Rowan Ellis
Rowan Ellis is a Senior Social Researcher working within the Social, Economic, and Geographical Sciences research group. She is also the Director of the #Hydro Nation Scholars Programme . Before joining the Hutton in 2017, Rowan was based at the University of Edinburgh where she held a lectureship in the Institute of Geography. Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Aberdeen, also in Geography. Her educational background is in Geography, Urban Studies, and Sustainable International Development. Rowan earned her PhD in Geography in 2010 from the University of Washington in Seattle.
Rowan has over 12 years experiencing working with a diversity of stakeholders in the water environment around issues of environmental justice, water governance, and sustainable development. She is passionate about the sustainable and equitable use of water resources and employs a range of qualitative and participatory approaches to deepen understandings of the socio-environmental and economic relationships that surround water. Rowan has a particular interest in critically examining the production of water insecurity among marginalised groups. Her work is informed by political-ecology, socio-hydrology, and political-economy approaches.
Rowan currently supervises two PhD students
- Elliot Hurst (2018-2022)-Hydro Nation Scholar, "The Multiple Benefits of Constructed Wetlands"
- Donald Robertson (2021-2025)-Hydro Nation Scholar, "Citizen Derived Digital Data for Water Resources Management in Malawi"
Current research interests
Key research interests include:
- Water
- Environmental Justice
- Sustainable Development
- Children's Geographies
- Participatory Methods
Rowan is the Hutton lead on the #RALENTIR project (Reducing land degradation and carbon loss from Ethiopia's soils to strengthen livelihoods and resilience), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Global Challenges Research Fund. Her research on this project examines issue of equity and justice in the context of soil and water conservation interventions in Southern Ethiopia.
Rowan also leads research in two Scottish Government Funded projects within the 2022-2027 Strategic Research Programme, one which looks at emerging pressures on Scotland's Water Resources, and the other which supports mainstreaming of catchment based #Nature Based Solutions.
Rowan also leads the MSRP project (Malawi Scotland Regulatory Partnership). The MSRP is a transdisciplinary project which explores the potential of international regulatory partnerships to support sustainable water resources management in Malawi.
Past research
Rowan's PhD and postdoctoral work focused on the governing arrangements that emerged to negotiate the challenges of planning for urban environmental resilience in coastal South Asia. Her work explored these questions through a focus on several key urban environmental initiatives and projects that centred on urban wetland restoration and flood management. This research highlighted the tensions that surround urban environmental governance against a backdrop of extreme socio-economic inequality and a changing climate. The research utilised primarily qualitative methods to conduct research with participants from public governing bodies, private industry, local activist networks, and communities.
In her first role as a social researcher at the James Hutton Institute, Rowan was involved in several projects focusing on the agri-environment and sustainable food security (RESAS 2.3.8; H2020 SALSA).
Rowan also led the social science work for a Scottish Government-Hydronation funded project, Decentralised Wastewater Treatment-global innovation for sustainable communities (#DWWT). In this project, she explored the intersections between age, gender, and sanitation access. This work not only shed new light on the strategies and inequties that plague sanitation provision, but also on the factors that shape how and if people engage with programmatic responses to SDG6 (Water and Sanitation for All). This project concluded in 2020.
Bibliography
- Valero, D.; Cook, J.; Lee, A.; Browne, A. L.; Ellis, R.; Pancholi, V. S.; Hoolohan, C. (2023) Addressing Water Poverty Under Climate Crisis: Implications for Social Policy, Social Policy and Society, 22(4), 747-762
- Valero Lopez, D.; Ellis, R.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Joyce, K. (2023) Rural water (in)security at the peripheries of Water Provision, 2023 RSA Annual Conference. Transforming Regions: Policies and Planning for People and Places, 14-17 June 2023, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Valero, D.; Ellis, R. (2023) How to go from “our water is wonderful” to addressing water security issues in rural supplies Insights from emerging narratives in Scotland, XXIXth European Society for Rural Sociology Congress: Crises and the futures of rural areas, 3-7 July 2023, Rennes, France, WG 25 "Rural narratives of water and hydrosocial dynamics in rural areas". 7 July 2023
- Hurst, E.; Ellis, R.; Karippal, E. (2022) Lively water infrastructure: Constructed wetlands in more-than-human waterscapes, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 0(0)
- Hurst, E.; Ellis, R.; Karippal, E. (2022) Lively water infrastructure: Constructed wetlands in more-than-human waterscapes, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 0(0)
- Ellis, R.; Anu Karripal, E. (2022) Child-centred methods for school-based WASH interventions: co-creating sanitation research and interventions for and with children, Waterlines, 41(3), 1-21
- Koseoglu, N.M.; Ellis, R.; Biswas, D. (2021) Scenario-based life-cycle cost assessment to support sustainable investment in rural communal sanitation facilities: application to a school-based sanitation facility, Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygeine for Development, 11(5), 771-784
- Fischer, A.; Dinnie, E.; Ellis, R.; Eastwood, A.; Carter, A.; Welsh, G. (2021) Exploring the potential of citizen social science for environmental and sustainability research: experiences of and with community-based researchers., Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 6, 1-12, Article No. 17
- Rivera, M.; Guarin, A.; Pinto-Correia, T.; Almaas, H.; Mur, L.A.; Burns, V.; Czekaj, M.; Ellis, R.; Galli, F.; Grivins, M.; Hernandez, P.; Karanikolas, P.; Prosperi, P.; Zamora, P.S. (2020) Assessing the role of small farms in regional food systems in Europe: Evidence from a comparative study, Global Food Security, 26, art.100417
- Ganesh Subramanian, P.S.; Raj, A.V.; Jamwal, P.; Connelly, S.; Yeluripati, J.; Richards, S.; Ellis, R.; Rao, L. (2020) Decentralized treatment and recycling of greywater from a school in rural India., Journal of Water Process Engineering, 30, Article No. 101695.
- Van Hulst, F.; Ellis, R.; Prager, K.; Msika, J. (2020) Using co-constructed mental models to understand stakeholder perspectives on agro-ecology, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 18(3), 172-195
- Ellis, R.; Marshall, K. (2020) Engaging agricultural stakeholder for water resources governance., Malawi-Scotland Regulatory Partnership (MSRP) Annual Report Annex 2 - Policy and Regulation Delivery Materials, 35pp.
- Ellis, R.; Burns, V.; Sutherland, L-A..; Duckett, D.; Hopkins, J.; Kyle, C. (2019) The governance of small farms and small food businesses to support food and nutritional security., Report to European Commission 2019, 56pp.
- Roberts, D.; Torrance, L.; Stirton, G.; Britton, A.J.; Craig, C.-A.; Kyle, C; Newman, C.; Macaulay, C.; Fielding, D.; Watson, H.; Pohle, I.; Robertson, J.; Maxwell, J.; Irvine, K.; Sutherland, L-A.; Dawson, L.A.; Shepherd, L.; Miller, P.; Ellis, R.; Richards, S.; Blok, V.; Hackett, C.; Kettle, H. (2018) Women in Science, The James Hutton Institute, 25pp
- Valero, D.; Cook, J.; Lee, A.; Browne, A. L.; Ellis, R.; Pancholi, V. S.; Hoolohan, C. (2023) Addressing Water Poverty Under Climate Crisis: Implications for Social Policy, Social Policy and Society, 22(4), 747-762
- Hurst, E.; Ellis, R.; Karippal, E. (2022) Lively water infrastructure: Constructed wetlands in more-than-human waterscapes, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 0(0)
- Hurst, E.; Ellis, R.; Karippal, E. (2022) Lively water infrastructure: Constructed wetlands in more-than-human waterscapes, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 0(0)
- Ellis, R.; Anu Karripal, E. (2022) Child-centred methods for school-based WASH interventions: co-creating sanitation research and interventions for and with children, Waterlines, 41(3), 1-21
- Koseoglu, N.M.; Ellis, R.; Biswas, D. (2021) Scenario-based life-cycle cost assessment to support sustainable investment in rural communal sanitation facilities: application to a school-based sanitation facility, Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygeine for Development, 11(5), 771-784
- Fischer, A.; Dinnie, E.; Ellis, R.; Eastwood, A.; Carter, A.; Welsh, G. (2021) Exploring the potential of citizen social science for environmental and sustainability research: experiences of and with community-based researchers., Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 6, 1-12, Article No. 17
- Rivera, M.; Guarin, A.; Pinto-Correia, T.; Almaas, H.; Mur, L.A.; Burns, V.; Czekaj, M.; Ellis, R.; Galli, F.; Grivins, M.; Hernandez, P.; Karanikolas, P.; Prosperi, P.; Zamora, P.S. (2020) Assessing the role of small farms in regional food systems in Europe: Evidence from a comparative study, Global Food Security, 26, art.100417
- Ganesh Subramanian, P.S.; Raj, A.V.; Jamwal, P.; Connelly, S.; Yeluripati, J.; Richards, S.; Ellis, R.; Rao, L. (2020) Decentralized treatment and recycling of greywater from a school in rural India., Journal of Water Process Engineering, 30, Article No. 101695.
- Van Hulst, F.; Ellis, R.; Prager, K.; Msika, J. (2020) Using co-constructed mental models to understand stakeholder perspectives on agro-ecology, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 18(3), 172-195
- Roberts, D.; Torrance, L.; Stirton, G.; Britton, A.J.; Craig, C.-A.; Kyle, C; Newman, C.; Macaulay, C.; Fielding, D.; Watson, H.; Pohle, I.; Robertson, J.; Maxwell, J.; Irvine, K.; Sutherland, L-A.; Dawson, L.A.; Shepherd, L.; Miller, P.; Ellis, R.; Richards, S.; Blok, V.; Hackett, C.; Kettle, H. (2018) Women in Science, The James Hutton Institute, 25pp
- Ellis, R.; Marshall, K. (2020) Engaging agricultural stakeholder for water resources governance., Malawi-Scotland Regulatory Partnership (MSRP) Annual Report Annex 2 - Policy and Regulation Delivery Materials, 35pp.
- Ellis, R.; Burns, V.; Sutherland, L-A..; Duckett, D.; Hopkins, J.; Kyle, C. (2019) The governance of small farms and small food businesses to support food and nutritional security., Report to European Commission 2019, 56pp.
- Valero Lopez, D.; Ellis, R.; Juarez Bourke, A.; Joyce, K. (2023) Rural water (in)security at the peripheries of Water Provision, 2023 RSA Annual Conference. Transforming Regions: Policies and Planning for People and Places, 14-17 June 2023, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Valero, D.; Ellis, R. (2023) How to go from “our water is wonderful” to addressing water security issues in rural supplies Insights from emerging narratives in Scotland, XXIXth European Society for Rural Sociology Congress: Crises and the futures of rural areas, 3-7 July 2023, Rennes, France, WG 25 "Rural narratives of water and hydrosocial dynamics in rural areas". 7 July 2023
Peer Reviewed publications:
Ellis, R. and Karripal, E. (Accepted and In Press) Child-Centered methods for school-based WASH interventions: co-creating sanitation research and recommendations for and with children. WaterlinesHurst, E. Ellis, R. Karripal, E. (2022) Lively water infrastructure: constructed wetlands in more-than-human waterscapes. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486221113712
Raj, A.V., Jamwal, P., Anju, A.K., Kumar, P., Biswas, D., Rao, L., Helliwell, R., Richards, S., Ellis, R., Koseoglu, N. and Yeluripati, J., (2021) A novel approach to baseline water quality assessment at local and catchment scale: A case study from southern region, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 193 (12): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09617-7
Rivera, M., Guarín, A., Pinto-Correia, T., Almaas, H., Mur, L.A., Burns, V., Czekaj, M., Ellis, R., Galli, F., Grivins, M. and Hernández, P., (2020). Assessing the role of small farms in regional food systems in Europe: evidence from a comparative study. Global Food Security, 26, p.100417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100417
Ellis, R. (2014). Urban metabolism: a framework for examining the mobile materialities of urban water. The Routledge Handbook of Mobilities, 269.
Ellis, R. (2013) “Public Performances: enacting citizenship in Chennai’s Second Master Plan Consultation” In, Coelho, Karen, Lalitha Kamath and M.Vijaybaskar (eds.) Participolis: Consent and Contention in Neoliberal Urban India. Series "Cities and the Urban Imperative" Series Editor: Sujata Patel. New Delhi: Routledge
Ellis, R.(2012) "A World Class City of Your Own!": civic governmentality in Chennai, India Antipode 44(4) 1143–1160. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2011.00958.x
Ellis, R.(2011) Whose Participation? Whose Sustainability?: India’s urban eco-parks Scottish Geographical Journal 127(3): 193-208. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14702541.2011.616863
Ellis, R.(2011) The Politics of the Middle: Re-centering Class in the Postcolonial. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies. 10(1): 69-81. URL: http://www.acme-journal.org/Volume10-1.htm [http://www.acme-journal.org/Volume10-1.htm]
