Frances Dixon

Seminar: Ecosystem based water management: From innovation to practice

Since graduating with a First Class Honours in BSc Geography from Aberystwyth University, Frances has taken up a number of roles in Government and the not-for-profit sector. Her undergraduate dissertation, which looked at Welsh farmer’s engagement in the Government’s agri-environment scheme, was nominated for the Royal Geographical Society Prize for the best dissertation in a UK Geography Department. Following this, she completed a post with the Welsh Government to help improve farmer’s uptake of the scheme, resulting in a four-fold increase in applications. Then, she worked for the UK Government Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) as a Communications Officer on water, waste and rural affairs, including high profile issues such as flooding and fracking. She obtained an MSc in Water Security and International Development from the University of East Anglia in 2016, after which she project managed a knowledge-exchange programme for the Royal Geographical Society to ensure robust geographical evidence informed policy-making.

Soon, she will be taking up the position of Permitting Officer at the UK Environment Agency, where she will be responsible for granting permits to a wide range of stakeholders to safely abstract and discharge water and waste in central England. Frances is also a passionate volunteer for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, where she undertakes water quality checks for local rivers and maintenance work such as traditional fencing to manage wildlife.

Frances is a water policy and communications professional with particular expertise in communicating complex, scientific information into meaningful and relevant formats for stakeholders, to ensure the latest research is understood and considered in the practical management of water resources. She also has a particular interest in ‘impact evaluation’, as a tool for evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of interventions.