Alba Juárez-Bourke

Research Assistant - Qualitative Methods
Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences
E: alba.juarezbourke@hutton.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1224 395300 (direct)
I am a research assistant in qualitative methods working in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department. I have a BSc in Environmental Sciences at the University of Valencia and an MSc in Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development at Stockholm Resilience Centre. My research focusses on the governance of natural resources, in particular stakeholder participation in decision-making. A second strand of interest relates to how people connect to nature, and the use of creative and narrative methods for understanding as well as supporting these interactions.

Research

I am currently working on the following projects:

  • RestorYation Cairngorms: identifying narratives which are usually outside or on the margins of biodiversity research, and developing and evaluating audio-visual and interactive narrative tools and techniques to enable their productive engagement for transformative change.
  • Land Use Transformations: understanding how joined-up approaches to managing land can enable the delivery of environmental goals.
  • Resistant Ash: A road map to deploying disease resistant ash trees into UK planting programmes.

Past research

Previous projects I worked on are:

  • Exploring if and how catchment partnerships help achieve multiple goals, and the role of the private sector in these partnerships.
  • Understanding the role of habitats and biodiversity in the production of ecosystem services, and the impact of management interventions on ecosystem service flows, within the Ecosystem Services Provision project. We are using creative and visual methods, such as Participatory Video and Digital Stories to understand the nuances of people’s views and perceptions of benefits.
  • Mapping the different stories about the woodlands in the Cairngorms National Park, through the UnderStories project.
  • Supporting partners of the AgriLink H2020 project in the production of Digital Stories to reflect on and represent what they learnt throught the project’s case studies of sustainable agriculture.
  • The EU H2020 Newbie project, where I produced short videos about new entrants into farming in Scotland.
  • Exploring narratives that shape European envrionmental policies, within the project MAGIC ‘Moving towards Adaptive Governance in Complexity: Informing Nexus Security’, funded by EU H2020 programme (MAGIC (Moving Towards Adaptive Governance in Complexity: Informing Nexus Security) | Knowledge for policy (europa.eu))
  • Identifying lessons for integrating delivery of water policy goals from international examples.
  • Exploring how policy instruments interact to shape the management of soil, water and biodiversity.
  • Exploring the use narrative enquiry as an evaluation tool to understand the impact of a nature engagement programme.

For my master’s thesis I examined the involvement of stakeholders in the development of a land-use plan in Doñana, in Spain, through the lens of adaptive co-management.

Publications

Journals

Books / chapters

Technical / contract reports

  • Beingessner, N.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Thompson, C. (2025) LU/LUC story telling findings fed into QST3, Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1) Project Milestone (M39), Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1), Project Milestone (M39), p7. Internal Report.
  • Blackstock, K.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Martinez Sanchez, G.; Poskitt, S. (2025) Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1) Milestone 38: Policy coherence findings shared to QST 3 & SSP analyses, Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1), Project Milestone (M38), p 32.
  • Blackstock, K.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Matthews, K.; Nicholson, H.; Beingessner, N. (2025) Technical Report on the evaluation of quantitative storytelling Synthesis of lessons for QST for the Land Use Transformations Project (JHIC31), Project Deliverable, D10.2, 48 pages. Online
  • Juarez Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K.; Poskitt, S.; Nicholson, H. (2025) Policy coherence findings shared to QST 3 SSP analyses, Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1), Project Milestone (M38), p 24. Internal Report.
  • Blackstock, K.; Nicholson, H.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Sanchez, G.M.; Poskitt, S.; Matthews, K.; Boucher, J.; Glendinning, J.; Green, A.; Martinat, S.; Merrell, I.; Thomson, S. (2024) Technical Report on Land Use Policy Coherence for the Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1), Project Deliverable D5.3,, Technical Report on Land Use Policy Coherence for the Land Use Transformations Project
  • Blackstock, K.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Nicholson, H. (2024) Phase 2 Quantitative Story Telling Monitoring Evaluation data collated for analysis Land Use Transformations Project (JHIC31) Milestone 42, Internal Report, pp5.
  • Juarez Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K. (2024) Ongoing monitoring for QST2 Land Use Transformations Project (JHIC31) Milestone 41, Internal Report, 5pp.
  • Beingessner, N.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Thompson, C.; Sutherland, L.; Creaney, R. (2024) Visions for Future Land Use in Scotland: Technical Report on Different Views on Land Use/Land Use Change, Land Use Transformations website.
  • Matthews, K.; Blackstock, K.L.; Wardell-Johnson, D.H.; Miller, D.G.; Tavana, M.; Thomson, S.; Moxey, A.; Neilson, R.; Baggaley, N.; Giles, M.; Karley, A.; Loades, K.; Paterson, E.; Pakeman, R.; Hawes, C.; Stockan, J.; Stutter, M.; Addy, S.; Wilkinson, M.E.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Waylen, K.A.; Rivington, M.; Aitkenhead, M.J.; Coull, M.C. (2023) Synthesis Report: Screening Enhanced Conditionality Measures, An output of RESAS commissioned project Supporting
    Scotland’s Land Use Transformations (JHI-C3-1),59pp, Published online
  • Beingessner, N.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Thompson, C.; Sutherland, L.; Creaney, R. (2023) Land Use Transformations Project (JHIC31) Milestone 12 – LULUC story telling draft findings, Project Milestone (M25), p8. Unpublished.
  • Beingessner, N.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Thompson, C.; Sutherland, L.; Creaney, R. (2023) Milestone 25 LULUC story telling draft findings, Project Milestone Report, 20 September 2023, unpublished, 8 pp.
  • Blackstock, K.; Nicholson, H.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Poskitt, S.; Matthews, K. (2023) Initial Findings on Scottish Land Use Policy Coherence for Transformations, Land Use Transformations Project (JHI-C3-1), Project Milestone (M24), 25 pages. Unpublished.
  • Donnelly, D.; Sideris, K.; Irvine, K.; Brown, K.; Juarez Bourke, A. (2023) Scoping Report on Digital Platforms Suitable for Developing Greater Inclusion of Diverse Biodiversity Narratives, Listed on Hutton website for RESAS project
  • Colley, K.; Hague, A.; Thompson, C.; Fischer, A.; Roberts, M.; Irvine, K.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Conniff, A.; Nicholson, H.; Eastwood, A.; Herrett, S.; Ferguson, J.; Murray, K.; Rae, G. (2023) Creating Natural Connections: Final Evaluation of Outcomes for People, Evaluation report of the people-focused activities of the Creating Natural Connections project, delivered by Cumbernauld Living Landscape.
  • Brown, K.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Gray, R.; Nicholson, H. (2023) Scoping review of marginalised narratives in biodiversity research and management, Deliverable D2.1 within project D4.1, Work Package 2 (RESAS 2022 – 2027), March 2023.
  • Matthews, K.; Blackstock, K.; Miller, D.; Wardell-Johnson, D.; Gandossi, G.; Sutherland, L.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Creaney, R.; Martinat, S.; Nicholson, H.; Gimona, A.; Castellazzi, M.; Wilkins, B.; Aitkenhead, M.; Coull, M.; Parker, T.; Rivington, M.; Udugbezi, E. (2022) State-of-Play Reference Document for Land Use Transformations Project (JHIC31), Project Milestone Report Milestone 10, Online, 21pp.
  • Brown, K.M.; Juarez Bourke , A.; Herrett, S.; Conniff, A.; Marshall, K. (2022) UnderStories Storying woodland use, management and expansion in the Cairngorms National Park, Final Report, SRP Theme 1, Deliverable WP4-yr6-new22: Final Report, March 2022, The James Hutton Institute
  • Waylen, K.A.; Marshall, K.; Juarez Bourke , A.; Blackstock, K.L.; Macleod, R. (2022) Going with the Flow Key issues for catchment and landscape partnership working in the UK, A briefing by the James Hutton Institute.
  • Duckett, D.; Rivington, M.; King.R.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Lorenzo-Arribas, A. (2021) Scenarios for UK food and nutrition security in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic., Zenodo Repository.
  • Waylen, K.A.; Marshall, K.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K.L. (2021) Exploring the delivery of multiple benefits by catchment partnerships, Report by the James Hutton Institute.
  • Matthews, K..B.; Blackstock, K.L.; Waylen, K.A.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Miller, D.G.; Wardell-Johnson, D.H.; Rivington, M.; Hague, A.; Fisher, D.; Renner, A.; Cadillo-Benalcazar, J.; Schyns, J.; Giampietro, M. (2020) Report on EU sustainability goals: insights from quantitative story telling and WEFE nexus, MAGIC (H2020-GA 689669) Project Deliverable 5.1, 31 July 2020, 136pp.
  • Waylen, K.A.; Marshall, K.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K.L. (2020) Exploring the delivery of multiple benefits by catchment partnerships in the UK: Interim results, Report by the James Hutton Institute corresponding to Deliverable 3 within the project formed by Research Deliverable 1.2.4 Objective 1.2 and Deliverable 6 within Research Deliverable 1.4.2bi.
  • Waylen, K.A.; Matthews, K.B.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K.L. (2020) Magic Nexus. Report for Milestone 16. Second Round of Meetings of Policy Teams., Report for Project Website.
  • Eastwood, A.; Lorenzo-Arribas, A.; Byg, A.; Herrett, S.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Fischer, A. (2019) Cumbernauld Glen: Exploring the perceived impacts of different management interventions on woodland benefits. , Worksop Report, The James Hutton Institute, UK, 18pp.
  • Matthews, K.B.; Blackstock, K.L.; Waylen, K.A.; Rivington, M.; Miller, D.G.; Wardell-Johnson, D.; Juarez Bourke, A. (2019) Progress in second reporting period for the work package “Quality check for EU policy narratives” (WP5)., In: Giampietro, M. Technical Report for the Second Reporting Period of the H2020 Project MAGIC, (Submitted to the EC).
  • Matthews K.B.; Blackstock K.L.; Waylen K.A.; Juarez-Bourke A.; Miller, D.G.; Wardell-Johnson, D.H.; Rivington, M. (2018) Report on the quality check of the robustness of the narrative behind the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)., MAGIC (H2020-GA 689669) Project Deliverable 5.5, 29 November 2018, 65pp.
  • Blackstock, K.L.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Tindale, S.; Maxwell, J.; Waylen, K.A. (2018) O1.4.2biD3: Aligning existing and new delivery mechanisms for multiple environmental benefits, Research Briefing on ‘New’ Instruments, James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, 44pp.
  • Waylen, K.A.; Tindale, S.; Juárez Bourke, A.; Blackstock, K.L. (2018) Insights from international experiences of integration for water management, Final Report, James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, September 2018, 27pp.
  • Blackstock, K.L.; Juarez-Bourke, A.; Maxwell, J.; Tindale, S.; Waylen, K.A. (2018) Aligning policy instruments for biodiversity, soil and water., Report, James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, 24pp.
  • Matthews, K.B.; Blackstock, K.L.; Miller, D.G.; Rivington, M.; Waylen, K.A.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Wardell-Johnson, D.; Giampietro, M.; Cadillo, J.; Kovacic, Z.; Volker, T. (2017) The basis of EU farm competitiveness and its wider consequences, Definition of policy case study for: Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), In: Matthews, K.B. (ed). Definition Policy Case Studies MAGIC (H2020-GA 689669) Project Milestone, 10 November 2017.

Conference papers

Conference posters / abstracts