Overview

Rebecca is Geography's Academic Lead for Student Support (Racial Equality and Inclusion). Please contact me if you have any experiences effecting you personally you'd like to discuss and I can help you to find ways to receive support.

Short Bio

Dr. Rebecca Sandover is Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Exeter with research interests in Sustainable Food Networks, food policy partnerships and Public Participation in Climate Change policy making. Using a knowledge co-production approach, she has in recent years been investigating action toward the formation of sustainable food networks in the South West UK. Her research is particularly focused on building local food partnerships with local authorities, boosting access to sustainable local food, addressing food insecurity and issues of health and wellbeing. Recently, she has also been researching Public Participation in Climate Change policy making, exploring the setting up and running of the Devon Climate Emergency’s Climate Assembly.

Teaching

A Human Geography Lecturer for Geography Undergraduate programmes and The Global Systems Institute MSc in Global Sustainability Solutions. In 2023/24 I am the convenor of GEO2322c and GEOM146 and co-convenor of GEO3149 (The Seville Field Trip). I am teaching on GEO1310, The Bristol Fieldtrip, GEO2322c, The Seville Field Trip, GEOM131, GEOM145 and GEOM146/7. I'm also an undergraduate BA Dissertation advisor and a GEOM146/7 Dissertation Supervisor.

Research Background

In recent years I've conducted research with partners focusing on knowledge co-production and knowledge exchange within community food projects, sustainable food policy change and deliberative democracy.

In 2023 I worked with a community researcher to explore Food Insecurity and Mental ill health in Exeter. This was part of a Devon Community Foundation Devon-wide projectWorking with Dr. Laura Smith and Dr. Paula Crutchlow we researched Migrants attutides to community Seed Saving in Exeter. Collaborating with partners on the Devon Food Partnership led to the release of The Devon Food Strategy in 2023

In 2019 I gave evidence to The House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry on Food, Poverty, Health and The Environment

I was a Co-I on The University of Exeter research project on The Devon Climate Emergency Citizen's Assembly process (2021). In 2020 this project assessed how the Citizens’ Assembly is perceived by participants and project stakeholders, in terms of legitimacy, transparency and effectiveness, through co-created research and evaluation. The project focused on: Generating insights concerning the value of this form of democratic engagement for other topics of interest to Devon County Council -To impact on the use of deliberative engagement on climate change by local authorities across the UK and internationally - To feed into discussions of the national citizens assembly on climate change about the value and outcomes of stakeholder and citizen involvement. The rest of the research team are Prof. Patrick Devine-Wright and Dr. Alice Moseley.

Recently I have carried out research on The Cornwall Food Foundation’s ‘Food for Change’ programme that seeks to support people who are unemployed or economically inactive back into work, training or volunteering through supported food related activities. Working with Professor Katrina Brown, I collaborated with partners to explore how the programme is creating change in participants' lives. I used a range of methods including Focus Groups, Photovoice, Partner interviews, participant observation and more. For more information on the programme see The Cornwall Food Foundation's youtube films.

In recent years I have been investigating the processes shaping the emergence of Food Exeter, a Sustainable Food Places partnership that connects food producers, civil society groups and policy makers. I take a Scholar-Activist approach in exploring Social Food Networks and working alongside Food Exeter to develop food change.  

I am a Trustee of Food Exeter, a member of The Devon Food Partnership Interim-Steering Group and on the board of The Devon Food Insecurity Hub

Broad Research Interests:

• Public Participation in Sustainability Governance
• Social Food Networks
• Place based policies
• Coproduction and participatory research
• Visceral Learning
• Relational Materialism
• Alternative Food Networks
• Community Engagement
• Social Media

Qualifications

PhD (University of Exeter)
BA (Hons) (University of Exeter)

Links

• Article for CCRI on Covid-19 and Place-Based Food Initiatives
• Academic Blog site
• Devon Net Zero Citizens' Assembly Research Project
• WCCEH Devon Sustainable Food Networks Project
• Devon Food Partnership
• Panelist for RGS-IBG discussion on How do we make global food systems more just?

Research group links

• Environment and Sustainability

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Research

Research interests

• Public Participation in Sustainability Governance
• Social Food Networks
• Place based policies
• Collaborative and participatory research
• Visceral Learning
• Relational Materialism
• Alternative Food Networks
• Community Engagement
• Social Media

Research projects

2020 Research Fellow on University of Exeter Project:

Local public deliberations on pathways towards net emissions: a collaborative evaluation of the Devon Citizens Assembly. The project will assess how this Citizens’ Assembly is perceived by participants and project stakeholders, in terms of legitimacy, transparency and effectiveness, through co-created research and evaluation.

2018-2019 Research Fellow on 3 projects in Devon and Cornwall:

• Researching The Food for Change programmein Cornwall. A project led by The Cornwall Food Foundation that seeks to help people into work, volunteering or training through food growing, cooking and trading activities. Using an Action researcher approach plus ethnographic methods, this project is exploring the change the programme is creating in participant’s lives.

• Working with Food Exeter a Sustainable Food City as a scholar-activist working alongside Food Exeter to develop food change. This project uses collaborative methods to co-develop strategies for emerging local food networks that can contribute to a range of sustainability-related environmental, social and economic goals.

• Investigating the potential for a Devon-wide Sustainable Food Network I am working with local partners and The Sustainable Food Cities network to build capacity in Devon for a sustainable food partnership via funding from The Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health.This project is based on insider, practitioner and academic knowledge of the challenges sustainable food cities face, as well as understanding the potential for bringing together seemingly conflicting food agendas; those focused on food poverty, diet-related ill health and boosting local and sustainable food cultures. The project partners are collaborating to identify opportunities to streamline often competing public health/food poverty/local food agendas, enhancing health, environmental and food cultures across Devon and set strategic visions/agendas in food network research.

2018 - FOOD EXETER FAIR ACCESS TO FOOD PROJECT

Worked with Food Exeter's working group ‘Fair Access to Food’ to carry out research to understand what food poverty and household food insecurity[1]looks like in Exeter.  As there was little food poverty data available in Exeter ‘Fair Access to Food’ undertook a year of research to establish some base line evidence and build understandings of the causes of food poverty and potential steps to address these issues in Exeter. This included interviews with clients of Exeter Foodbank and culminated with a 'Food Poverty Summit' in Exeter's Guildhall in November 2018. Rebecca presetned initial findings from the interviews with foodbank clients.

Our co written report is available here: FOOD POVERTY IN EXETER: STEPS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE 

[1]Challenges in accessing nutritious food affect those in poverty, crisis and those experiences general hardship. Food Poverty and Food Insecurity are terms used to cover all these circumstances. 

2017 - A FOOD STRATEGY FOR EXETER: REDISCOVERING AND REDEVELOPING LOCALISED FOOD SYSTEMS

This project used collaborative and deliberative research methods to co-produce strategies for emerging local food networks that can contribute to a range of sustainability-related environmental, social and economic goals. With a focus on the processes and practices of the network, this ESRC funded project ran a community focused workshop, Feeding Exeter, hosted on a local farm, which served as a mechanism for network members to feedback on the draft Food Exeter strategy and consider key obstacles to building local food and just food capacity. This project used deliberative research methods to co-develop strategies for developing effective local food networks that can contribute to a range of sustainability-related environmental, social and economic goals.

• Download the report Food Exeter 2017: a food strategy for Exeter: rediscovering and redeveloping localised food systems (.pdf)

2019 - WELLCOME CENTRE FUNDED PROJECT: DEVON SUSTAINABLE FOOD NETWORKS

I am leading this project that is based on insider, practitioner and academic knowledge of the challenges sustainable food cities face, as well as understanding the potential for bringing together seemingly conflicting food agendas; those focused on food poverty, diet-related ill health and boosting local and sustainable food cultures. Working with a number of key Devon partners, we aim to build capacity in Devon sustainable food networks by mapping food programmes in the city regions of Exeter and Plymouth and rural South Hams, to transform partners’ programmes by identifying and categorising existing activities to transform responses to food poverty, public health issues, sustainable ‘food work’ and research in the region. The project partners will collaborate to identify opportunities to streamline often competing public health/food poverty/local food agendas, enhancing health, environmental and food cultures across Devon and set strategic visions/agendas in food network research.

Previous Postdoctoral Research:

I was an Associate Research Fellow on Prof. Stephen Hinchliffe's Contagion project that  investigated the diffusion of ideas and cultural change through the means of social media and explored such diffusions within the financial sector and through the spread of disease.

I completed a PhD at The University of Exeter that researched cultural Allotment practices. This was undertaken on two allotment sites in Somerset. I am active within both Geography's Environment and Sustainability research group as well as The RGS-IBG Food Geographies Research Group where I have been Secretary since 2015. Previoulsy I was The Social Cultural Geography Research Group postgraduate rep between 2011-2013 and the Conference Officer 2013-2015.

PhD Project:

Thesis Title: Doing Food-Knowing Food: An exploration of allotment practices and the production of knowledge through visceral engagement-

Funded by Geography, University of Exeter, bursary. This has led to teaching opportunities throughout the Geography department, including achieving a LTHE qualification.

Project Description

This research focused on two case-studies in Somerset which directs the lens of enquiry onto participants growing their own produce, as part of Local Food Projects. Through this I investigated- How practical knowledge is enacted through embodied practices on the plots- How this study extends knowledge of material, visceral encounters -How allotment practices explore alternative food practices through emplaced, visceral methods -How such an investigation extends understandings of agency in nature-society relations -How qualitative research practices can be extended to include cooking methods.

Presentations

RGS Conference 2011 - Community Groups Growing Veg: Re-skilling and Reconnection through Allotments
Download the presentation

Links

• Blog site- Food Networks Thinking
• Profile on Research Gate

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Publications

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External Engagement and Impact

Research networks

Fellow Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Food Geographies Working Group: Co-founded FGRG (RGS-IBG) elected Secretary 09/2015 - 2021

Social and Cultural Research Group: Conference Officer SCGRG (RGS-IBG) 2013-2016

Trustee of Food Exeter 

On the Interim Steering Group of The Devon Food Partnership

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Teaching

• Environment and Sustainability
• Just Sustainabilities, including Food Justice
• Experiential Learning, including field classes
• Place, Identity and Difference
• Local Food Networks
• Sustainablity Governance
• Public Participation in Decision Making
• Food, Consumption and Identities
• Participatory Action Research methods

In 2020/21 I am a lecturer on GEO1310, GEO1105, GEO1313, GEO2322c, GEOM131 and GEOM145.

In 2021/22 I am the convenor for GEO1309, GEO2322c and GEOM146. I am lecturering on GEO1309, GEO1310, The Bristol Fieldtrip, GEO2322c, The Seville Field Trip, GEOM131, GEOM145 and GEOM146

Modules

2023/24

• GEO2322C - Nature, Environment and Sustainability Field Course
• GEO3149 - Seville Field Course
• GEOM146 - Solutions Project (Academic)

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Office Hours:

Please note all Office hour meetings must be pre -booked, thanks.

2023/24 Term 2 General Office Hours:

Wednesdays 12:00-1:00pm (mostly online meetings in person if requested)

Thursdays 12:00-13:00 (mostly in person, online if requested) 

Bookable Form here

To find my office: From the Amory reception/cafe go up the stairs to the 3rd floor. Turn left and walk along corridor to far end. Go down stairs to 2nd floor, go through double doors ahead of you and my office is on the right.

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