Postdoctoral fellowship for alumna

Dr Laura Reynolds, a Research Associate from Cardiff University’s Welsh Economy Research Unit (WERU), has secured a 12-month Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship commencing in January 2021.

The Postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support early career researchers as they establish a research portfolio, providing the time and resources to develop a publication pipeline, disseminate research and create impact beyond academia.

Dr Reynolds will be building on her PhD research, completed at Cardiff Business School in 2019, exploring how stakeholders participate in creating and communicating a brand for cities and examining why current engagement activities are reinforcing power relations among competing groups.

During the 12-month fellowship she will work alongside her PhD supervisors, Dr Nicole Koenig-Lewis, Professor Ken Peattie and Dr Heike Doering, to build a publication pipeline and develop social impact that supports unrepresented groups when engaging in the promotion of the places they live, work and visit.

Under the mentorship of Professor Max Munday, Dr Reynolds will also extend the social and policy impacts of her research through the development of two industry collaborations with the Development Bank of Wales and the Federation of Small Businesses Wales.

Dr Reynolds said: “The ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to spend 12-months focusing on the outputs from my PhD research and establishing myself as an independent researcher...”

A further opportunity afforded by the Fellowship is a funded one-month institutional visit at the Institute of Place Management (IPM) at Manchester Metropolitan University. The IPM are world leaders in place management research. By spending a month working with the team and its industry partners, Dr Reynolds will extend the reach of her PhD findings and strengthen networks for future collaborations.

Since completing her PhD in Marketing, Dr Reynolds spent six months as a Policy and Data Analyst at City Regional Economic Development Institute at the University of Birmingham. In April 2019, she returned to Cardiff Business School as a Research Associate working at WERU.  Here, together with a small team of researchers, she provided regional economic analysis that is relevant for Welsh businesses, public and third sectors.

Following her successful bid to the ESRC, Dr Reynolds fellowship extends to December 2021.

“The Fellowship will also reinforce our links with the Development Bank of Wales who are a key research partner for the Unit and the School.”

Find out more about ESRC Fellowships in the Wales Doctoral Training Programme.