Professor Richard Simmons

Professor

Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology Colin Bell Building, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Professor Richard Simmons

Contact details

About me

Hello, I'm Richard, a Professor in Public and Social Policy in the Faculty of Social Sciences.

I have over 25 years’ experience of public and social policy research, teaching, impact and leadership, where I have led major projects across a range of public policy agendas including user and community engagement, the governance and delivery of public services, and multi-sectoral partnership working. This spans a range of local (urban, rural, coastal), regional, national and international contexts.

My research focuses on three core areas:

(i) CITIZEN, USER, COMMUNITY VOICE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, where I have undertaken major ESRC/UKRI-funded projects in urban and local government contexts as part of the £3.5m Democracy and Participation programme ('What Motivates Public Service Users to Participate?') and £5m Cultures of Consumption programme (‘Cultures of Consumption and Consumer Involvement in Public Services’) as well as a £500k NIHR project in the NHS ('Enhancing the patient complaints journey: harnessing the power of language to transform the experience of complaining'). I am currently engaged with colleagues at Glasgow and Stirling in a further ESRC-funded project, 'Developing transformative approaches to complaint handling in adult social care in Scotland'.

(ii) HUMAN CO-OPERATION AND INSTITUTIONAL WORK, where I have undertaken major ESRC/UKRI-funded projects in international contexts - e.g. as part of the £5m Non-Governmental Public Action programme (‘The Role and Potential of Co-operatives in Poverty Reduction’) in Tanzania and Sri Lanka, and a €7M EU project, 'Strength2Food', looking at supply-chain co-operation and local economic development through public procurement to improve the quality of primary school meals in urban contexts in Serbia.

(iii) POLICY AND SYSTEM INNOVATION, where I am leading major projects in national and regional contexts. This includes a £475k UKRI project ('Optimising Outcomes from Procurement and Partnering During Covid-19 and Beyond: Lessons from the Crisis') as part of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Programme, and my current £5.1m project within the ESRC/AHRC/Innovate UK/UKRI Local Policy Innovation Partnership Programme ('Optimising Outcomes from Water Resources: Raising Levels in the Forth Water Basin’). The latter project is developing important new work on applied policy landscape analysis, data mapping and modelling, holistic value frameworks and relational network connectivity, in support of work to 'optimise outcomes' for business and economic development, place and placemaking, health and wellbeing and our cultural and natural heritage.

Much of my research has focussed on the development of innovative conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and their application in a range of empirical public and social policy contexts. At the local level, this work focuses on local government, health services and economic development, where outcomes for individuals and communities are most keenly experienced and observed. Equally, at the system level, it includes a key perspective on innovation in policy, practice and institutional work, particularly where interventions enhance opportunities to achieve shared goals. New projects are in preparation to investigate the development of 'realistic' public policy, combined added value frameworks, ecosystem and human health interactions, the role of AI in enhancing justice and learning from public service complaints, and public-cooperative partnerships (including data co-operatives) for local and regional economic development.

I have published in a wide range of leading public and social policy journals, such as Public Administration, Social Policy and Administration, Policy and Politics, Public Policy and Administration, Annals of Public and Co-operative Economics, Review of Social Economy, and Housing Studies. My h-index is 23 (17 since 2020) and i-10 index 42 (22 since 2020). I have also published with the Policy Press, most recently as part of the last three volumes of the Social Determinants of Health book series. I contribute widely to policy and practitioner events and activities - from evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees to chairing NHS masterclasses and a national Chief Procurement Officers' Forum, to participation in supporting individuals and communities at the hyperlocal level. Beyond this, I am a founder-director of an innovative 'spin-out' community interest company (HUBS) for the cost-effective provision of high-speed broadband in remote and rural areas of Scotland. HUBS has received a prestigious EU innovation award for this important work.

I welcome enquiries regarding PhD supervision across the span of human co-operation in society, with particular applications within the spheres of public and social policy and governance. This extends to the inclusion of citizens, communities and public service users through meaningful voice and participation.

local and regional economic development; urban futures; policy and system innovation; governance design; institutional work; user involvement and participation; mutuality in public and social policy; public service cultures