Prof Chris Foulds

Chris is Professor of Sustainability & Society at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University. His research explores how knowledge is produced, shared and acted upon in the pursuit of more sustainable societies. He is particularly interested in the social, institutional and political conditions that shape sustainability transformations, including questions of expertise, evidence, interdisciplinarity, participation and governance.

While much of his research has focused on energy transitions, his interests extend across sustainability policy more broadly, including climate, mobility, innovation and research governance. His work examines how different forms of knowledge gain authority, how evidence travels between research and policy, and how institutions learn, experiment and respond to complex societal challenges.

Chris has extensive experience leading and coordinating major UK and European research programmes, with funding from the European Commission, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) research councils, foundations, and national and local governments.

Together with Professor Rosie Robison, Chris coordinated three major EU-funded Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) projects: SSH CENTRE (€3m, 2022-2026), Energy-SHIFTS (€1m, 2019-2021) and SHAPE ENERGY (€2m, 2017-2019). These projects played important roles in shaping European research and innovation agendas relating first to energy and later to climate, energy and mobility more broadly. Through this work, Chris has advised the European Commission (e.g. DG RTD, ENER, CLIMA, MOVE, ENV, et al), Member State bodies, municipalities and municipality networks, and a range of other associated organisations on SSH integration, interdisciplinarity and the societal dimensions of research and innovation.

Chris also co-coordinates (with Professor Rosie Robison) the €5 million Horizon 2020 SHARED GREEN DEAL project (2022-2027). Bringing together researchers, municipalities and civil society organisations across Europe, the project uses participatory and experimental approaches to explore how sustainability transformations can be shaped through long-term local partnerships. A particular focus has been on understanding learning, participation and change at the meso, through collaboration with municipalities and NGOs delivering social experiments across diverse European contexts. This also directly led to the establishment of the Shared Green Societies Forum, which Chris co-hosts with ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy. The Forum represents the interests of more than 4,500 municipalities and civil society organisations across Europe, using SSH research to connect local experiences and expertise with European policy agendas.

Building on this work, Chris is currently co-coordinating (with Dr Lara Houston) the €1.5m Horizon Europe Alliance for Societal Readiness (All4SR) (2026-2030). This major European initiative focuses on strengthening societal readiness across research and innovation systems, bringing together researchers, policymakers, funders and practitioners to develop more inclusive, reflexive and societally responsive approaches to addressing complex challenges. Alongside practical capacity-building activities, the project examines the emergence of societal readiness as a policy concept and reflects on the European Commission's efforts to better embed societal needs and concerns within sustainability research and innovation.
His wider portfolio spans topics including responsible research and innovation, innovation systems, energy access, gender equity and sustainability governance. Examples include: Horizon 2020 Responsible Research & Innovation Networked Globally (RRING) (€3m); UK Government-funded Economics of Energy Innovation Systems Transition (EEIST) programme (£4.8m); GCRF-funded Gender Equity and Energy Access in the Global South project (£150k); UKERC-funded Energy-PIECES programme policy secondment programme for early-career researchers (£100k); COSME Energy in Water project (€250k), and others.

1. Systems of knowledge and interdisciplinarity: How is knowledge produced, valued and mobilised? How do funding systems, institutions and professional cultures shape interdisciplinary collaboration? What counts as credible evidence, and for whom?
2. Governance of sustainability transformations: How are sustainability transitions imagined, governed and contested? How do institutions learn and change? What forms of governance can support more just, inclusive and reflexive transformations?
3. Expertise, participation and societal readiness: Whose knowledge counts in research and policymaking? How can participation move beyond consultation towards meaningful influence? How can research and innovation become more attentive to societal needs, concerns and aspirations?
4. Everyday life, infrastructures and socio-technical change: How are sustainability challenges experienced in everyday life? How do social practices, technologies and infrastructures shape one another? What social consequences emerge from efforts to transform energy, mobility and the built environment?

Chris supervises several doctoral researchers in a wide variety of areas.

The following have completed their PhDs under Chris’ supervision: Dr Norbert Edomah, Dr Obehi Sule, Dr Lauren Stabler, Dr Veronika Torma, Dr Stefano Magariello, Dr Piers Reilly, Dr Brigitta Olah-Kovacs, Dr Camilla Seeland.

Chris has contributed to the GSI’s MSc Sustainability course for many years, particularly through his Qualitative Methods teaching and dissertation supervision.

• PhD, Environmental Social Sciences, University of East Anglia
• MRes, Environmental Social Sciences, University of East Anglia (Distinction)
• BSc(Hons), Environmental Sciences with a Year in Industry, University of East Anglia (First Class)
• PGCert, Higher Education, Anglia Ruskin University

Chris has significant experience of a range of advisory and associate positions. Selected examples include:

• Fellow, The Higher Education Academy
• Associate, University of Cambridge’s Centre for Science & Policy
• GSI lead and UoA14 Co-convener, ARU Research Excellence Framework 2021 (REF2021) and 2029 (REF2029)
• UK representative (on behalf of UKERC), European Energy Research Alliance’s Joint Programme on Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of the Energy Transition (JP e3s)
• Expert Evaluator, for both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, European Commission
• Regular evaluator for a range of national funders (including being committee chair) spanning e.g. UK, France, The Netherlands, Poland, New Zealand, Austria, etc.
• Advisory Board for Palgrave Macmillan’s ‘Advancing Methods for Interdisciplinarity in the Social Sciences’ book series
• SSH advisor for various EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) working groups as well as the European Commission secretariat
• Advisor for the EU Horizon PANTHEON project on reflexivity and participation in EU and China energy and climate modelling processes
• Past visiting researcher at NTNU’s Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture; and Czech Globe’s Department of Social Processes and Sustainability, Czech Academy of Sciences

Chris has led a number of projects funded through the EU, UK Research Councils, UK Government Departments, Newton, British Academy, as well as various charities and foundations. He has also undertaken a number of consultancy projects for the private sector.

See Chris’ Google Scholar profile.