Core EPI Faculty

Education

• PhD, Environmental Studies and Political Science (Interdisciplinary Studies), University of Victoria (2016), Dissertation: Climate Change Action through Co-Productive Design in Science-Policy Partnerships at Municipal, Provincial, and National Levels of Government
• MES, Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan (2010), Thesis: Complexity as a Cause of Environmental Inaction: Case Studies of Large-Scale Wind Energy Development in Saskatchewan
• BA, Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan (2008)
• BSc, Environmental Studies and Biology, University of Saskatchewan (2007)

Research Interests

• Climate change and renewable energy
• Science-policy interfaces and evidence-based policy
• Community-engaged research
• Knowledge mobilization
• Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity
• Deliberative democracy

Projects

• Coordinator – Environmental Policy Innovation Lab aka EPILab (ongoing/open-ended)
• Supervisor – Science-Policy Interfaces for Environmental Policy Innovation (funded, PhD student project)
• Principal Investigator – Identifying Stakeholder Research Needs for Energy Planning and Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (funded, initial stages)
• Co-Investigator – Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructure:  Designing Safe, Sustainable and Inclusive Coastal Communities and Industries for Atlantic Canada (funded, large partnership)
• Principal Investigator – Comparing the Science Outreach Activities of Government Scientists and University Scientists (funded, data collection stage)
• Co-Investigator – Evaluation of the Role and Actions of Canadian Grantmaking Foundations in Response to Social Inequalities and Environmental Challenges aka PhiLab (funded, large partnership)
• Principal Investigator – Beyond Interdisciplinarity: Building Co-Productive Research Dialogues for Climate Change (funded, data analysis stage)

Teaching

Examples of Recent Courses Taught:

• ENVP 6002: Research Design and Methods
• ENVP 6001: Applied Environmental Problem-Solving
• TRSU 7002: Transdisciplinary Methods in Sustainability Research

Supervised Students

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Environmental Policy

Current:

• Mohammad Chehreh Ghani (2-Year)
• Oluwaseyi Awosiyan (1-Year)
• Hadiya Bamragha (2-Year)
• Julia Fracassi (2-Year) – Co-Supervised with Dr. Doug Smith
• Samira Hatami (2-Year)

Complete:

• Ali Mujahid (2-Year)
• Rasheed Ature (2-Year)
• Edward Asante (2-Year) – Co-Supervised with Dr. Sadia Jahanzeb
• Genevieve Blankson (2-Year)
• Marcel Clift (1-Year)
• Benson Gihangange (1-Year)
• Steve Hextall (1-Year) – Co-Supervised with Dr. Mery Perez
• Katherina Wiese (1-Year)
• Uwamahoro Clarisse (1-Year)
• Samantha Burns (1-Year)

PhD in Transdisciplinary Sustainability

Current:

• Natasha Pennell

Selected Publications

• Richards, G. and M. Long. (2021). “Video Games and Learning about Climate Change.” Community Perspectives Article. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, vol. 13(3), article 9.
• Tchoukaleyska, R., G. Richards, L. Vasseur, P. Manuel, and S. Breen. (2021). “Special Issue Introduction: Climate Change Knowledge Translation.” Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, vol. 13(3), article 2.
• Richards, G. (2020). “Introduction to Design Thinking for Social Innovation: A Tale of Three Labs (NouLAB, EPILab, and PhiLab).” Article in PhiLab Newsletter (September). Canadian Philanthropy Partnership Research Network.
• Richards, G. (2020). “A Conundrum for Sustainability and Evaluating Philanthropy: How (and Whether) to Compare Environmental and Social Impacts.” Article in PhiLab Newsletter (June). Canadian Philanthropy Partnership Research Network.
• Richards, G. (2020). “Evidence-Based Policy Making, Policy Evaluation, and Effective Altruism: Considerations for a Research Project on Social Impact Measurement in Atlantic Canada.” Article in PhiLab Newsletter (March). Canadian Philanthropy Partnership Research Network.
• Richards, G. (2019). “The Science-Policy Relationship Hierarchy (SPRHi) Model of Co-Production: How Climate Science Organizations Have Influenced the Policy Process in Canadian Case Studies.” Policy Sciences, vol. 52(1), pp. 67-95.
• Richards, G. and R. Carruthers Den Hoed (2018). “Seven Strategies of Climate Change Science Communication for Policy Change: Combining Academic Theory with Practical Evidence from Science-Policy Partnerships in Canada.” Chapter 11 (pp. 147-160) in Handbook of Climate Change Communication: Vol. 2 (eds. Filho, W., U. Azeiteiro, E. Manolas, and A. Azul, U. Azeiteiro, H. McGie). Cham: Springer International.
• Richards, G. (2017). “How Research-Policy Partnerships Can Benefit Government: A Win-Win for Evidence-Based Policy Making.” Canadian Public Policy, vol. 43(2), pp. 165-170 (and Policy Options, September 14).
• Richards, G. and Lacroix, K. (2015). “An Alternative Policy Evaluation of the British Columbia Carbon Tax: Broadening the Application of Elinor Ostrom’s Design Principles for Managing Common-Pool Resources.” Ecology and Society, vol. 20(2), art. 38.
• Richards, G., K. Belcher, and B. Noble. (2013). “Informational Barriers to Effective Policy-Public Communication: A Case Study of Wind Energy Planning in Saskatchewan, Canada.” Canadian Public Policy, vol. 39, pp. 431-450.
• Richards, G., B. Noble, and K. Belcher. (2012). “Barriers to Renewable Energy Development: A Case Study of Large-Scale Wind Energy in Saskatchewan, Canada.” Energy Policy, vol. 42, pp. 691-698.