Research
My research interests are around social change, governance, sustainability and justice, including food and climate justice. I am interested in the ways in which different groups draw on knowledge and understandings, and how this influences relationships and institutional formation. I am also interested in the ways in which knowledge and authority enables and/or constrains forms of resistance and control, and the role of knowledge and power in socio-technical change.
My research topics include rural and urban communities; community-led action tackling climate change; relationships between community food growing, local food systems and household food security. Increasingly I am looking at food systems including beyond the farm gate, and how food policy can take a systems-led approach to ensure food justice at all levels.
Previous projects have included looking at conflict management between different land users; the relationship between the natural environment and human health; and the cultural/institutional aspects of hunting in Scotland, including cultural traditions but also property rights.
I use primarily qualitative methods to understand how people construct meanings about (and hence make sense of) the world around them from their everyday experiences, and how these meanings create the cultural patterns, norms and institutions which make up society. My work mostly delivers to Hutton’s Science Challenge 3 – delivering technical and social innovations that support sustainable and resilient communities.
Current and recent projects:
MOVING (https://www.moving-h2020.eu/): Mountain value chains for resilience and Green Growth (Horizon 2020, 2020-2024)
Incentivising fruit and vegetable production for food security and healthy diets (Scottish Government, 2022-27)
Barriers and drivers of novel crops in the Scottish agricultural landscape (Scottish Government, 2022-27)
The role of locally grown food in enhancing household food security and community resilience, funded by Scottish Government, 2016-2021
Future Food – the role of Controlled Environment Agriculture in sustainable food systems (Seedcorn project 2019-20)
Citizen Social Science and local food growing (Seedcorn project 2017-18)
- TESS – Towards European Societal Sustainability, funded by the European Commission, grant agreement 603705, 2013-2016 ( www.tess-transition.eu)
- HUNTing for Sustainability, funded by European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)
- Governance and decision-making for community empowerment in rural communities, and
- Understanding the linkages and interdependencies between rural and urban areas, both funded under the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division set up by the Scottish Government.
- ClimateXChange (Scotland’s Centre of Expertise on Climate Change), funded by Scottish Government
Publications
The following Publications have not yet been migrated to the James Hutton Institute's Pure service and relate to the research outputs from the two legacy organisations: The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and The Scottish Crop Research Institute.
Journals
- Blackstock, K.L.; Dinnie, E.; Trench, H.; Miles, G. (2011) Co-researching the Cairngorms: supporting the aims of, not just researching in, the Cairngorms National Park., Scottish Geographical Journal, 127, 40-60.
- Dinnie, E.; Browne, K. (2011) Creating a sexual self in heteronormative space: Integrations and imperatives amongst spiritual seekers at the Findhorn Community., Sociological Research Online, 16(1), Article 7.
Prior to appointment
- Dinnie, E.; Browne, K. (2010) Findhorn and the sexual self., In: Munt, S., Brown, K. & Yip, A. (eds.). Queer Spiritual Spaces. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Farnham, Surrey, Chapter 7, pp169-210.
Technical / contract reports
- Miller, D.R.; Morrice, J.G.; Aspinall, P.; Brown, K.; Cummins, R.; Dinnie, E.; Gilbert, A.; Hester, A.; Horne, P.; Mitchell, R.; Morris, S.; Roe, J.; Ward Thompson, C. (2011) Contribution of green and open space in public health and well-being., RERAD, Scottish Government, Progress Report 2010/11. Project no. MLU/ECA/UGW/847/08.
- Miller, D.R.; Morrice, J.G.; Aspinall, P.; Brown, K.; Cummins, R.; Dinnie, E.; Gilbert, A.; Hester, A.J.; Horne, P.L.; Mitchell, R.; Morris, S.; Roe, J.; Ward Thompson, C. (2011) GreenHealth., RERAD, Scottish Government, Progress Report, 2010/11.
- Blackstock, K.L.; Dilley, R.; Dinnie, E. (2009) Evaluating the Cairngorms National Park Planning Process – Report to CNPA Board., Paper appended to meeting papers for Cairngorms National Park Authority Informal Board Meeting, 27 November 2009.
Conference papers
- Blackstock, K.L.; Matthews, K.B.; Buchan, K.; Miller, D.; Dinnie, E.; Rivington, M. (2011) Supporting sustainable development: Using the SMILE toolkit with stakeholders in Scotland., Paper presented to Future Trends for Sustainable Development Conference, Tampere, Finland, 9-10 June 2011.
- Dinnie, E.; Blackstock, K.L. (2010) Landscapes of challenge and change: contested notions of the Cairngorms National Park., Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, London, 1-3 September 2010.
- Dinnie, E.; Galan-Diaz, C.; Brown, K.M.; Kriel, A. (2010) Ethical considerations in using visual methods: intersections between power relations, social contexts and visual cultures., Vital Signs 2 Conference, Engaging Research Imaginations, University of Manchester, Manchester, 7-9 September 2010.
Conference posters / abstracts
- Dinnie, E.; Fischer, A.; Huband, S. (2011) Property rights and new public policy agendas: Contested claims to understanding the Scottish countryside., ACES Conference 2011 Conservation Conflicts: Strategies for coping with a changing world, Arts Centre, Aberdeen, 22-24 August 2011.
