Transport: bridging the gap between research evidence and political/public action

There is clear research evidence that reducing car travel delivers benefits to the climate and to public health – but there is political and public caution and scepticism.

In this webinar, the speakers, Dr Matthew Niblett of the Independent Transport Commission (chair), Professor Charles Musselwhite of the Research Centre for Transport and Mobility (CeTrAM) at Aberystwyth University, Dr Siobhan Campbell FAcSS of WSP UK and Professor Iain Docherty FAcSS of the University of Stirling, will discuss how politicians can understand and shape public opinion to deliver the potential carbon, health and social benefits that can come from reduced car use, as well as what needs to happen at a population and at an individual level.

Speakers:

Dr Matthew Niblett, Director·Independent Transport Commission

Dr Matthew Niblett is Director of the Independent Transport Commission (ICT). He joined the ITC in 2009 and heads the Directorate as Director of the ITC. He was a Senior Research Associate at the Transport Studies Unit at Oxford University, and a member of Keble College, Oxford where he was awarded his D.Phil. in Modern History. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has given evidence on transport matters to number of Select Committee enquiries.

Professor Charles Musselwhite, Co-Director·Research Centre for Transport and Mobility (CeTrAM), Aberystwyth University.

Professor Charles Musselwhite is Professor of Psychology and Co-Director of the Research Centre for Transport and Mobility (CeTrAM) at Aberystwyth University. His research involves applying social, environmental and health psychology to understanding and improving relationships between the built environment and transportation and health. He is the Co-Director of two funded research centres, the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research and the Transport and Health Integrated Research Network. He is also Co-Director of the Aberystwyth University Research Centre for Transport and Mobility (CeTrAM). He has authored over 60 peer reviewed journal articles, over 25 book chapters and have 5 books. He has been an executive committee member of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG; 2015-20) and the Founder and Co-Lead of the Special Interest Group at BSG on mobilities and transport in later life. 

Dr Siobhan Campbell, Technical Director·WSP UK

Dr Siobhan Campbell FAcSS is Technical Director at WSP UK. Her experience spans a career as a civil servant for 23 years and her more recent work in the private sector. Her underlying skills base is research - both qualitative and quantitative - primarily to inform central government policy making. She has a particular interest in Monitoring and Evaluation of government policy; supporting, progressing and implementing innovation; and the socio-technical space, where technology and people must come together in order to achieve successful outcomes. Behind all three themes is a people-centred approach that: focuses on what individuals, groups and communities want and need; values the role of evidence in decision-making; and understands how to use both to drive change. Her other areas of interest are transport, systems thinking, and participative decision-making.

Professor Iain Docherty, Dean·Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Stirling

Professor Iain Docherty FAcSS is Dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Stirling. He joined the University of Stirling in April 2019. Prior to this, he was Professor of Public Policy and Governance and Director of External Engagement at the University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School. His research interests focus on the interconnecting issues of public policy, institutional change and city and regional competitiveness, especially the role of transport in promoting economic development and environmental sustainability. Iain has worked with and advised a range of private sector, governmental and other organisations around the world including governments and public agencies in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and Sweden, and the OECD. In 2015, he was appointed by the ESRC and Innovate UK as one of five Thought Leaders working to integrate scientific innovation and social science research across the UK, and he is currently one of the Co-Investigators managing the collaborative project funded by the EPSRC and governments across the UK on the long-term impacts of the COVID19 pandemic on transport and mobility. In 2021, he was appointed as a Director of the National Transport Authority of Ireland, and he has previously held a variety of similar positions including Non-Executive Director of Transport Scotland and the Scotrail train operating company, and Commissioner on the National Infrastructure Commission for Scotland.

This event is being run by the Academy of Social Sciences if you have any questions, please contact the team.