Jason is Professor of Environment and Society and Chair of the Science, Society and Sustainability (3S) Research Group in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. He a Co-Director of UKERC and heads up the Societal Engagement Observatory activities.
As science and technology studies (STS) scholar and human geographer, Jason’s research is concerned with the changing relations between science, innovation and society in contemporary democracies, particularly in environment and sustainability contexts and in response to issues of energy, climate change and emerging technologies. In these settings, a key focus of his work has been on studying and developing new approaches to public participation and democratic engagement.
Jason led research in UKERC Phase 3 to develop a new whole systems approach to mapping public engagement with energy transitions, which underpins the work of the Societal Engagement Observatory. He has led research projects and programmes funded by ESRC, EPSRC, UK Government, Defra, BEIS and the European Commission, and received the 2018 EASST Amsterdamska Award for his co-authored book Remaking Participation (2016, Routledge).
With over two decades of experience in participatory practice, Jason has served in expert advisory roles for organisations such as the Royal Society, the Nuffield Council, Defra, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), Natural England, Sciencewise, the European Commission and UNEP. Most recently he has sat on the Advisory Board for the EU Horizon 2020 ENGAGE project, on the Steering Group for Carbon Connect’s cross parliamentary inquiry on engaging consumers in the low carbon heat transition, and on the Academic Advisory Panel for the UK Parliament’s Climate Change Citizens’ Assembly.