Dr Rod Bain

I teach and research sustainability transitions and management. I reached this role via a circuitous route - undergraduate Geography and Economics (not completed), Music (Manchester, 1999), and over a decade managing projects, firstly in the creative industries (highlights of which include producing the Edinburgh Festival Fireworks Concert for 8 years, and over 30 international concert tours with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra), and later in the environmental and community woodland sector. This inspired my return to higher education, studying MSc Sustainable Development (St Andrews, 2011) and PhD (St Andrews, 2017).

Given this background it’s perhaps not surprising that I relish interdisciplinary issues; throughout my academic career I've been fascinated by the theory and practice of sustainability transitions - how policy-makers, businesses, and communities are negotiating them, what future societies and businesses might look like, and how best to nourish the skills and knowledge needed by sustainability practitioners to lead the change.

Currently, I am lecturer in Sustainability and Innovation at SMS, having earlier worked at the Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Manchester, Strathclyde, Queen Margaret, Robert Gordon, and Uppsala. I am also Visiting Researcher at the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business (Lancaster University, 2022-), and was previously an Honorary Lecturer in Sustainability and Innovation (Manchester, 2020-2021) and Honorary Research Fellow in Management (St Andrews, 2017-2020).

I am especially curious about biodiversity governance, particularly woodlands and the ocean, and the people and organisational practices (including innovation and creativity) taking place in these contexts.

Currently, I'm working on: (1) nature-based solutions and business strategy, (2) ports and ocean governance, and (3) nature-based enterprise in the (community) woodland sector.