARE 2005). Fiona has also published extensive papers and research reports. Fiona holds a MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment from Aberystwyth University and a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Leicester.