HOW DOES COLLECTIVE CHANGE HAPPEN?
Research + strategy for collective change
Resilience · Governance · Place · Systems Transformation
Dr Jennifer Rao-Williams
Researcher | Entrepreneur | Strategic Practitioner
I work on a central question: how does collective change actually happen? For more than twelve years, my work has explored resilience, governance, sustainability and systems transformation across research, policy, practice and enterprise. I combine research, strategic inquiry, facilitation and programme design to help organisations navigate complexity, connect different forms of knowledge and move from insight to action. Increasingly, my work focuses on the relationships, conditions and infrastructures that enable collective change.
02/ In Their Words Reflections from collaborators, 2026
“Jennifer’s deep understanding of knowledge exchange, impact and research culture adds significant value. Their attention to detail and ‘on the pitch’ way of working gives us real confidence in the quality of delivery.”
Alison Gray, Founder Skillfluence - Higher Education & Research Innovation
“Jennifer was professional, kind and skilled in equal measure. Their thorough research and preparation led to a truly meaningful conversation; they were an active listener, deft moderator and excellent speaker.”
Arielle Vetro, Program Manager, Venture Café Edinburgh - Innovation Ecosystems & Entrepreneurship
“Jennifer consistently created space for thoughtful dialogue and diverse voices, helping the group move from discussion toward actionable insight. Their approach balanced structure and exploration, ensuring the work was purposeful and generative.”
Caitlin Murray
Place-Based Economic Transformation, Policy, Planning & Investment
03/ Selected Leadership+ Contributions
04/ Education and Development
NERC Peer Review College: expert review of competitive environmental research funding proposals and fellowships.
Wellcome Anti Racism Accelerator Award Shortlisting Advisory Group: three year appointment contributing to grant decision-making for a flagship research-funding initiative.
SAGES Health, Risk & Communities Nexus: Convenor of a funded cross-sector forum supporting ecosystem learning and relational development.
Mentor In2Research and Scottish Graduate School of Social Science / Royal Society of Edinburgh.
PhD Human Geography, University of Dundee (Collaborative Studentship with Scottish Government Resilience Division), 2019. Research focused on multi-actor learning, governance and institutional change in disaster risk reduction.
MRes Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, 2013 - dissertation distinction. Framing Community Emergency Planning, collaboration with Argyll + Bute Local Authority.
BA (Hons) Community Regeneration and Development, University of Bradford, 2011 - First Class Hons.
Action Learning Sets: Knowledge Exchange, Scottish Policy Research Exchange, 2025.
Policy Communication Training, Cast from Clay, 2024.
Foundation Certificate, Organisational Transactional Analysis, Mountain Associates.