Summary
Building resilient and sustainable communities: Sam has expertise in research, evaluations, programme design & management focusing on resilience and sustainable development both UK & International development contexts.
Current research: 1) Flood Innovation Centre (ERDF funded project to support local organisations innovate flood resilience products and activities): Sam is leading outreach to local charities and community groups and supporting the Aviva Mapping the Gaps project; 2) University of Leeds - ICASP Communicating Flood Risk project, with Sam leading its approach to work with flood wardens and flood groups across Yorkshire and facilitating the Flood Engagement Exercise; 3) the Wellcome Trust Ideas Fund project – providing research support to a community group trying to reduce isolation and improve health and wellbeing in a disadvantaged area of Hull.
Previous research: The main focus of his research from 2018 to 2021 was managing Household Flood Surveys in communities vulnerable to flooding in Hull (2018) and East Yorkshire (2019/20). This was a collaborative project between the EEI and Living with Water (LWW) a partnership between local flood risk management agencies. Sam has worked with the Hull York Medical School to publish a health analysis of the findings and has submitted another paper on as lead-author.
In 2018, Sam completed his PhD exploring the impacts of a sustainable place-making project working with marginalised people. His research was combined with a monitoring and evaluation role for the Green Prosperity project - a £1m Big Lottery Fund project managed by a local charity in Hull (EMS). As part of this research Sam explored the impacts of food and fuel poverty. This research led Sam publishing three papers as author. In 2017 and 2018, Sam also conducted evaluations for Sheffield Hallam University of projects aiming to strengthen communities and improve the local environment in the UK, and produced Child Rights Situation Analyses for Save the Children in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
Before his postgraduate research, Sam was a programme manager for charities, including Oxfam and VSO, in Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Vanuatu, working with marginalised communities. Sam moved into international development as a VSO volunteer, changing career from conducting value-for-money audits of UK NHS Trusts and local authorities.