Professor Lisa Jones – Inaugural Lecture

From Science to Storytelling: Advancing Action through Creative and Participatory Research

In a world marked by deepening inequalities, environmental crises and political division, why does compelling academic evidence so often fail to inspire much needed social change? In this inaugural lecture, Professor Lisa Jones explores how she has grappled with this disconnect in her own research undertaken in both the UK and Southeast Asia.

In the lecture she unpacks how she has attempted to move beyond traditional understandings of ‘data’ to connect emotionally and creatively with the public, decision-makers and research participants to effect change. She reflects on how through participatory practice, storytelling and arts-based methods that engage with diverse knowledges and lived experience, it might be possible to reimagine research as both a collaborative and affective process.

The lecture invites us to consider how these approaches might not only listen more openly and engage more deeply, but also challenge dominant ways of knowing, offering important possibilities for understanding and action.

About Professor Lisa Jones
Professor Lisa Jones is a Professor of Education and Environment based in the School of Education. She is the Director of Research in the School of Education and is also the REF Coordinator for Education Unit of Assessment.

Lisa’s research focuses on educational, social and environmental injustices and engages participatory, place-based and creative approaches, particularly in relation to advancing climate action. Lisa is currently a Co-convenor for the World Education Research Association (WERA), international Research Network on: Emotions in Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (EMESER).