Territorial and collaborative governance,place-based leadership,public policy,devolution
Sarah AyresFAcSS is a British academic and Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the School for Policy Studies,University of Bristol,and current Chair of the Regional Studies Association (RSA). Her research focuses on territorial and collaborative governance,and the role of state,market,and civil society actors in addressing complex social challenges.
Ayres earned a first-class BSc in Public Policy and Management &Social Studies from Aston University in 1997 and a PhD in Public Sector Management from the same institution in 2001,funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Career
Ayres joined the University of Bristol in 2005 as a Lecturer in the School for Policy Studies,later becoming Senior Lecturer,Reader,and,in 2019,Professor of Public Policy and Governance.[1] From 2002 to 2005 she was a Research Fellow at Aston University.
She was Co-Editor of the academic journal Policy &Politics from 2012 to 2020.[2] Ayres is on the Editorial Advisory Boards of three top quartile international public policy journals,namely Policy Sciences,[3]Public Management Review[4] and Policy &Politics.[5]
Ayres is Co-Investigator and work package lead for the project Tackling the Root Causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Decision Making (TRUUD),a £6.7 million transdisciplinary research programme funded by the Medical Research Council and running from 2019 to 2025.[6][7]
Ayres's research examines devolution,[10] constitutional change,central–local relations,and local governance capacity in England. Her work has addressed how to achieve healthy urban development through systems thinking,[11] the use of scientific evidence to inform policy,[12] co-production between research and practice,complex decision-making in Whitehall,and place-based leadership.[13] She engages in collaborative research with non-academic partners and has acted as an academic advisor to three UK governments,submitting evidence to 28 government inquiries.
Bates, G., Black, D., Ayres, S., Bondy, K., Carhart, N. and Kidger, J. (2025). "Identifying intervention areas to shape healthier urban development in the United Kingdom". PLOS Sustainability and Transformation 4 (6): e0000176.
Ayres, S., Newman, J., Sandford, M., Barnfield, A. and Bates, G. (2025). "How democratically elected mayors can achieve mission oriented policies in turbulent times". Regional Studies 59 (1): 2472014.
Ayres, S., Newman, J., Bates, G., Le Gouais, A., McClatchey, R. and Pearce, N. (2025). "Are we any closer to tackling health inequality in England?". Contemporary Social Science 19 (4): 531–554.
Bates, Geoff; Barnfield, Andrew; Pearce, Nick; Ayres, Sarah (2024). "Why didn't the 'critical juncture' of the COVID-19 pandemic lead to the re-integration of public health into urban development policy in England?". Cities & Health: 1–13. doi:10.1080/23748834.2024.2442840.
Newman, Jack; McClatchey, Rachael; Bates, Geoff; Ayres, Sarah (2024). "Tackling health inequalities". IPPR Progressive Review. 31: 63–69. doi:10.1111/newe.12381.
Cairney, P., Boswell, J., Ayres, S., Durose, C., Elliott, I. C., Flinders, M., Martin, S. and Richardson, L. (2024). "The state of British policymaking: How can UK government become more effective?". Parliamentary Affairs 77 (4): 837–864.
Flinders, M., Ayres, S., Boswell, J., Cairney, P., Durose, C., Elliott, I. C., Martin, S. and Richardson, L. (2024). "Power with purpose? Further reflections on strengthening the centre of government". The Political Quarterly 95 (3): 544–552.
Ayres, S., Barnfield, A., Bates, G., Le Gouais, A. and Pearce, N. (2023). "What needs to happen to level up public health?". Contemporary Social Science 18 (3–4): 500–526.
Bates, G., Ayres, S., Barnfield, A. and Larkin, C. (2023). "What types of health evidence persuade actors in a complex system?". Policy & Politics 51 (3): 386–412.
Black, D., Bates, G., Ayres, S., Bondy, K., Callway, R., Carhart, N., Coggon, J., Gibson, A. and Hunt, A. (2023). "Operationalising a large research programme tackling complex urban and planetary health problems: a case study approach to critical reflection". Sustainability Science 18: 2373–2389.
Le Gouais, A., Bates, G., Callway, R., Kwon, R., Montel, L., Peake-Jones, S., White, J., Hasan, N., Koksal, C., Barnfield, A., Bondy, K. and Ayres, S. (2023). "Understanding how to create healthier places: A qualitative study exploring the complex system of urban development decision-making". Health and Place 81: 1–12.
Bates, G., Le Gouais, A., Barnfield, A., Callway, R., Hasan, N., Koksal, C., Kwon, H. R., Montel, L., Peake-Jones, S., White, J., Bondy, K. and Ayres, S. (2023). "Balancing autonomy and collaboration in large-scale and disciplinary diverse teams for successful qualitative research". International Journal of Qualitative Methods 22: 1–15.
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