Diana Valero

Diana Valero is a social scientist working as MDT Fellow in Rural Water Security working in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences (SEGS) research group at the James Hutton Institute.

Her educational background is in political science, local development and rural policy.

Prior to joining The James Hutton Institute in 2021 she carried out postdoc research at the University of Stirling and in the Centre for Mountian Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands. Diana earned her PhD from the University of Valencia in Spain.

Current research interests

With a strong focus on social justice, her research investigates social change and sustainable development in rural communities in order to inform theories of rurality and contribute to the development of a fairer society in the light of the pressing societal challenges. She focuses on understanding the drivers of cooperation, innovation, conflicts and inequalities in rural areas and their links with social cohesion and positive social change. 

Her key research interests include:

• Social innovation
• Social justice and inequalities
• Narratives of rurality
• Socio-environmental conflicts
• Water security

Diana is experienced in qualitative and quantitative research methods, with a strong focus on participatory methods and working creatively with stakeholders. She is experienced in implementing a variety of research tools including: in-depth interviews and focus groups; participatory workshops; games-based research; and narrative analysis and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).

Ongoing research projects: 

• MDT Fellowship in Rural Water Security [2]: As MDT Fellow, Diana's work is focused on the understanding water security challenges in Scotland and the potential for community action and social innovation for overcoming them.
• JHI D2-1 Emerging Water Futures [3]: Diana is involved in A4.1 and A4.2, which explore the resilience of private water supplies and rural communities’ vulnerability and risk perceptions to water scarcity and variable water quality [4].
• Diana leads the project Increasing wastewater stewardship (WASTEWATERSHIP) [5]. This research, funded by the Hydro Nation Chair R & I Programme, explores what communities can do for wastewater governance in Scotland and how enhanced engagement could take place.
• DigiEthics: Navigating Digital Ethics for Rural Research [6]. Project funded by the Scotland Hub of the British Academy Early Career Research Network that explores, from an ethics point of view, how researchers and administrators of rural community Facebook groups can agree on the conditions to utilise such networks for better research.
• The Horizon Europe RURACTIVE - Empowering rural communities to act for change [7]. Along with the HUTTON team working on the project [8], Diana is particularly involved in the identification of community-led smart solutions in rural areas and the analysis of enablers and processes for rural innovation, with a focus on women-led innovation.
• CREW project "Understanding the relationship between water scarcity and land use in private water supply catchments [9]". Diana is working to identify and review international protection and management practices of interest for Scotland.
• Diana also collaborates in the project "Using an integrated modelling framework for holistic modelling and stewardship of Scottish water systems", led by Dr Tijana Jovanovic at  the British Geological Survey and funded by the Hydro Nation Chair R & I Programme.

Past research

Earlier in 2022 Diana collaborated in a CREW project led by Rowan Ellis, exploring barriers to engaging with private sewerage users and how to overcome them in support of sustainable rural water services [10].

Before joining Hutton she worked as a postdoc on several international projects exploring different aspects of sustainable rural development such as social innovation (Horizon 2020 SIMRA- ‘Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas’), ecotourism and stakeholder engagement (Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme SHAPE- ‘Sustainable Heritage Areas: Partnerships for Ecotourism’), production and provision of renewable energy (ESPON 2020 BRIDGES –‘Balanced Regional Development in Territories with Geographical Specificities’), and land management decisions in (Newton funded project ENDORSE ‘Enhancing Diversity to Overcome Resistance Evolution’).

Diana’s PhD and pre-doctoral research investigated social exclusion in rural areas in Spain and the local policies that were in place to address it.