Profiles
Heather Lovell
Heather Lovell
ARC Future Fellow
College of Arts, Law and Education
College of Sciences and Engineering
Room 433, Social Sciences Building, Sandy Bay Campus
Professor Heather Lovell's research is about processes of policy and technology innovation. She is interested in understanding the learning that takes place from policy and technology experiments, and how and why knowledge travels.
The social science of innovation
As a social scientist researching innovation Professor Lovell explores how and why change takes place at a particular time, in a particular place. Drawing on theories of policy and technology change from across a number of disciplines, Professor Lovell's research has mostly concentrated on innovation in response to the problem of climate change.
'Climate change is an excellent problem to use as a case study for understanding innovation, because it potentially involves a fundamental rethink of existing ways of doing things, for all countries, sectors, and types of organisation'
Professor Lovell's research is summarised in a single-author book published by Routledge (2015) 'The Making of Low Carbon Economies'.
'The book brings together a bunch of different case studies - from financial accounting to housing and forest ecology – in an accessible way in order to explore common findings about low carbon innovation.'
Since starting at UTAS in early 2015 Heather has developed a number of research projects around the themes of energy and environmental technology.
Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship: Smart Grids, Messy Society
Professor Lovell was awarded funding by the ARC to research the changes underway in the Australian utility sector enabled by new digital technologies and capabilities – often referred to as 'smart grids'. Heather, who hails from the UK, has come to UTAS to investigate how smart grids have been understood and implemented in Australia.
'Smart grids might seem like a rather odd topic of research for a social scientist, but what I am interested in is how policy decisions are made about highly technical issues.'
Smart grid technology can enable better management of services in times of peak demand, and this can remove the need for new infrastructure investment. The concept of a smart grid has most commonly been applied to the electricity sector – as is the case in Australia - although as part of the Future Fellowship Professor Lovell is studying its application to other sectors such as water and gas.
'The objective is to understand more clearly the effect of smart grid experimentation, including who has learned what from the implementation of smart grids in Australia and internationally, and how and why this knowledge has travelled.'
With her background in the discipline of Human Geography, Professor Lovell is particularly keen to better understand the geographies of experimentation and learning. Her research is investigating the impact of key Australian smart grid trials and programmes on policy and practice – including the Federal Government's $100 million-dollar Smart Grid Smart City project (2010-14) and the Victorian government's mandatory smart meter programme (2009-13).
'What has happened in the State of Victoria is interesting because it looks to be a case of negative learning. For various reasons things didn't go well, and other States have consequently said they are not going to do it in the same way. It has become politically untouchable.'
Exploring this rich politics of innovation and learning is exactly what the Future Fellowship is about. Better understanding of such issues informs both the theory and practice of policy innovation. With a number of important regulatory and policy changes underway in the electricity sector in Australia - coupled with growing concern about consumers leaving the grid to embrace other power-generating technologies such as solar power and battery storage – Australia is one of the leading countries internationally with regard to digitally-enabled utility innovation, and hence a great place to conduct the research.
For further information see the Smart Grids Messy Society project website.
Professor Heather Lovell is Interdisciplinary Research Lead and Associate Head-Research in the School of Technology, Environments and Design (2018-19). She researches processes of policy and technology change, and currently has current research projects on the topics of smart grids, energy storage and institutional memory.
Biography
Professor Lovell completed her PhD at Cambridge University (UK) in 2005. Before joining the University of Tasmania in early 2015. Heather was a Reader (Associate Professor) at Edinburgh University in the UK. She previously held posts at Durham and Oxford Universities in the UK, as well as a Research Fellowship in UK Parliament. Prior to commencing her PhD she worked in environmental consultancy.
Career summary
Qualifications
| Degree | Title of Thesis | University | Country | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | The governance of emerging socio-technical systems: the case of low energy housing in the UK | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 2005 |
| MSc | Environmental Change and Management | Oxford University | United Kingdom | 1998 |
| BA(Hons) | Geography | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 1997 |
Memberships
Professional practice
- Institute of Australian Geographers
- Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers (UK)
Committee associations
- Conference Organising Committee Member for the international Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) (2018)
- TasNetworks Tariff Reform Working Group (2015)
- Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy Journal Editorial Board (2014-16)
- UK Government Expert Panel on Household Energy Behaviour, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (2012-13)
- Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) Technical Working Group (2009-12)
- Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES), Co-Theme Leader - Society (2009-2012)
- Elsevier International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home Editorial Committee (Environment Section Editor) (2008-2012)
Administrative expertise
- Interdisciplinary Research Lead and Associate Head-Research, School of Technology, Environments and Design (2018-19)
- Founder and Co-Director of university-wide energy research group Future Energy (2017-present)
- Research Co-ordinator, School of Social Sciences, UTAS (2016)
- University Research Themes Working Group (2016)
- University Research Committee Member, UTAS (2015-16)
- Head of Environment and Society Research Group, University of Edinburgh (2013-15)
- Chief Investigator on several large research projects including ARC Future Fellowship (2015-18) and Nuffield Early Career Fellowship (2008-11)
Teaching
Environmental change and sustainability, Energy policy and politics, Sociotechnical transitions, Theory and processes of innovation, Carbon markets, Carbon accounting, Environmental markets
Teaching expertise
Heather is not teaching in her current role. Her prior experience is with postgraduate (Masters) teaching. At Edinburgh University she ran and taught a postgraduate course The Human Dimensions of Environmental Change and Sustainability which attracted around fifty students per year from across the University (Engineering, Social and Political Science, GeoSciences).
Research Invitations
- Invited panellist for the Dialogues in Human Geography Plenary Forum, Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Conference, London, UK, August 2017
- Invited seminar speaker at the University of Melbourne, May 2017
- Invited keynote address for the Royal Society of Tasmania's Winter Lecture Series, July 2016
- Invited seminar speaker at RMIT Centre for Urban Research, September 2015
- Invited speaker at Australian Utility Week industry conference, November 2015
- Invited keynote speaker at Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Hobart, Australia, February 2015.
- Invited by ClimateXChange to lead a study for the Scottish Government on Energy Productivity, 2014.
- Invited keynote speaker at a seminar on Energy Vulnerability Conditions and Pathways: Towards a Research and Policy Agenda, jointly organised by the Energy Geographies Working Group of the Royal Geographical Society - Institute of British Geographers, and the International Energy Vulnerability Network, Manchester, UK, May 2013.
- Invited Workshop Discussant at an international workshop Getting to Zero: International Perspectives on Low Carbon Housing, Manchester, UK, February, 2013.
- Invited Keynote speaker, University of Birmingham Seminar on Household Energy Consumption, Technology and Efficiency, Birmingham, UK, June 2012.
- Invited Keynote speaker, British Sociological Association Seminar on Climate Change, Southampton, UK, March 2012.
- Invited speaker for Our Changing World public lecture, Edinburgh University, October 2012.
- Panel invitations: Swedish Research Council Climate Change Panel (2014), Czech Foundation Panel (2012,2014, 2017), and ESRC-AHRC International Benchmark Review of Human Geography (2012; one of 20 UK environment-society academics consulted), ESRC Collaborative Governmental Studentship Panel (2009).
View more on Professor Heather Lovell in WARP
Expertise
- Policy and technology change
- Sociotechnical transitions
- Environmental governance
- Energy policy and politics
- Innovation in utilities
- Carbon markets and carbon accounting
Research Themes
Heather's research aligns to the University's research themes of Environment, Resources and Sustainability and Data, Knowledge and Decisions. Her research interests include the processes and politics of policy and technology innovation, the geographies of policy experimentation and learning, standards as sites of innovation and institutional memory. Interdisciplinary work drawing together different strands of academic scholarship - geography, political science, sociology, science and technology studies, computer science and public administration - is a key feature of her research.
She has undertaken empirical studies across a number of different topics related to climate change, infrastructure and utilities, including: low energy housing, carbon markets and carbon accounting, district heating, household energy monitoring, environmental sensor technologies, and smart grids.
Heather's current main research project (an ARC Future Fellowship 'Smart Grids Messy Society') is on hold for a year whilst she undertakes a research leadership role in the School of Technology, Environments and Design. It will resume in March 2019.
Active research projects include one funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on PV and battery storage, and a second project funded by the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).
The $2.9M ARENA project (2016-19) is an interdisciplinary project called 'CONSORT' with engineers, computer scientist and economists from ANU and University of Sydney, as well as two industry partners - Reposit Power and TasNetworks. The CONSORT project has been funded by ARENA to research use of battery storage by households on Bruny Island, Tasmania. The University of Tasmania is leading the social science research of CONSORT, researching the thirty households involved in the study through a combination of focus groups, longitudinal interviews (x3), and energy diaries.
Heather is also a Co-Investigator in a political science project called 'Remembering how to lead', funded by ANZSOG ($64,842; 2015-18), and led by Dr Dennis Grube, a political scientist at the University of Cambridge. The project is about the institutional memory of 'leadership learnings' in the governance of policies and programmes with significant public-private partnerships.
Collaboration
Heather has significant collaborations with the UK, where she studied and worked until recently, in particular with Edinburgh University (School of GeoSciences, School of Informatics and School of Social and Political Sciences), and St Andrews University (School of Management). In the period 2005-15 she had several UK grants with a total value of £3.75 million (AUS$6.3 million). These involved a range of academic, government and industry partners including: the University of Durham, the UK Tyndall Centre, Edinburgh City Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the International Emissions Trading Association, and the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants. Through her current projects Heather is involved in research collaborations with TasNetworks (ARC Future Fellowship, CONSORT project, Consultancy), Peking University, the National Australia Bank and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (Sense-T project), and Griffith University and the New Zealand government (ANZSOG project).
Current projects
2016-19 Consumer Energy Systems Providing Cost-Effective Grid Support (CONSORT), Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) (Co-Investigator & Social Science Project Lead, led by Prof Sylvie Thiebaux, ANU); $2,895,951.
2015-18 Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZOG) 'Remembering how to lead': Building Institutional Memory of 'Leadership Learnings' in Collaborative Governance Environments, led by Dr Grube at the University of Cambridge, UK; $64,842.
2015-20 Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship, Smart Grids, Messy Society? An evaluation of the implementation of smart grids in Australia, $820,406. [Note this Fellowship is on hold in the period March 2018-Feb 2019]
Fields of Research
- Sociology and Social Studies of Science and Technology (160808)
- Australian Government and Politics (160601)
- Built Environment and Design (129999)
Research Objectives
- Residential Construction Processes (870404)
- Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards (960799)
- Institutional Arrangements for Environmental Protection (960605)
Publications
Heather's field of research is about understanding the processes of policy and technology change, with a particular focus on energy and environmental issues. She has published extensively on sociotechnical transitions, and environmental governance and markets.
Heather's published work has significant interdisciplinary reach, spanning the fields of Science and Technology Studies, public policy studies, accounting, sociology, and human geography. She has published in journals such as Progress in Human Geography (2018), Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (2013), Economy and Society (2013), Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (2008) and Accounting, Auditing and Accountability (2011). Heather has brought together a number of strands of her research in a book published by Routledge The making of low carbon economies (2015).
Total publications
59
Highlighted publications
(3 outputs)| Year | Type | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Book | Lovell HC, 'The Making of Low Carbon Economies', Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 286. ISBN 978-0-415-72471-5 (2015) [Authored Research Book] | |
| 2009 | Journal Article | Lovell HC, Bulkeley HA, Liverman D, 'Carbon offsetting: Sustaining consumption?', Environment and Planning A: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 41, (10) pp. 2357-2379. ISSN 0308-518X (2009) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/a40345 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 83Web of Science - 69 | |
| 2009 | Journal Article | Lovell HC, Bulkeley HA, Owens SE, 'Converging agendas? Energy and climate change policies in the UK', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 27, (1) pp. 90-109. ISSN 0263-774X (2009) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/c0797j [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 89Web of Science - 73 |
Journal Article
(34 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Lovell H, Watson P, 'Scarce data: off-grid households in Australia', Energy Policy, 129 pp. 502-510. ISSN 0301-4215 (2019) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.02.014 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Watson P | |
| 2018 | Ascui F, Haward M, Lovell H, 'Salmon, sensors, and translation: The agency of Big Data in environmental governance', Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 36, (5) pp. 905-925. ISSN 0263-7758 (2018) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1177/0263775818766892 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 1Web of Science - 1 Co-authors: Ascui F; Haward M | |
| 2018 | Corbett J, Grube DC, Lovell H, Scott R, 'Singular memory or institutional memories? toward a dynamic approach', Governance, 31, (3) pp. 555-573. ISSN 0952-1895 (2018) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1111/gove.12340 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 2Web of Science - 1 | |
| 2018 | Lovell H, 'The promise of smart grids', Local Environment: the international journal of justice and sustainability pp. 1-15. ISSN 1354-9839 (2018) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2018 | Betzold A, Carew AL, Lewis GK, Lovell H, 'The emergence, articulation and negotiation of a new food industry initiative in rural Australia: Boundary object, organisation or Triple Helix model?', Sociologia Ruralis, 58, (4) pp. 867-885. ISSN 0038-0199 (2018) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1111/soru.12211 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Betzold A; Lewis GK | |
| 2017 | Lovell H, 'Mobile policies and policy streams: the case of smart metering policy in Australia', Geoforum, 81 pp. 100-108. ISSN 0016-7185 (2017) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.02.011 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 2Web of Science - 2 | |
| 2017 | Lovell H, Pullinger M, Webb J, 'How do meters mediate? Energy meters, boundary objects and household transitions in Australia and the United Kingdom', Energy Research & Social Science, 34 pp. 252-259. ISSN 2214-6296 (2017) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.07.001 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 2Web of Science - 2 | |
| 2017 | Lovell H, Hann V, Watson P, 'Rural laboratories and experiment at the fringes: case study of a smart grid on Bruny Island, Australia', Energy Research & Social Science, 36 pp. 146-155. ISSN 2214-6296 (2017) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.031 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 2Web of Science - 1 Co-authors: Hann V; Watson P | |
| 2017 | Gale F, Ascui F, Lovell H, 'Sensing reality? New monitoring technologies for global sustainability standards', Global environmental politics, 17, (2) pp. 65-83. ISSN 1526-3800 (2017) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1162/GLEP_a_00401 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 4Web of Science - 3 Co-authors: Gale F; Ascui F | |
| 2017 | Lovell H, 'Policy failure mobilities', Progress in Human Geography pp. 1-18. ISSN 0309-1325 (2017) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1177/0309132517734074 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 4Web of Science - 5 | |
| 2016 | Lovell H, 'Are policy failures mobile? An investigation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program in the State of Victoria, Australia', Environment and Planning A, 49, (2) pp. 314-331. ISSN 0308-518X (2016) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1177/0308518X16668170 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 12Web of Science - 8 | |
| 2016 | Lovell H, 'The role of International policy transfer within the multiple streams approach: the case of smart electricity metering in Australia', Public Administration, 93, (3) pp. 754-768. ISSN 0033-3298 (2016) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1111/padm.12259 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 6Web of Science - 5 | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, 'The multiple communities of low carbon transition: an assessment of communities involved in forest carbon measurement', Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 20, (11) pp. 1363-1382. ISSN 1469-6711 (2015) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2014.905515 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 8Web of Science - 5 | |
| 2014 | Lovell HC, 'Climate change, markets and standards: the case of financial accounting', Economy and Society, 43, (2) pp. 260-284. ISSN 0308-5147 (2014) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/03085147.2013.812830 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 17Web of Science - 16 | |
| 2014 | Pullinger M, Lovell H, Webb J, 'Influencing household energy practices: a critical review of UK smart metering standards and commercial feedback devices', Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 26, (10) pp. 1144-1162. ISSN 0953-7325 (2014) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/09537325.2014.977245 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 21Web of Science - 19 | |
| 2013 | Lovell HC, Bebbington J, Larrinaga C, Sales de Aguiar TR, 'Putting carbon markets into practice: a case study of financial accounting in Europe', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 31, (4) pp. 741-757. ISSN 0263-774X (2013) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/c1275 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 20Web of Science - 13 | |
| 2013 | Lovell HC, Ghaleigh N-S, 'Climate Change and the Professions: the unexpected places and spaces of carbon markets', Transactions - Institute of British Geographers, 38, (3) pp. 512-516. ISSN 0020-2754 (2013) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1111/tran.12021 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 13Web of Science - 8 | |
| 2012 | Ascui F, Lovell HC, 'Carbon accounting and the construction of competence', Journal of Cleaner Production, 36 pp. 48-59. ISSN 0959-6526 (2012) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.12.015 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 37Web of Science - 25 | |
| 2012 | Leggett M, Lovell HC, 'Community perceptions of REDD+: a case study from Papua New Guinea', Climate Policy, 12, (1) pp. 115-134. ISSN 1469-3062 (2012) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2011.579317 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 37Web of Science - 38 | |
| 2012 | Schroeder H, Lovell HC, 'The role of non-nation-state actors and side events in the international climate negotiations', Climate Policy, 12, (1) pp. 23-37. ISSN 1469-3062 (2012) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2011.579328 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 57Web of Science - 49 | |
| 2011 | Ascui F, Lovell HC, 'As frames collide: Making sense of carbon accounting', Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, 24, (8) pp. 978-999. ISSN 1368-0668 (2011) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1108/09513571111184724 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 62Web of Science - 54 | |
| 2011 | Lovell HC, MacKenzie D, 'Accounting for Carbon: The Role of Accounting Professional Organisations in Governing Climate Change', Antipode: a radical journal of geography, 43, (3) pp. 704-730. ISSN 0066-4812 (2011) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2011.00883.x [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 80Web of Science - 70 | |
| 2010 | Lovell H, Smith SJ, 'Agencement in housing markets: The case of the UK construction industry', Geoforum, 41, (3) pp. 457-468. ISSN 0016-7185 (2010) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.11.015 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 68Web of Science - 45 | |
| 2010 | Lovell HC, 'Governing the carbon offset market', Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 1, (3) pp. 353-362. ISSN 1757-7780 (2010) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1002/wcc.43 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 41Web of Science - 35 | |
| 2010 | Lovell HC, Liverman D, 'Understanding carbon offset technologies', New Political Economy, 15, (2) pp. 255-273. ISSN 1356-3467 (2010) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/13563460903548699 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 75Web of Science - 58 | |
| 2010 | Lovell HC, Schroeder H, 'Carbon Standards and non nation-state actors', Exploration & Production. The Oil and Gas Review, 8, (1) pp. 14-15. ISSN 1754-288X (2010) [Professional, Non Refereed Article] | |
| 2009 | Lovell HC, 'The role of individuals in policy change: the case of UK low-energy housing', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 27, (3) pp. 491-511. ISSN 0263-774X (2009) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/c0878j [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 41Web of Science - 39 | |
| 2009 | Lovell HC, Bulkeley HA, Liverman D, 'Carbon offsetting: Sustaining consumption?', Environment and Planning A: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 41, (10) pp. 2357-2379. ISSN 0308-518X (2009) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/a40345 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 83Web of Science - 69 | |
| 2009 | Lovell HC, Bulkeley HA, Owens SE, 'Converging agendas? Energy and climate change policies in the UK', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 27, (1) pp. 90-109. ISSN 0263-774X (2009) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/c0797j [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 89Web of Science - 73 | |
| 2008 | Lovell HC, 'Discourse and innovation journeys: the case of low energy housing in the UK', Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 20, (5) pp. 613-632. ISSN 0953-7325 (2008) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/09537320802292883 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 38Web of Science - 33 | |
| 2007 | Lovell HC, 'The governance of innovation in socio-technical systems: The difficulties of strategic niche management in practice', Science and Public Policy, 34, (1) pp. 35-44. ISSN 0302-3427 (2007) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.3152/030234207X190540 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 53 | |
| 2007 | Lovell HC, 'Exploring the role of materials in policy change: innovation in low-energy housing in the UK', Environment and Planning A: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39, (10) pp. 2500-2517. ISSN 0308-518X (2007) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1068/a38408 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 33Web of Science - 25 | |
| 2005 | Lovell HC, 'Supply and Demand for Low Energy Housing in the UK: Insights from a Science and Technology Studies Approach', Housing Studies, 20, (5) pp. 815-829. ISSN 0267-3037 (2005) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/02673030500214118 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 47Web of Science - 36 | |
| 2004 | Lovell HC, 'Framing sustainable housing as a solution to climate change', Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 6, (1) pp. 35-55. ISSN 1523-908X (2004) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/1523908042000259677 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 59 |
Book
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Hawkey D, Webb J, Lovell H, McCrone D, Tingey M, et al., 'Sustainable Urban Energy Policy: Heat and the City', Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 246. ISBN 9781138826120 (2016) [Authored Research Book] | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, 'The Making of Low Carbon Economies', Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 286. ISBN 978-0-415-72471-5 (2015) [Authored Research Book] |
Chapter in Book
(8 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Lovell H, Corbett J, 'What makes a zero carbon home zero carbon?', Narrative Policy Analysis: Cases in Decentred Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, RAW Rhodes (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 47-70. ISBN 978-3-319-76635-5 (2018) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2015 | Lovell H, 'Low-carbon economies', Research Handbook on Climate Governance, Edward Elgar Publishing, Backstrand, K. and Lovbrand, E (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 356-365. ISBN 9781783470594 (2015) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, Mac Kenzie D, 'Allometric equations and timber markets: an important forerunner of REDD+?', The Politics of Carbon Markets, Routledge, Benjamin Stephan, Richard Lane (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 69-90. ISBN 978-0-415-70713-8 (2015) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2013 | Lovell HC, 'Measuring Forest Carbon', Governing the Climate: New approaches to rationality, power and politics, Cambridge University Press, Johannes Stripple and Harriet Bulkeley (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 175-196. ISBN 9781107046269 (2013) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2012 | Brown ME, Escobar VM, Lovell HC, 'Communicating the Needs of Climate Change Policy Makers to Scientists', Human and Social Dimensions of Climate Change, InTech, Netra Chhetri (ed), Croatia, pp. 49-62. ISBN 9789535108474 (2012) [Research Book Chapter] DOI: 10.5772/3242 [eCite] [Details] | |
| 2012 | Lovell HC, 'Eco-communities', International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Elsevier, Susan J. Smith (ed), Spain, pp. 1-5. ISBN 978-0-08-047171-6 (2012) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2012 | Lovell HC, MacKenzie D, 'Accounting for Carbon: The Role of Accounting Professional Organisations in Governing Climate Change', The New Carbon Economy: Constitution, Governance and Contestation, Wiley-Blackwell, Peter Newell, Max Boykoff, Emily Boyd (ed), UK, pp. 107-134. ISBN 9781444350227 (2012) [Research Book Chapter] DOI: 10.1002/9781118315835.ch6 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 1 | |
| 2008 | Lovell HC, 'Evolution of policy and practice in low-energy housing', Housing, the Environment and our Changing Climate, Chartered Institute of Housing, Christoph Sinn and John Perry (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 77-98. ISBN 9781905018604 (2008) [Research Book Chapter] |
Review
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lovell HC, 'Beyond the carbon economy: energy law in transition', Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 51, (6) pp. 872-873. ISSN 0964-0568 (2008) [Review Single Work] |
Conference Publication
(9 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Lovell HC, 'The promise of smart grids', American Association of Geographers Annual Conference, March 29th-April 2nd, San Francisco, pp. 1. (2016) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2016 | Lovell HC, Powells G, 'Energy feedback: Place, Policy and Mobility', Energy Feedback Symposium, 4th-5th July, Edinburgh (2016) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, 'The Making of Low Carbon Economies', Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, 18-20 February, Hobart, pp. 1. (2015) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, 'Policy mobilities: the case of smart meters in Australia', The Institute of Australian Geographers Annual Conference, 1-3 July, Canberra, pp. 1. (2015) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2015 | Lovell HC, 'What we know about households who are already off-grid', Australian Utility Week Conference, 24th-25th November, Sydney, pp. 1. (2015) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2014 | Lovell HC, 'The making of a zero carbon home', Devices and Desires: the Cultural Politics of a Low Carbon Society, 21 to 23 May 2014, Lund, Sweden, pp. 1. (2014) [Conference Extract] | |
| 2014 | Lovell HC, 'The making of low carbon economies', AC conference 2014, 26-29 August 2014, United Kingdom, pp. 1. (2014) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2014 | Lovell HC, Webb J, Hawkey D, Tingey M, Scott-Mearns N, 'The changing narratives of district heating in the UK: a case study of the city of Edinburgh', AC conference 2014, 26-29 August 2014, United Kingdom, pp. 1. (2014) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] | |
| 2013 | Lovell HC, 'New district heating in Edinburgh and Glasgow: origins and outcomes', Energy Vulnerabilities, 21 to 23 May 2013, Manchester, UK, pp. 1. (2013) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] |
Contract Report, Consultant's Report
(3 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Lovell H, Watson P, 'TasNetworks Tariff Trial Method Review - Phase One', TasNetworks, Australia (2016) [Consultants Report] Co-authors: Watson P | |
| 2016 | Lovell H, Watson Phillipa, 'Tariff Trial Survey Design', TasNetworks, Tasmania (2016) [Consultants Report] Co-authors: Watson Phillipa | |
| 2010 | Lovell HC, Sales de Aguiar T, Bebbington J, Larringa-Gonzalez C, 'Accounting for Carbon', ACCA and IETA, online (2010) [Contract Report] |
Other Public Output
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Evar B, Lovell H, 'Energy Productivity: A Review of Scottish Government Activities and International Practices', Scottish Government, Scotland, pp. 1-65. (2016) [Government or Industry Research] | |
| 2016 | Watson P, Lovell H, 'TasNetworks Tariff Trial Recruitment Strategies Review', TasNetworks, Tasmania, pp. 1-21. (2016) [Government or Industry Research] Co-authors: Watson P |
Grants & Funding
Since moving to Australia in 2015 Professor Lovell has worked on seven new projects covering the topics of smart grids (ARC, ARENA, TasNetworks), environmental technologies and markets (Sense T, UTAS Cross-Discplinary Incentive Grant) and leadership in government (ANZSOG). They are linked by a common conceptual interest in understanding processes of innovation and change. Since completing her PhD in 2005 Heather has lead or co-lead 14 research project grants with a total value of $8.03 million ($AUS).
Previous significant research funding includes:
- 2013-17, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), IDEAL: Intelligent Domestic Energy Advice Loop. £1.9M (Co-Investigator and Director of Work Package Two - Data Acquisition).
- 2013-17, EPSRC, TEDDINET: Transforming Energy Demand through Digital Innovation Network project. £0.5M (Co-Investigator and Director of Work Package - Communications).
- 2010-14, UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Heat & the City. £0.8M (Co-Investigator)
- 2008-2011, Interdisciplinary Cluster on Energy Systems, Equity and Vulnerability (InCluESEV) Research Councils UK Energy Programme; Convenor (2008-2009) of Carbon Capture and Storage Work Package; £0.55M.
- 2008-13 (part-time) New Career Development Fellowship UK Nuffield Foundation, Fungible Carbon New Career Development Fellowship. £166,553. (Principal Investigator, with Professor Donald MacKenzie). This Fellowship was one of only three awarded in the UK in 2009, across all social science disciplines.
- 2005-2007, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Policies for Emerging Socio-Technical Systems: the case of low energy housing in the UK (with Professor Susan Smith, University of Durham); £56,000.
Funding Summary
Number of grants
11
Total funding
Projects
- Description
- Power markets have been liberalised and some are undergoing liberalisation globally to achieve the energy policy goals of energy security, environmental sustainability and affordability. The actual linkages between energy markets liberalisation and energy security, however, remains to be quantified. The aim of this project is to examine the global relationship between energy markets liberalization and energy security captured through the channels of access to electricity or national electrification levels. The rationale lies in its scope to guide evidence-based energy policymaking towards promoting energy security based on the econometric assessment on the linkages between energy markets liberalisation and energy security. To achieve this rationale, panel-data econometrics is employed on a large-scale dataset. The outcome of this project is significant as achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 is one of the key sustainable development policy goals. The impacts of varied power markets structures and regulation on energy security is explored.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($6,217)
- Scheme
- Grant-Strategic Research
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Nepal R; Lovell HC
- Year
- 2019
- Description
- The project explores the role of householders in energy transitions, and ever increasing pressures of energy affordability in household economics.
- Funding
- Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute ($21,000)
- Scheme
- Scholarship-Top-Up
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Jacobs KA; Lovell HC
- Period
- 2018 - 2020
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($8,840)
- Scheme
- Grant-ERS Research Theme
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Mate KJH; Grimmer EL; Grimmer MR; Lovell HC
- Year
- 2018
- Description
- This project will set up the feasibility of an investigation into the impact on basic household economics and decision making of the cessation of generous Feed-in-Tariffs (FiT) for electricity generated from residential solar photovoltaics. The investigation will help us understand the future of energy generation and consumption in Australia.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($6,202)
- Scheme
- Grant-CAL Hothouse Research Enhancement Program
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC
- Year
- 2017
- Description
- Review of tariff trial approach, sample size and overall trial method robustness (Phase One). 1. A review of the 600 household sample size, including discussion of its main opportunities/advantages and limitations. 2. A brief review of up to 10 other publically available tariff trials in Australia, including gathering data on sample size, location, and other key methodological characteristics. This is to benchmark the proposed Tasmania tariff trial, providing comparison of the sample size and experimental design against other similar trials completed within the Australian electricity market. 3. Methodological review of the experimental design. 4. Highlighting of any significant problems with the experimental design (show stoppers) in the methodological review. 5. Suggestion of modifications that could be made to the experimental design to ensure robustness, and of any further activities or approaches that will encourage robustness. This consultancy involves advising on the research approach being only. We are not involved in data collection or analysis.
- Funding
- Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd ($7,787)
- Scheme
- Consultancy
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC; Watson Phillipa
- Year
- 2016
- Description
- UTAS will be assisting TasNetworks to develop a survey tool for the Tariff Trail. UTAS will do this by a) running a workshop to develop survey topics, and b) drafting survey questions for review by TasNetworks. The survey is being developed in May and June 2016 for use at the start of Phase One of the Tariff Trial. This is Phase 2 of UTAS assistance.The survey being developed will be sent to householders along with the terms and conditions for the tariff trial. It is a before survey that is to be filled out prior to advanced meter installations in participant homes. This before survey will be coupled in data analysis with an after survey that will be developed at a later date
- Funding
- Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd ($15,520)
- Scheme
- Consultancy
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC; Watson Phillipa
- Period
- 2016 - 2017
- Description
- Our project will use several research techniques and interdisciplinary perspectives to track and document the detail of how FermenTasmania (FT) emerged and has diffused, both as an overall concept and as a set of new fermentation business ideas and practices in a supply chain. FT - as a distinctive new idea - provides a rare opportunity to research in real-time the detail of how innovations initiate, coalesce and develop during their early stages. To explore this topic we will utilitise the full breadth of our teams interdisciplinary expertise in wine science and transdisciplinary research (Carew - TIA), horizontal business networks in the wine industry (Lewis Business), processes of policy and technology change (Lovell Social Sciences) and quantitative analysis of logistics, supply chains, data and information flows (Turner/Mirowski Engineering & ICT). This project will provide an important opportunity to develop and fine-tune our interdisciplinary collaboration and application of methods, including discourse analysis, science and technology studies ethnographies, social media network mapping, and interaction mapping.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($6,974)
- Scheme
- Grant-Cross-Disciplinary Incentive
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC; Carew ALJ; Lewis GK; Mirowski LT; Turner P
- Year
- 2016
- Description
- This is a technical project led by computer scientists and engineers, working with industry to develop better ways of managing renewable energy generation and battery storage on electricity grid. The UTAS team is providing social science input, working with householders on Bruny Island.
- Funding
- Australian Renewable Energy Agency ($2,895,951)
- Collaborators
- Reposit Power Pty Ltd ($726,750); Tasmanian Networks Pty Ltd ($200,000); University of Sydney ($143,000)
- Scheme
- Grant-Research and Development
- Administered By
- Australian National University
- Research Team
- Thiebaux S; Blackhall L; Chapman A; Lovell HC; Osborne L; Scott P; Spaccavento D; Verbic G; Harwood A; Franklin ET
- Period
- 2016 - 2019
- Description
- The role of environmental sensor data within new financial markets. Key objective: to provide a standardised approach to the collection and processing of environmental data, informed by both technical feasibility and awareness of the requirements imposed by new financial markets, which is internationally consistent and fit for purpose. The project will convene a Technical Committee to deliver a new draft environmental data accounting standard, to be published for wider international consultation by the end of 2016.The research will position Tasmania at the forefront of international efforts to develop standards to underpin the rapidly-developing areas of natural capital accounting and new environmental markets, thus enabling Tasmanian businesses to continue to innovate new products and services with international market potential.
- Funding
- National Australia Bank Limited ($20,000); University of Tasmania ($309,000)
- Scheme
- Grant - Institutional
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC; Ascui F; Gale F; Haward MG
- Period
- 2015 - 2016
- Description
- This project seeks to understand how leaders involved in collaborative inter-jurisdictional policy environments draw from and pass on institutional memory.
- Funding
- The Australia and New Zealand School of Government ($64,842)
- Scheme
- Grant-Research
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Grube DC; Corbett Jack; Lovell HC; Scott R
- Period
- 2015 - 2016
- Description
- New information technologies allow utility infrastructures to operate as smart grids, with the promise of multiple economic and environmental benefits. Utility infrastructures are largely unaltered since first installed 100 years ago, and smart grids have the potential to catalyse significant innovation. The two main aims of the research are: 1) to investigate the societal drivers for, and implications of, smart grids; 2) to assess how smart grid implementation varies from place to place, and the implications of this for theories and practices of innovation and learning. The research will provide new insights about the messy, complex societal reaction to smart grids in Australia; a country at the forefront of smart grid implementation.
- Funding
- Australian Research Council ($820,405)
- Scheme
- Fellowship-Future
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Lovell HC
- Period
- 2014 - 2018
- Grant Reference
- FT140100646
Research Supervision
I have supervised six PhD students to completion. I currently have three doctoral students at the University of Tasmania:
-Veryan Hann is working on the ARENA Consort project (co-supervised with Dr Phillipa Watson (Sociology), Dr Andrew Harwood (Geography) and A/P Kate Crowley (Politics));
-Anthony Broese van Groenou is working on off-grid households - research connected to my ARC Future Fellowship (co-supervised by Dr Evan Franklin (Engineering));
-Mallika Naguran is working on energy transitions and fiction, researching the role of book groups and co-supervised by Dr Robert Clarke and Dr Hannah Stark (English).
Please get in touch if you have an interest in pursuing a PhD on a topic related to my research interests.
Current
4
Current
| Degree | Title | Commenced |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | ARENA CONSORT Smart Grid Pilot: Exploring the governance and implementation of energy innovation and community acceptance | 2016 |
| PhD | Living Off Grid: Exploring the motivations and experiences of Australian households who are not connected to the central electricity grid | 2017 |
| PhD | Sparking Fiction: The textual life of energy | 2018 |
| PhD | Healthy Built Fabric Systems for Zero Energy Residential Buildings | 2019 |