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Dr Frances Fahy

B.A. (Mod), Ph.D. (Trinity College Dublin)
Room:		104 Arts/Science Building
Tel:		00 353 91 492315 Ext 2315
Fax:		00 353 91 495505
E-mail:		frances.fahynuigalway.ie
Office Hours:		Tuesday 14:00 - 15:00 and Wednesday 11:00 - 13:00

Biography

Frances is a lecturer in Environmental Geography. She completed her Geography and Sociology degree (1997-2001) and Ph.D. (2001-2005) in the Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin. Frances formerly worked as an EPA Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Geography NUI, Galway (2005-2007) and as a lecturer in Human Geography in the School of Environmental Sciences in University of Ulster (2007-2008) before joining the department in November 2008.

Research

Frances’ primary research interests are in the field of environmental planning and sustainability, specifically the social and cultural consequences of environmental change. She is a cluster leader of the Planning and Sustainability Research Cluster in Geography and is a member of the Governance and Sustainable Development research cluster at NUIG. Frances is the current President of the Geographical Society of Ireland (2012-2014).She is a past Chair of the Planning and Environment Research Group ( PERG) of the Royal Geographical Society (2007-2012).

Frances has explored a number of recent innovations in deliberative practice and is interested in the methodological challenges of sustainability research. Her research interests focus on three substantive interrelated themes:

Formation and implementation of environmental policy
Frances’ research examines environmental policy implementation in Ireland, Europe and developing countries. She is interested in formulating projects exploring barriers to environmental policy implementation in Ireland and the EU, policy learning and environmental policy implementation, and the role of local government and environmental policy.

Public participation and sustainable outcomes
Frances is interested in developing the topics of sustainable development in Ireland, consultation and participation in planning, governance and environmental policy making.

Cultural factors which influence environmental decisions
Her research is concerned with the cultural and trans-cultural aspects of environmental research.

Current Research Projects

'ConsEnSus – Consumption, Environment and Sustainability’ (Large-scale project approx €1m funded under the EPA/STRIVE programme 2009-2013)

Frances is currently project manager of the EPA-funded ConsEnSus project on consumption, environment and sustainability. This four year interdisciplinary project is an exploration of household consumption in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This project is undertaken in conjunction with partners from the School of Political Science and Sociology NUI Galway and the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. (See http://www.consensus.ie/ for full project details)

'MARNET – Marine Atlantic Regions Network’ (Large-scale EU project €1.3m funded by the ERDF through the EU Interreg Atlantic Area Programme 2012-2015)

MARNET (Marine Atlantic Regions Network) is a 2.5 year collaborative transnational project involving maritime regions from the Basque country of Spain, Brittany in France, Stirling in Scotland, Porto in Portugal as well as the Border Midland and West region of Ireland. NUI Galway is the lead scientific partner of the MARNET project which is mapping the value of the Atlantic marine economy through the development of socio-economic indicators. The members of the NUI Galway MARNET research team are Dr Frances Fahy, Dr Stephen Hynes, Dr Amaya Vega and Rebecca Corless. The large-scale project involves the participation of academics working with Regional Authorities across the Atlantic Area. Local Authorities with marine interests will benefit from the MARNET project through the development of practical initiatives aimed at growing the marine sector at a local level.

’Exploring perceptions of sustainability and scale in food systems’ (Medium-scale project funded under the Millennium Research Fund 2010-2012)

This project theoretically and empirically investigates the perceptions of Irish consumers with regard to the sustainability of food systems, not only environmental but also economic and social, from the local level to the global. Specific objectives include i) examining the meaning of ’local’, as well as the role which scale plays in influencing consumer food choices, ii) investigating the extent to which perceptions of sustainability in food systems influence purchasing choices iii) providing a nuanced understanding of the motivations for, and barriers to, purchasing products produced at different scales and explore the implications of such. PhD researcher: Bridin Carroll

Recent Publications

Fahy, F. and Rau, H. (2013) Methods of Sustainability Research in the Social Sciences, SAGE, London

Mahon, M., Fahy, F., and Ó Cinnéide, M. (2012) ’The Significance Of Quality Of Life And Sustainability At The Urban-Rural Fringe In The Making Of Place-Based Community’ Geoforum Vol 77 (2) 265-278

Pape, J., Rau, H., Fahy, F., and Davies, A. (2011), Developing Policies and Instruments for Sustainable Consumption: Irish Experiences and Futures, Journal of Consumer Policy 34, (1), p. 25-42 (available at http://www.springerlink.com/content/tj22017141815237/).

Davies, A., Fahy, F. Rau, H. and Pape, J. (2010) ’Sustainable Consumption: practices and governance’, Irish Geography Vol.43 (1) 59-79

Fahy, F. and Ó Cinnéide, M. (2009) ’Re-Mapping the urban landscape: community mapping – an attractive prospect for sustainability?’ Area Vol. 41 (2)167-175

Fahy, F. and Ó Cinnéide, M. (2008) ’Developing and Testing a Conceptual Framework for Assessing Quality of Life in Urban Areas’ Environmental Impact Assessment Review 28 (6) 366-379

Fahy, F. (2008) ’Dwelling on Waste: Participatory action research and the management of household waste in Galway’, in Rau, H and Edmondson, R. (eds) Environmental Argument and Cultural Difference: Locations, Fractures and Deliberations Oxford: Peter Lang 177-202

Fahy, F., and Davies, A. (2007) ’Home Improvements: household waste minimization and action research’, Recycling, Resources and Conservation Vol. 52 13-27

Graduate Supervision

Frances has graduate students working on projects exploring issues ranging from sustainable consumption and lifestyles, environmental policy and management to community planning. She welcomes further graduate research, especially in areas related to her own research and teaching interests.

Mary Greene (Ph.D. Candidate)
Working title: Advancing the transition of communities towards low carbon futures (Recipient of Hardiman scholarship)

Brídín Carroll (Ph.D. Candidate)
Exploring the influences on and implications of ethical consumer choices in encouraging sustainability in food systems.

Mary Lavelle (Ph.D. Candidate)
Geographies of Sustainable Lifestyles: Sustainable Living Survey (Recipient of EPA/STRIVE funding)

Alexandra Revez (Ph.D. Candidate) (Co supervised by Dr Marie Mahon)
Flood Management in Ireland: The role of Public Participation (Recipient of IRCHSS scholarship).

Recent Graduates

Emer Henderson (M.Litt Candidate)
Thesis title: Unpacking public understandings of energy efficiency (Sept 2009-August 2011)

Recently Completed Projects

See full list of completed projects here.

’Galway 21: Implementing the Principles and Practices of Sustainable Development in Galway City Council’ (EPA 2005-2008)

The need for more effective tools to develop and assess sustainable development was identified as a priority theme under the EU’s Sixth Framework for European Environmental Policy to 2010 (European Commission 2002). The development of practical tools for a local process of sustainable development represents a major challenge and provided the main focus for this project. In order to promote practical applications of the concept of sustainability by Galway City Council, the study developed indicators to capture quality of life considerations as perceived by the citizens of Galway. The study focused on integrating sustainability practices into all aspects of the local authority’s activities and plans. The development of transferable models of good practice in this domain and their dissemination throughout the local government system in Ireland represent some of the primary goals of the project.

Results are available from: http://www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/research/econ/name,25609,en.html

’Green Map Galway’ (Galway City Council Local Agenda 21 Fund 2008-2010)

Drawing on experiences of other cities this project developed and produced a green map for the city of Galway. A ’Green Map’ is a locally produced chart of an area, which identifies, promotes and links environmental, social, and cultural amenities. These maps typically show green areas, cycle paths, green businesses, organic markets, quiet spots in the city, interesting walking routes, as well as the cultural sites that make an area unique. The map represents a practical tool, with potential to investigate issues of sustainability and land-use planning in the city. For example, it can be utilised to examine the perceived distribution of facilities across urban neighbourhoods and highlight areas of felt needs within the city. In keeping with sustainable development principles, the project involved high levels of public participation at the local level.
Results are available on: http://www.galwaygreenmap.ie/

Environmental attitudes and behaviour: values, actions and waste management in Ireland (EPA, 2001-2005)

This project provided essential baseline information on environmental attitudes and behaviour and more fine-grained understandings of value-action gaps in the environmental policy arena. In accordance with sustainable development goals, the project generated concrete findings of public/local authority interactions with the aim of assisting local tiers of governance in improving public participation and levels of trust between various communities in environmental policy making. By focusing specifically on waste issues, the project developed contextual, or ’place-based’, recommendations for improved waste management and minimisation policies.

Results are available from:
http://www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/research/waste/name,13319,en.html

Masters Teaching

TI 704 - Environment and Risk

TI 707 - Dissertation

Undergraduate Teaching

TI 366  - Seminar in Environmental Planning

TI 343  - Geographies of Sustainable Consumption

TI 335 - Reseach Project Design and Development

TI 236 - Environmental Planning

TI 224 - Residential Field Class

TI 152 - Geography in Practice

TI 150   - Principles of Human Geography

Discipline of Geography
National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
Tel.: +353 (0)91 49 2643
This page was last updated Tuesday, January 29, 2013