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.

0/2 in their words

  • Alison Gray, Founder Skillfluence - Higher Education & Research Innovation

    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.

  • Arielle Vetro, Program Manager, Venture Café Edinburgh - Innovation Ecosystems & Entrepreneurship

    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.

  • Caitlin Murray Place-Based Economic Transformation, Policy, Planning & Investment

    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.

  • Olivia Sibony, Program Head at Royal Academy of Engineering, Leaders in innovation Fellowships

    Jennifer quickly became a trusted collaborator and co-creator, helping us navigate a complex brief and tight timeframe while designing for genuine inclusion. She skilfully wove many conversations and perspectives into a compelling, practical report. People continue to tell us how useful, insightful and actionable they have found it.

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.

03/ Selected Leadership+ Contributions

04/ Education and Development

PhD Human Geography, University of Dundee, 2019.
Collaborative Studentship with Scottish Government Resilience Division. Research on multi-actor learning, governance and institutional change in disaster risk reduction.

MRes Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, 2013
Research on community emergency planning with Argyll & Bute Council. Dissertation awarded Distinction.

BA (Hons) Community Regeneration & Development, University of Bradford, 2011, First Class Honours.

Selected professional development: Knowledge Exchange Action Learning Sets, Scottish Policy Research Exchange (2025) · Policy Communication, Cast From Clay (2024) · Foundation Certificate in Organisational Transactional Analysis, Mountain Associates.