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Rick Pickford smiling at the camera

Rich Pickford

Head of Nottingham Civic Exchange

School of Social Sciences

Staff Group(s)
Nottingham Civic Exchange Professional Services

Role

Rich takes the lead on facilitating connections between researchers, policymakers, communities, businesses and citizens and maximising the impact of Nottingham Civic Exchange's work. He has a passion for working with people in a variety of settings and across topic areas to help create meaningful change and utilise expertise and insights. Alongside is role as a knowledge broker and mobiliser, he has developed a focus on the informal economy, civil contingencies and wellbeing over recent years and was seconded to the C19 National Foresight Group through the pandemic. He is Co-Chair of the Areas for Research sub-committee for the University Policy Engagement Network and runs NCE's Policy Fellowship programme and Policy Engagement Group at NTU.

Career overview

Rich has a background in knowledge brokerage and mobilisation alongside outdoor education and youth work, and before working with NTU, he was based at the RSA supporting their work across Wales and the Midlands.

Research areas

Through a policy engagement and facilitation lens, Rich undertakes research with collaborators on the informal economy, civil contingencies and wellbeing. He has also undertaken a range of research consultancy projects on a wide variety of topics, ranging from arts and culture evaluations to partnership responses to violence against women and girls.

Through his role, Rich also supports research across a broad range of topics and subjects and works with academics and partners to maximise its reach and impact. He takes a lead on policy engagement in the School of Social Sciences, alongside playing a central role in the Work, Informalisation and Place Research Centre at NTU.

He holds an MA in Early Modern British History. He is always keen to talk about travel writing in Ireland and 18th century popular protest alongside policy engagement, impact, the value of NTU's research and knowledge exchange activity.

External activity

Rich is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

A Co-Chair of the ARI Sub-Committee for UPEN

Press expertise

Knowledge Exchange, Brokerage and Mobilisation

Policy Engagement

The informal economy

Labour Market  Exploitation

Hand Car Washes

Civil Contingencies