Ruth Wilson

Senior Research Scientist
Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences
T: +44 (0)1224 395 393

Ruth is a senior researcher in the Social, Economic and Geographical (SEGS) department. She designs and leads innovative research to understand the relationship between people and place, lived experiences of tangible and intangible aspects of community life, and community responses to social, environmental and technological change, particularly in rural and island areas.

Ruth is a sociologist by background but enjoys working across disciplinary boundaries and in transdisciplinary teams to achieve real-world impacts.

Biography

Ruth joined the James Hutton Institute in 2017. Her PhD (University of Aberdeen, 2015) explored the nature of rural social relations in an increasingly digitalised world. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked at Robert Gordon University as a Research and Impact Officer, helping the university to widen access to students from diverse backgrounds. She was also involved in an AHRC-funded project, with the University of Manchester, about understanding everyday participation, where she focused on rural and island societies. In a past research career, she studied electronic book design at the University of Strathclyde.

Research

Ruth’s current projects include:

  • Principal Investigator, INTANGIBLE: Understanding the socio-cultural dimensions of island population change in Scotland, England, Canada and Japan, funded by the British Academy under its Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research programme.
  • Co-Lead, Covid-19 and shifting mobilities: Exploring new migration flows into rural, island and coastal communities, a Research Network funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
  • Leading a Living Lab and assisting in two others for the Rural Economy (E1) and Rural Communities (E2) projects, funded by the RESAS Strategic Research Programme (2022-27).

PhD supervision

Kirsten Gow. Kirsten is exploring the Scottish islands diaspora and the potential for return migration, funded by the Macaulay Development Trust.

Marcus Craigie. Marcus is exploring the role of multiple ongoing crises in population change in Shetland, funded by an ESRC Doctoral Training Centre/SGSSS Collaborative PhD Studentship.

Past research

  • Scottish Islands Survey (2023), funded by the Scottish Government (lead)
  • Selection and establishment of eight ‘Living Labs’ for the Rural Economy (E1) and Rural Communities (E2) projects, funded by the RESAS Strategic Research Programme (2022-27) (lead)
  • WP2 (Conceptual and operational framework for rural community-led development) of RURACTIVE: Empowering Rural Communities to Act for Change, funded by Horizon Europe (lead 2024-25)
  • Expert Peer Review of Socio-Economic and Public Attitudes Survey in the Turks and Caicos (2022), funded by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (lead)
  • RD 3.4.1 on demographic change in remote areas, funded by the RESAS Strategic Research Programme 2016-22 (co-lead)
  • Workpackage on choice behaviour and energy use for EU H2020 project ‘SMARTEES’: Social innovation Modelling Approaches to Realizing Transition to Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (lead)
  • First National Islands Plan Survey (2020), funded by the Scottish Government (lead)
  • Research on the Edge (2019-2020), funded by SEFARI’s Flexible Fund (lead)
  • Islands Revival project (2019), funded by SEFARI’s Responsive Opportunity Fund (co-lead)
  • Understanding the response to Covid-19 in rural areas of Scotland and the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 (RESAS Strategic Research Programme 2020-22)

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