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Staff Profile

Dr Elizabeth Lawson

Research Fellow

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 4894
  • Address: School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
    Centre for Rural Economy
    Agriculture Building
    Newcastle University
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
Background

Background


I am a Percy Research Fellow in the Centre for Rural Economy. Currently my research is centred on the intersection of water and the rural economy. Before this I was a Post Doctoral Research Associate in the Environmental Engineering group, working on an EPSRC funded project Decentralised Water Technologies. This work was centred on issues of water and wastewater governance and policy analysis, with a specific focus on the provision of services in rural and island communities.


I completed my EngD at the University of Exeter as part of the STREAM IDC programme, which was sponsored by Northumbrian Water. Here, my research was concerned with the operationalisation of resilience within the UK water sector, with a specific focus on how existing resilience theory can be translated into tangible actions at the operational level. 

Prior to this, I spent time working in the UK water sector before moving on to work as part of the Europe and Central Asia Climate and Environment team for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, where I was based in Tirana, Albania. 


Qualifications

EngD Water Engineering, 2022, University of Exeter 

MSc Disaster Management and Sustainable Development, 2016, Northumbria University

BSc Geography and Environmental Management, 2013, Northumbria University 

Research

Research Interests

Wider research interests include but are not limited to:

  • Water and wastewater governance
  • Water and wastewater policy analysis
  • Water scarcity and availability
  • Rural provision of services
  • Systems management
  • Operational resilience
  • Emergency management and response.


Research Projects


"Water Insecurity and Scarcity Engagement for Forth communities (WISE4Forth)", (Oct 2025 - August 2026), Newcastle PI.

ESRC FORTH20 Commissioning Fund Project. This project aims to explore the varying ways in which members of the public and communities in the Forth basin, an area particularly at risk of experiencing water scarcity, perceive water resources, their access to water and water scarcity on a daily basis, how this influences their consumption behaviours and risk-planning, considering how these perceptions and behaviours may be affected by type of settings and supply.


"Supporting the emerging rural water agenda in Scotland" (May 2025 - March 2026), PI.

EPSRC Strategic Impact IAA funded project. This project will address challenges with the performance of small-scale decentralised water technologies in rural and island Scotland, focussing on user support and knowledge sharing and strategic level policy guidance.


Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) Academic Fellow (Sept 2024 - Sept 2025)

Project titled: Navigating water challenges in rural Scotland through integration of policy.


"Taps Aff!" Voicing experiences of water scarcity in rural Scotland, (Sept 2023 - Sept 2024), PI.

ESRC ACCESS Flex Fund project working with Scottish rural communities to voice their experiences of water scarcity through the use of social science methods.


Decentralised Water Technologies (Nov 2021- present), Research Associate.

The Decentralised Water Technologies grant aims to develop off-grid water and wastewater biological treatment systems. However, exploitation and commercialisation of novel off-grid treatment technologies is not straightforward. As part of Theme Three: Governance analysis and reform, we will map the legal, policy and institutional landscape governing the water industry and water services in the UK. Whilst identifying the specific barriers to implementation of off-grid technologies, and providing pathways to break down these barriers.

This work is interested in approaching the issue of existing decentralised systems in Scotland from a perspective of wider rural policy.



Publications