Adele Lidderdale

PhD title - ’Scottish National Islands Plan: A roadmap for transformational change?’

Adele Lidderdale is an Orcadian researcher currently carrying out postgraduate research into the implementation of Scotland’s inaugural National Islands Plan (2019). The project is seeking to understand how The Plan has been implemented, the role that policy and associated networks play in a Scottish islands context and how endogenous campaigns like ‘Our Islands, Our Future’ instigated by the ‘Big Three’ unitary island local authorities have shaped the contemporary Scottish island polity. Of particular interest is how the policy climate in Scotland of Justice and Empowerment are reflected in islands and the role that key island and non-island institutions play in that process towards sustainable rural development.

Having studied, lived and worked in Orkney taking advantage of some of the policy decisions involved in rural revitalisation strategies over time, Adele’s research begins insights from prior experience working across sectors (public, private, community) integrating green transition projects into island context and a working knowledge of how policy shapes projects throughout the implementation phases.

Adele is based in Orkney.

Interest areas: Islandness, Sustainable rural development; green transition; local government; governance; community development; sustainable local economies; policy networks; stakeholder mappings; stakeholder relations; complex systems.

Supervisory team: Prof. Donna Heddle, Prof. Steven Heddle & Dr. Andrew Jennings.