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Dr Fiona Williams
BA., M.Phil., PhD., FHEA.Senior Lecturer in Rural Land Use and Management
Fiona is a social scientist specialising in rural geography, with extensive research and consultancy experience across diverse rural sectors. Her work predominantly takes place at the policy–practice interface, addressing themes such as generational renewal in farming, the rural digital economy and society, and rural flood vulnerability and resilience.
Fiona’s current research focuses on:
- The family farm in transition and pathways for new entrants to agriculture
- Intergenerational behaviours and processes of change
- Careers in agriculture and allied professions
- The implications of policy shifts for farming communities
Fiona also undertakes research on the social and economic implications of rural flooding, and digital engagement, inclusion, and resilience in rural contexts, with a particular focus on inequalities in access and opportunity.
Fiona’s teaching focuses on rural geography, rural land-use policy and management, the built environment, research methods, and Honours research project supervision. She has successfully supervised two PhD students:
- A Critical Review of Rural Proofing in England (2019)
- Practitioners’ Perceptions of the Process of Innovating in Health and Social Care in Rural Wales (2014)
She is currently supervising two doctoral projects.
Professional Memberships
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society - Institute of British Geographers (FRGS)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Academic Department: Harper Adams Business School
Research: Rural Resilience Research Group (3RG)
Office: F.64 Jubilee Adams, Tudor Lodge and NW Building
Publications
Other publications
- Jones, D., Williams, F. Mis, N., Marren, P. (2025) Towards Equity? Advancing Rural Consideration in Flood Risk Management. CIWEM Journal of Flood Risk Management 18
- Toogood, C., Williams, F., & Nye, C. (2025) Exploring calling to farming careers in the United Kingdom: a scoping review British Journal of Guidance & Counselling
- Jones, D., Bhattacharya Mis, N., Williams, F. (2024) The evolution of the disaster risk management cycle and its continuing applicability to an evolving flood threat. In J. Lamond, D. Proverbs, N. Bhattacharya Mis (Eds), Research Handbook on Flood Risk Management, pp 9-24. Elgar Publishing
- Ingram, J., Maye, D., Bailye, C., Barnes, A., Bear, C., Bell, M., Cutressf, D., Davies, L., de Boon, A., Dinnie, L., Gairdner, J.,Hafferty, C., Holloway, L., Kindred, D., Kirby, D., Leake, B., Manning, L., Marchant, B., Morse, A., Oxley, S., Phillips, M., Regan, A., Rial-Lovera, K., Rose, D.C., Schillings, J., Williams, F., Williams, H., Wilson, L. (2022) Land Use Policy 114
- Halfacree, K., Williams, F. (2021) Advancing rural as ‘something more than a human estate’: Exploring UK sheep-shaping. Journal of Rural Studies 87
- Barton, C., Buckley, J.P, Samia, P., Williams, F., Taylor, S.R., Lindoewood, R.D. (2020) Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology 17
- Philip, L., Williams, F. (2019) Healthy Ageing in Smart Villages? Observations from the Field. European Countryside 11
- Philip, L., Williams, F. (2019) Journal of Rural Studies 68
- Williams, F. (2018) Digital Connectivity. In Reuschke, D. and M. Domecka. Policy Brief on Home-Based Businesses, OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Papers, No. 11, OECD Publishing, Paris. pp 28-30
- Philip, L., Cottrill, C., Farrington, J., Williams, F., Ashmore, F. (2017) The digital divide: patterns, policy and options for connecting the final few in rural communities across Great Britain. Journal of Rural Studies 54
- Williams, F., Philip, L., Fairhurst, G. Farrington, J. (2016) ‘Digital by Default’ and ‘the hard to reach’: exploring solutions to digital exclusion in remote rural areas. Local Economy 31
- Corbett, S., Williams, F. (2014) British Journal of Community Nursing 19
Additional Information
Former Individual Member of Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership Board (AONB), and Strategy and Performance Committee
Local Assessment Panel member of Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme
Committee Member of the RGS-IBG Rural Geography Research Group (Dissertation Prize Co-ordinator for RGRG, 2016-22)
Research projects
- Carbon farming: co-creation for behavioural change within a supportive AKIS - Second Supervisor
Contact
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