LGIU’s top thinkers in local government 2026

1. Professor Michele Acuto, Global

Professor Michele Acuto is Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) of the University of Bristol, where he is also Professor of Urban Resilience in the School of Geographical Sciences. Michele is also a managing editor of Urban Studies and a Trustee of the Fondation Botnar philanthropic foundation.

Through his scholarship and leadership in the field of city diplomacy, Michele has shown how local governments are not merely service providers, but strategic actors shaping international agendas on climate, health, and resilience. His work has illuminated the growing importance of city networks and the need for local leaders to have a seat at the table during global governance discussions.

His research on city networks and urban resilience has informed the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and leading city coalitions, ensuring that local governments have both the evidence base and the confidence to lead.

Before joining Bristol, Michele was Professor and Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne. He was also Professor of Urban Theory at University College London, having previously taught at the Australian National University, University of Canberra and the University of Oxford. Michele recently authored Leading Cities, Managing Cities at Night, and How to Build a Global City.

He is currently chief investigator of the Australian Research Council (ARC) discovery programme Night Shift focused on better planning and designing cities for night workers, and co-convenor of the City Diplomacy Masterclass.

2. Ashraf Adam, South Africa

Ashraf Adam is a practitioner, thinker and activist with more than 35 years’ experience as a policy adviser, senior manager and thought leader across business and government. Trained as a regional and urban planner, he has held many roles in and around local government in South Africa, specialising in governance systems, economic development, and infrastructure provision.

He was previously Executive Director for Economic Development at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) before being seconded to the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) as acting CEO, becoming permanent CEO from 2017 until 2022. He served as a Board Member for the South African Cities Network (SACN) between June 2019 and November 2023, as well as acting CEO between July 2023 and November 2023. Most recently, he served as Governance Support Officer at the City of Tshwane (2023–2025).

The MBDA manages the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and the Nelson Mandela Bay Science Centre, which, under his leadership, spearheaded various knowledge-sharing initiatives, hosting webinars aimed at tackling social challenges such as the persistent water crisis in the Bay. His career also includes serving as Deputy Chair of the Municipal Demarcation Board and co-founding MCA Urban and Environmental Planners.

Ashraf obtained his bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the University of Durban. He then went on to obtain his master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Natal with his mini-thesis titled “Post-Apartheid Economic Restructuring: Prospects for Gentrification”.

Ashraf has attended and contributed to various conferences and seminars across the globe, including the World Urban Forum in Medellin, Municipal Climate Partnership in Senegal, as well as Cities Alliance Summit in London, amongst others.

3. Alison Allen, Northern Ireland

Alison Allen has served as the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) since February 2022, bringing a wealth of public service experience with her.

Alison’s forward-looking perspective identifies new opportunities for collaboration, positioning local authorities to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape. Under her stewardship, NILGA has championed policy innovation, enhanced local government resilience, advanced economic growth initiatives and influenced reform to strengthen the role of councils.

Alison’s strategic advocacy ensures that local authorities remain at the heart of decision-making, equipped to meet evolving challenges and community needs. Her collaborative leadership style emphasises partnerships across political, voluntary, community, statutory, and private sectors, ensuring the delivery of high-quality public services.

4. Professor Claire Bénit-Gbaffou, South Africa / France

Professor Claire Bénit-Gbaffou is interested in local activism and urban change in large cities, focusing on urban governance and urban politics, where she studies the interface between civil organisation and public authorities.

She is an Associate Professor: Planning in Aix Marseille University’s Department of Geography, Planning and the Environment; a researcher in the Mediterranean Center of Sociology, Political Studies and History (MESOPOLHIS), Aix-en-Provence; and a visiting scholar at the Center for Urbanism and the Built Environment Studies (CUBES). She holds a PhD in Geography and Planning, and is a former fellow of Ecole Normale Supérieure.

She has researched extensively on local democracy and local government leadership, and published on community leadership. Her latest book, Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities: A View from Post-Apartheid South Africa, published in September 2024, is an edited collection with contributions from research conducted in South Africa on local municipal government officials’ struggle to transform cities and make the urban world a better place.

She is currently based in France, where she is doing similar work with local government officials by building on the learnings of the South African context.

Recently, she has been focusing on institutional activism, interrogating how progressive urban policies are conducted by municipal officials in Johannesburg and Marseille. She has focused in particular on the governance of public spaces, such as street trading and urban parks.

Prior to this, she coordinated the Yeoville Studio between 2010 and 2012, which led to the edition of the collective book The Politics of Community-Based Research – Lessons from Yeoville Studio.

5. Jamie Cudden, Ireland

Jamie Cudden is Executive Manager for Corporate Services and Transformation at Dublin City Council, where he leads a number of core corporate and city-wide functions, including digital services, smart cities, data, customer experience, communications and corporate services. His work focuses on strengthening organisational capability, improving service delivery and supporting evidence-based decision-making across the organisation.

Over recent years, Jamie has played a key role in shaping Dublin’s approach to digital transformation and urban innovation, including through the development of the city’s smart city and innovation initiatives. This work has driven large-scale change across the city council, supported by close collaboration with industry, academia and other public-sector partners.

A recognised voice in urban innovation, Jamie works closely with international cities and organisations and regularly contributes to policy, media and speaking forums focused on the future of cities, digital transformation and public services.

Earlier in his career, Jamie worked in research, strategy and analytical roles across local and national government, including with organisations such as the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, UK Home Office and the Metropolitan Police. With a background in GIS, data analytics and public policy, this experience continues to inform his evidence-based approach to leadership and decision-making.

6. Dr Stefania Fiorentino, England / Italy

Dr Stefania Fiorentino is an Associate Professor in Planning and Urban Regeneration at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Downing College, where she also serves as Director of Studies for Land Economy.

Her research focuses on urban and regional transformations, analysing how shifts in economic structures influence the demand, supply and use of space. Her work centres on two main themes: regional inequalities and town centre regeneration, with particular interest in coastal towns; and the socio-economic and spatial implications of productive systems and agglomerations, including densification strategies and the changing nature of working environments. Her work has been published in several world-leading journals and featured in international media.

Before joining Cambridge in 2020, she taught and led research at University College London’s Bartlett School of Planning and Development Planning Unit, as well as at London South Bank University. She has trained across Italy, France, and the UK and holds a PhD in Planning Studies from UCL, where she has continued to contribute as an Honorary Lecturer since 2020.

Stefania is an editor of the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, and a trustee and board member of the Regional Studies Association. She is frequently invited to deliver guest lectures, keynotes, and research visits internationally. She regularly advises institutional bodies across various countries and at multiple scales on different issues related to local economic development and governance.

7. Dr Mila Gascó-Hernandez, USA

Mila Gasco-Hernandez holds an MBA and a PhD in public policy evaluation. She is the Research Director at the Centre for Technology in Government as well as an Associate Professor at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, both at the University at Albany – SUNY. Recently, she has also been appointed Interim Research Director of the new University at Albany’s AI & Society College. Before joining SUNY, Dr Gasco-Hernandez served as a senior researcher at the Institute of Governance and Public Management (currently known as ESADEgov – Centre for Public Governance) and the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Management, both at ESADE Business & Law School in Spain.

The main general research question at the centre of Dr Gasco-Hernandez’s research agenda is: why and how does technology-driven innovation happen in the public sector? Most of her research in the last six years has focused on the topics of open government, public sector innovation, smart cities and communities, telework, and artificial intelligence in government, which she has addressed using a comparative and international approach. In these areas, she has published six books, more than 45 peer-reviewed articles, 18 peer-reviewed book chapters, and more than 55 peer-reviewed conference papers.

She has been invited to deliver more than 70 keynotes worldwide and has been awarded more than 15 grants in external funding competitive calls and more than 25 consultancy/applied research projects. Dr Gasco-Hernandez also has considerable consulting experience. In this respect, she has worked for a wide variety of organisations worldwide, such as the United Nations Development Program, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Latin American Centre on Management for Development, the World E-Governments Organisation of Cities and Local Governments, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Google.

8. Diane Kalen-Sukra, Canada

Diane Kalen-Sukra is an internationally respected civic leader, author, speaker and founder of Kalen Academy, whose groundbreaking research and expertise on civic culture transformation have catalysed a movement to renew civility and trust in public life.

A former city manager in British Columbia, Diane is best known for her incisive diagnosis of toxic civic environments and her development of a practical roadmap to renewing civic culture, a framework now used by municipal leaders in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Her published works include the bestseller Save Your City: How Toxic Culture Kills Community & What to Do About It, Civic Resilience, and the forthcoming book: Lead with Civility: A Handbook for Uncivil Times, as well as regular columns in Municipal World and Public Sector Digest. Her Civic Wisdom newsletter shares principles and insights for current and aspiring leaders, expert interviews and resources.

Through her global civility tour and leadership programs, Diane has engaged with thousands of public servants, sharing tools and wisdom to strengthen trust, resilience, and ethical leadership. Her core belief is that as social beings, we flourish in healthy, sustainable communities where good governance, servant leadership and compassionate culture support the flourishing of all.

Diane is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Trinity College political science and philosophy specialist programme and holds a Master’s degree in political science from York University, with specialised municipal law and public administration training at the University of Victoria. She is a Certified Municipal Clerk with the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.

In 2024, Diane organised the inaugural Global Civility Summit alongside her co-host Chris Eddy, where 500 civic leaders came together to tackle the growing challenge of incivility in their communities and share tools, research and practical strategies for renewing civic life. Her Global Civility Summit is back this year (2026) and is focused on best practices for leading through uncivil times.

9. Michael Keating, England

Professor Michael Keating is a globally respected authority on local government, territorial politics and constitutional change.

Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, he was also the founding Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, playing a major role in shaping the understanding of devolution, multi-level governance and political identity in the UK and beyond.

A graduate of the University of Oxford and the first PhD graduate of what is now Glasgow Caledonian University, Keating specialises in comparative European politics, territorial politics, nationalism, and UK devolution, and has taught around the world. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academy of Social Sciences and the European Academy, and speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian.

He is the author of 20 books, more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, and 130 book chapters, and has edited 21 volumes. His co-edited Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences is widely used in doctoral training worldwide.

From 2021 to 2025, he served as elected General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Keating continues to advise governments, think tanks and practitioners across Europe and North America, helping translate complex academic research into actionable strategies for strengthening local government.

10. Dr Henry Kippin, England

Dr Henry Kippin is Chief Executive of the North East Combined Authority (NECA), a role he has held since May 2024. Prior to this, he served as Chief Executive of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, leading efforts around inclusive economic growth, skills, housing, transport, public service innovation, climate action and devolution for the region.

Before his time in the North East, Henry was an Executive Director at the West Midlands Combined Authority, where he focused on public-service reform, inclusive growth, digital initiatives and climate change. Previously, he served as Chief Executive of social enterprise Collaborate CIC and spent several years working in both UK and international public policy and development.

Henry is co-author of ‘Public Services: a new reform agenda’ published in 2013 by Bloomsbury, and between 2013–2018 was a fellow at the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence.  He has a PhD from the University of Sheffield, and in recognition of his contribution to regional development and public service, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree by Northumbria University in 2024.

11. Shokat Lal, England

Shokat Lal is Chief Executive at Sandwell Council. Having led his own authority out of government intervention in record time, he was appointed as Assistant Ministerial Envoy (Governance) to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to use his insights and experiences to support their recovery. Shokat is hugely experienced in working in councils requiring improvement, having previously worked at Rotherham Council post the Jay and Case reviews around failures to protect children.

Shokat has a background a professional background in HR and Organisational Development and has also led on culture and behaviours, in particular looking at how people in the council relate to each other, attitudes toward risk, openness, learning from mistakes, and being outward-looking. Shokat is also experienced in transformational change, having led a number of major change programmes delivering significant savings and introducing new ways of working.

Shokat’s work demonstrates the need for soft, cultural change alongside hard change across areas such as process and finance. His emphasis on learning from failures and moving past blame offers a valuable model for resilience and improvement in public institutions, while his ability to drive change in difficult contexts provides lessons on which strategies work and how cultural change can accompany structural reform.

His practical innovations contribute to the growing body of knowledge on how local authorities can remain sustainable under financial pressures while maintaining service quality.

12. Dr Kevin Muldoon-Smith, England

Dr Kevin Muldoon-Smith is an Associate Professor in Strategic Public Sector Finance and Urban Adaptation at Northumbria University. An established author and policy advisor, he is also the founder of the Adaptation, Value and Built Environment Research Group in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at Northumbria.

With more than 20 years’ experience, his research examines how local government finance systems intersect with governance, taxation, land and property markets, and how these relationships influence political decision-making and the built environment. Through international comparison, he explores how financial systems enable or constrain key issues such as devolution, austerity, local authority solvency, uneven development, and climate transition. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications.

Kevin works closely with public sector think tanks such as LGiU to bring finance issues into public and political debate. He has advised senior government, business and political leaders in more than 20 countries and contributed evidence to the Treasury and Communities and Local Government Select Committees, as well as All-Party Parliamentary Groups. He has also worked with bodies such as the OECD, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the World Built Environment Forum.

A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Kevin teaches finance, investment, taxation, adaptation, and transition strategies, and is an experienced programme leader, external examiner, and guest lecturer.

13. Dr Deiric Ó Broin, Ireland

Deiric Ó Broin is Professor of Public Policy Practice in the School of Law & Government at Dublin City University (DCU), where he lectures on Irish politics and public policy. He leads the graduate programmes in public policy and European law/policy, and since 2019 has also served as DCU’s Head of Civic Engagement.

His research primarily focuses on Irish politics and public policy, with a particular interest in local and urban governance. He also works in the areas of public participation and deliberation, civil society involvement in public policy formulation, and the particular social economy. Prof. Ó Broin has published widely on these topics, and his most recent works include Mayoral Governance in Dublin and Local Governance, Development and Innovation.

Beyond academia, he plays a leading role in public policy and community development: he served as Chairperson of the board of Pobal, a national public agency supporting communities and local agencies to achieve social inclusion and development across Ireland(2013-2021) and as a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly tasked with examining and bringing forward proposals regarding the type of directly-elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin. Prof. Ó Broin also serves on a range of advisory committees at national and municipal levels, contributing his expertise in policy innovation and inclusive development.

14. Sameer Padania, UK / International

Sameer Padania is an independent researcher and strategist working to build healthy public interest information ecosystems and reduce information inequality, both in the UK and around the world. He works with diverse stakeholders – from philanthropies and city administrations to civil society, media organisations and think tanks, including, most recently, Demos – on strategies, policies and funding mechanisms to build democratic information infrastructure.

He is particularly passionate about the role of place in healthy information systems. As a Visiting Fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Cities program, he is working with Prof Phil Napoli on a framework helping city administrations in Europe and North America understand the strategic role they can play in local information ecosystems. He led the Bristol Cable’s pioneering work to develop a local House of Journalism, and for the Public Interest News Foundation, he led the Local News Plans initiative in six places across the UK, which resulted in the UK’s first Local News Fund in Newry, Northern Ireland, and the concept of Media Wealth Building.

Sameer also advises on and helps develop funding mechanisms for public interest journalism worldwide, from the International Fund for Public Interest Media to local and city-level funding initiatives in the UK. Previously, he served as Journalism Advisor on Nesta’s UK Future News Pilot Fund, as an assessor on Google’s European DNI Innovation Fund, and as Program Officer for Experimentation and Innovation at Open Society Foundations. He served as Lead Rapporteur for the Forum on Information and Democracy’s global report calling on governments to deliver “A New Deal for Journalism”, and has authored widely-referenced guides, including on building national journalism funds, funding investigative journalism, and journalism grantmaking.

Sameer is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), a trustee of the Orwell Foundation, and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Instituto Serrapilheira in Brazil.

15. Kat Panjari, Australia

Kat Panjari is Director of Strategic Foresight and Partnerships at the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), the legislated peak body for local government in Victoria, Australia, where she shares her expertise in shaping innovative strategic partnerships and builds and sustains collaborative intergovernmental relationships.

At the MAV, Kat is at the forefront of shaping policy and advocacy at both the State and Federal levels. She brings local government priorities to decision-makers, influences reform agendas and helps set the strategic direction for councils across Victoria.

Kat is deeply committed to public service, with a professional background that spans over two decades in leadership roles across government bodies in Victoria and Tasmania, including leading the Hobart City Deal across three levels of government. Her passion lies in nurturing trusted relationships, crafting partnerships, and designing governance models that implement practical, community-informed change.

Kat’s passion, vision, and commitment to learning and sharing knowledge to build cities for people to enhance the quality of life are deeply connected to her professional journey. Kat is the current Research Fellow in Residence at the RMIT Centre for Urban Research, where she is undertaking a research project to explore how local government can build community support for higher-density housing in Australian suburbs, towns, and cities, at a time when housing is a key issue for local government.

Her leadership is shaped by experience both inside and outside the local government sector, demonstrated by a career highlight leading expeditions to Antarctica as Station Leader for the Australian Antarctic Division. Leading these unique research expeditions, in remote locations for 12 months at a time, Kat honed her ability to build high-performing multidisciplinary teams and lead in complex, dynamic environments. That grounding beyond local government continues to influence her approach, pragmatic, people-centred and forward-looking.

Kat approaches local government in a refreshingly non-traditional way, seeing opportunities where others see limitations, with the skill to connect ideas across disciplines and cultures, and to translate insight into action. She has consistently pushed boundaries, challenging conventional thinking and shaping the way the sector responds to emerging challenges.

16. Professor Dr Savaş Zafer Şahin, Türkiye

Professor Dr. Savaş Zafer Şahin is a leading scholar-practitioner in democratic innovation, participatory governance, and urban resilience. Internationally recognised for pioneering inclusive models that broaden civic engagement in Türkiye, his work has reshaped how cities design, implement, and institutionalise participatory processes.

As the originator of the idea behind Ankara’s Citizen Council, he developed a pluralistic governance framework that brings thousands of citizens, civil society organisations, and public institutions into decision-making. This model has become a national reference point for participatory democracy and has influenced emerging governance practices around the world.

His approach centres on methodologies that elevate co-creation above traditional consultation, advancing deliberative designs that deepen democratic legitimacy. His leadership has been acknowledged through major international awards, including the IAF Facilitator of the Year Award (2020), the IOPD Best Practice in Citizen Participation Award (2021) and the Innovation in Politics Award (2024). He currently represents the city of Ankara in its candidacy for European Capital of Democracy 2027. Savaş began his professional journey after graduating in urban and regional planning from METU, followed by two master’s degrees on local politics and the urban condition, and a PhD examining planning and politics in Ankara.

Across his career, he has held roles in central and local government, professional chambers, and NGOs, and has worked full-time in academia since 2009. He is currently based at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, where his research spans urban planning, public policy, local government, democratic participation, deliberation, and heritage conservation.

Widely engaged in national and international policymaking, he has served on major urban design competition juries, advised cities in establishing citizen councils, and, since 2019, has been the Vice President of the Ankara City Council, contributing to one of the most dynamic participatory governance ecosystems in Türkiye.

17. Mark Smith, England

Mark Smith developed the “Liberated Method”, a relational, frontline-empowered approach to supporting people facing multiple and complex problems. He is currently an independent consultant specialising in public service reform and a visiting professor in the Policy, Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He previously served as Director of Public Service Reform at Gateshead Council, where he led cross-agency teams and prototypes designed to replace traditional service silos with trusted relationships.

His work focuses on shifting the purpose of public services from producing “services” to enabling human flourishing by giving trusted professionals discretion, fostering learning and designing systems around people’s lives.

Mark is a thought-leader in the space of relational public services, and his writing and case studies are widely referenced in policy and academic circles.

18. Dr Lígia Teixeira, UK

Dr Lígia Teixeira is the founding Chief Executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI), part of the UK Government’s What Works Network. She works with national government, local authorities, combined authorities and metro mayors to strengthen homelessness prevention and help governments at all levels make better use of data and evidence to improve impact and value for money.

Under her leadership, CHI has developed practical evidence tools and test-and-learn programmes operating at local and national scale, supporting delivery in complex, devolved systems. Before setting up the Centre, Lígia led impact programmes at Crisis UK, with earlier roles at the Young Foundation, Refugee Council and the International Labour Organisation. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.

19. Professor Tony Travers, England

Professor Tony Travers is Associate Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a professor in the LSE’s Department of Government.

His key research interests include local and regional government, elections and public service reform. Professor Travers’ knowledge is frequently sought by policymakers, and he has advised a range of select committees and think tanks. He also provides expert analysis for broadcast and print media, regularly appearing on UK and global television and radio networks.

He chaired the London Finance Commission (2013 and 2017) and the Welsh Local Government Association’s Independent Commission on Local Government Finance (2016).  He was a member of the City Growth Commission (2014) and was also a member of the Local Government Association and CIPFA’s Independent Commission on Local Government Finance (2015).

Tony regularly provides political analysis on the LSE Government YouTube channel. He is also an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Finance & Accountancy and an honorary member of the Institute of Revenues, Rating & Valuation.  He is currently a member of the London Partnership Board and was a member of the board of the New Local Government Network/New Local.

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government: The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing: How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills), The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City and London’s Boroughs at 50.

20. Joanie Willett, England

Joanie Willett is an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter and co-convenor of the Political Studies Association’s Local Government and Politics specialist group. She also helps coordinate EdgeNet, a Regional Studies Association network exploring peripheral and rural development.

Her research focuses on the politics and economics of regional development, examining how people, economies, communities, and environments co-evolve. She studies how people gain the skills needed to navigate and contribute to local economies, with fieldwork in the UK and US, and applies this to rural regions, resource economies and local governance. Her recent projects investigate skills, work and governance in critical minerals and nature recovery, alongside consultancy on workforce development and local government.

Her first book, Affective Assemblages and Local Economies, uses ethnographic research in Cornwall and Southwest Virginia to reimagine regions as complex adaptive assemblages. These ideas also informed her 2024 textbook, An Introduction to UK Politics, which examines identity in contemporary politics. Her forthcoming book, More-Than-Human Politics: Worldmaking and the American Political Imaginary, is under contract with Bloomsbury Academic.

Joanie has been PI or Co-I on research funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and has contributed evidence to Parliamentary inquiries, including the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy and the Environmental Audit Committee’s “Fixing Fashion” and “Green Jobs” reports.  Currently, Joanie is PI on the ESRC Nature Recovery and Regional Development (NaRReD) study, where her team looks at how to get the best out of multi-level governance around nature recovery, and is Co-I on the UKRI Critical Minerals Challenge Centre, where she explores meeting skills gaps and governance around social infrastructure and the foundational economy. Joanie is frequently invited to present internationally in policy and academic settings and is co-director of the Institute of Cornish Studies.