ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´

Contact

• workRoom A14 Sir Clive Granger
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 95 15441
• Meghan.Alexander@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Meghan holds a PhD in Geography from the Flood Hazard Research Centre of Middlesex University and a BSc in Geography (First Class Hons) from the University of Wales Aberystwyth, where she was awarded the Gregynog & James Fairgrieve Prize for the highest academic achievement within the degree scheme. Since completing her PhD, Meghan has undertaken postdoctoral research at Middlesex University, the University of Leeds (Sustainability Research Institute), Cardiff University (School of Earth & Ocean Sciences) and the University of East Anglia (School of Politics, affiliated with the Tyndall Centre of Climate Change Research). In this time, Meghan has been involved in a range of national and international interdisciplinary research consortia, examining matters of flood risk governance and management (STAR-FLOOD, FRMRC2), social capacity building for natural hazards (CapHaz-Net), climate services (SECTEUR), health and well-being on the coast (CoastWEB), and policy dynamics in climate adaptation (Adapt Lock-in). Her recent British Academy-funded research for the 'CARE' project examines how restorative (in)justice for human and non-human worlds is shaped by coastal adaptation (in)action in England and the Netherlands.

Expertise Summary

Meghan's research experience spans the following areas:

• Climate Change Adaptation
• Environmental and Risk Governance & Policy
• Climate justice and just transitions
• Policy Dynamics - from stability, path dependency and lock-ins to incremental and transformative change pathways
• Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management
• Resilience & Social Vulnerability
• Health and Well-being under climate change
• Research methods - stakeholder interviews, policy analysis, process tracing, workshops and questionnaire surveys

Professional affiliations

Fellow of the

Research Fellow,

Fellow,

Teaching Summary

I teach on the undergraduate degree programmes for Geography (BA/BSc), as well as the MSc programmes in Environmental Leadership & Management and Global Environmental Sustainability, on the… read more

Research Summary

Meghan's research centres on climate change adaptation, with a strong focus on governance, policy and risk management. Her current research in the 'CARE' project (2025 to 2027) examines how… read more

Recent Publications

• NICHOLAS JAGER, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, LISANNE GROEN, DAVE HUITEMA, BERND SIEBENHÃœNER, JULIE KING, JOHN TURNPENNY, TIM RAYNER, JEAN HUGÉ and TORSTEN GROTHMANN, 2026. Earth System Governance. 28, 100320
• BETHANY JACKSON, ESTHER WEIR, JONATHAN MEAD, ANTHONY DIPRETA, MARY SEBASTIAN, KIMBERLEY HUTCHISON, JOLAADE OLATUNBOSUN, VICKY BROTHERTON, DOREEN BOYD and MEGHAN ALEXANDER, 2024. Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre.
• JOHN TURNPENNY and MEGHAN ALEXANDER, 2024. Climate Policy.
• JULIEN PÉTILLON, EMMA MCKINLEY, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, JANINE B. ADAMS, CHRISTINE ANGELINI, THORSTEN BALKE and JOHN N. GRIFFIN, 2023. Science of The Total Environment. 898, 165544

• View all publications

Refereed articles in Academic Journals

Jager, N.W., Alexander, M., Groen, L., Huitema, D., Siebenhüner, B., King, J.P., Turnpenny, J., Rayner, T., Hugé, J. And Grothmann, T. (2026) Unpacking Adaptation Lock-ins: Explaining the Persistence of the Adaptation Gap. Earth System Governance. 28. 100320.

Turnpenny, J. and Alexander, M. (2024) Addressing risks to mental health from climate change: a policy capacity analysis of England. Climate Policy.

Pétillon, J., McKinley, E., Alexander, M. et al. (2023) Top ten priorities for global saltmarsh restoration, conservation and ecosystem service research. Science of The Total Environment. 898, 165544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165544

Groen, L., Alexander, M., King, J.P., Jager, N.W. and Huitema, D. (2022) Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective. Journal of European Public Policy.

McKinley, E., Pages, J., Alexander, M., et al. (2020) Uses and management of saltmarshes: A Global Survey. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 243.106840

Hegger, D., Alexander, M., Raadgever, T., Priest, S. and Bruzzone, S. (2020) Shaping flood risk governance through science-policy interfaces: insights from England, France and The Netherlands. Environmental Science & Policy. 106. 157-165.

Rendon, O.R., Garbutt, A., Skov, M., Möller, I., Alexander, M., Ballinger, R., Wyles, k., Smith, G., McKinley, E., Griffin, J., Thomas, M., Davidson, K., Pagès, J., Read, S., and Beaumont, N. (2019) A framework linking ecosystem services and human well-being: an application to saltmarsh. People and Nature. 1 (4). 486-496. DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10050

Alexander, M. and Dessai, S. (2019) What can climate services learn from the broader services literature? Climatic Change. 10.1007/s10584-019-02388-8

Mees, H., Alexander, M., Matczak, P., Gralepois, M., and Mees H.L.P. (2018) Typologies of citizen co-production in flood risk governance. Environmental Science and Policy. 89. 330-339

Alexander, M., Priest, S. and Penning-Rowsell, E.C. (2017) The risk of ill-informed reform: the future for English flood risk management. Area. DOI: 10.1111/area.12393

Pettersson, M., van Rijswick, M., Suykens, C., Alexander, M., Beyers, J-C., Priest, S. and Ek, K. (2017) Assessing the legitimacy of flood risk governance arrangements in Europe: insights from intra-country evaluations. Water International. 42(8). 929-944. DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2017.1393716

Alexander, M., Doorn, N. and Priest, S. (2017) Bridging the legitimacy gap -Translating theory into practical signposts for legitimate flood risk governance. Regional Environmental Change. 18(2). 397-408. DOI 10.1007/s10113-017-1195-4

Bruno Soares, M., Alexander, M. and Dessai, S. (2017) Sectoral use of climate information in Europe: a synoptic overview. Climate Services. http://dx. doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2017.06.001

Fournier, M., Larrue, C., Alexander, M., Hegger, D., Bakker, M., Pettersson, M., Crabbé, A., Mees, H. and Chorynski, A. (2016) Flood risk mitigation in Europe - how far are we from desired forms of adaptive governance? Ecology and Society. 21(4): 49

Gilissen, H.K., Alexander, M., Matczak, P., Pettersson, M. and Bruzzone, S. (2016) A framework for evaluating the effectiveness of flood emergency management systems in Europe. Ecology and Society. 21(4): 27

Alexander, M., Priest, S. and Mees, H. (2016) A framework for evaluating flood risk governance. Environmental Science and Policy. 64. 38-47

Gilissen, H.K., Alexander, M., Beyers, J-C., Chmielewski, P., Matczak, P., Schellenberger, T. and Suykens, C. (2016) Bridges over Troubled Water - Towards an Interdisciplinary Framework for Evaluating the Interconnectedness within Fragmented Domestic Flood Risk Management Systems. Journal of Water Law. 25 (1). 12-26

Mees, H., Crabbe, A., Alexander, M., Bruzzone, S., Kaufmann, M., Levy, L. and Lewandowski, J. (2016) Coproducing flood risk management through citizen involvement -Insights from cross-country comparisons in Europe. Journal of Ecology and Society. 21(3): 7

Alexander, M., Viavattene, C., Faulkner, H. and Priest, S. (2013) Translating the complexities of flood risk science using KEEPER - A Knowledge exchange exploratory tool for professionals in emergency management, Journal of Flood Risk Management. 7(3).

Articles and chapters in edited Books

Alexander, M. and Priest, S. (2019) A House of Cards: The challenge of establishing societal resilience to flooding through multi-layered governance in England. [In] Jeunesse, I.L. and Larrue, C. (eds) Facing Hydrometeorological Extreme Events: A Governance Issue. Wiley. p101-111

Raadgever, T. and Hegger, D. (eds) (2018) (contributing author) [In] Flood risk management strategies and governance. Springer e-book. ISBB: 978-3-319-67699-9

Faulkner H., Alexander M. & Leedal D. (2014) Translating uncertainty in flood risk science. In: Beven, K. And Hall, J. (Eds). Applied uncertainty analysis for flood risk management. World Scientific. ISBN: 978-1-84816-270-9.

Official/Research Reports

Jackson, B., Weir, E., Mead, J., DiPreta, A., Tucker, M., Sebastian, M., Hutchison, K., Olatunbosun, J., Bengtsen, P., Brotherton, V., Boyd, D.S., and Alexander, M. (2024). Realigning modern slavery and climate change policies for equitable governance and action. Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy & Evidence Centre, London.

Alexander, M., Priest, S., Penning-Rowsell, E., and Cobbing, P. (2021) FRS17186. FCERM R&D Programme. Environment Agency: Bristol.

Priest, S., Alexander, M., McCarthy, S., et al. (2021) . FRS17186. FCERM R&D Programme. Environment Agency: Bristol.

Alexander, M., McKinley, E. and Ballinger, R. (2019) . A report published as part of the CoastWEB project under the Valuing Nature Programme. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26567.85926.

Alexander, M., Smith, H., Healy, A., Giardina, G., Petetin, L., Poole, R. and Xie, Z. (2019) The Resilience Games - Creating resilient societies for the future: Exploring the opportunities for Game-Based Learning in childhood education. Research funded via the GW4 Crucible Programme. Final Project Report published June 2019. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32456.06406

Alexander, M., Bruno Soares, M. and Dessai, S. (2017) Multi-sector requirements of climate information and impact indicators across Europe: Summary report of key findings from the SECTEUR survey. May 2017. Deliverable 2.3 (Part II) for the "SECTEUR" project: Sector Engagement for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - Translating European User Requirements. Available on request.

Alexander, M., Bruno Soares, M. and Dessai, S. (2017) Guidelines for interaction and engagement with (potential) users in SECTEUR Work Package 3: Part II - Second round of workshops and development of use cases. Deliverable 2.2 for the "SECTEUR" project: Sector Engagement for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - Translating European User Requirements. Available on request.

Alexander, M., Bruno Soares, M. and Dessai, S. (2016) Multi-sector requirements of climate information and impact indicators across Europe: Findings from the SECTEUR survey - Part 1. Deliverable 2.3 for the "SECTEUR" project: Sector Engagement for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - Translating European User Requirements. Available on request.

Alexander, M., Bruno Soares, M. and Dessai, S. (2016) Ascertaining multi-sector requirements of climate information and impact indicators across Europe: summary of the online multi-lingual survey questions, rationale and dissemination. Deliverable 2.1 for the "SECTEUR" project: Sector Engagement for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - Translating European User Requirements. Available on request.

Alexander, M., Priest, S., Micou, A.P., Tapsell, S., Green, C., Parker, D., and Homewood, S. (2016) Analysing and evaluating flood risk governance in England - Enhancing societal resilience through comprehensive and aligned flood risk governance. STAR-FLOOD Consortium. Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University.

Ek, K. Pettersson, M., Alexander, M., Beyers, J-C., Pardoe, J., Priest, S., Suykens, C., and van Rijswick, H.F.M.W. (2016) Design principles for resilient, efficient and legitimate flood risk governance; Lessons from cross-country comparisons. STAR-FLOOD deliverable report (Report No. D5.2). Awaiting final approval from the European Commission.

Hegger, D., Driessen, P. and Bakker, M. (eds) (2016) A view on more resilient flood risk governance: key conclusions of the STAR-FLOOD project. STAR-FLOOD deliverable report (Report No. D6.4).

Alexander, M., Priest, S. and Mees, H. (2015) Practical guidelines for evaluating flood risk governance. [In] Larrue, C., Hegger, D., Trémorin, J-B (Eds). Researching flood risk governance in Europe: A framework and methodology for assessing flood risk governance. STAR-FLOOD deliverable report (Report No. D2.2.1).

Priest, S., Alexander, M., Green, C., Buijze, A. and Van Doorn-Hoekveld, W. (2013) Chapter 5: Evaluation Framework [In] Larrue, C., Hegger, D., Trémorin, J-B (Eds). Researching flood risk governance in Europe: A framework and methodology for assessing flood risk governance. STAR-FLOOD deliverable report (D2.2.1

Priest, S., Alexander, M., Green, C., Buijze, A. and Van Doorn-Hoekveld, W. (2013) Theoretical background to the evaluation framework. [In] Larrue, C., Hegger, D., Trémorin, J-B (Eds). Researching flood risk governance in Europe: Background theories. STAR-FLOOD deliverable report (D2.2.2).

Alexander M., Viavattene C., Faulkner H., Priest S. (2011). A GIS- based flood risk management tool: supporting flood incident management at the local scale. FRMRC report SWP3.2. London: FHRC.

Tapsell, S., McCarthy, S., Faulkner, H. and Alexander, M. (2010) CapHaz-Net: WP4 Social Vulnerability. Submitted to CapHaz-Net: Social capacity building for natural hazards, towards more resilient societies.

I teach on the undergraduate degree programmes for Geography (BA/BSc), as well as the MSc programmes in Environmental Leadership & Management and Global Environmental Sustainability, on the following modules:

• Climate Change Decision-making in Context (GEOG4095) (module convenor)
• People and the Environment (GEOG4090)
• Project Preparation and Design (GEOG4099)
• Global Climate Change (GEOG3062)
• Living with Hazards (GEOG2073)
• Research Tutorial (GEOG2030)
• Dissertation supervision
• Tutorials

PhD supervision:

• Rebecca Bicksler - 'Navigating managed retreat in South West Florida'. Supervisors: Dr Chris Ives and Dr Meghan Alexander.
• Abbie Matthewson - 'Gendering climate coloniality: Histories and futures of women's climate vulnerability in Kenya'. Supervisors: Dr Matthew Hannaford, Dr Meghan Alexander and Dr Lilian Korir (University of Lincoln).
• Wei-Ling (Osteen) Chang - 'Executive Risk Communication and Foreign Population's Awareness of Disaster Risk Management in Taiwan'. Supervisors: Prof. Simon Gosling and Dr Meghan Alexander.
• Samaneh Serpooshan - 'The flood poverty spectrum'. Supervisors: Prof. Sally Priest and Dr Simon McCarthy at Middlesex University, and Dr Meghan Alexander (ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´).
• Jiapei Yu (ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Ningbo) - 'The political ecology and environmental justice of National Parks in China'. Supervisors: Dr Yu-Ting Tang, Dr Linjun Xie and Dr Meghan Alexander. Awarded in January 2026.

MRes supervision:

• Jodie Swann - 'The Climate Frontline: Assessing the Vulnerability of Small Island Developing States to Climate Change'. Supervisors: Prof. Simon Gosling and Dr Meghan Alexander.

Current Research

Meghan's research centres on climate change adaptation, with a strong focus on governance, policy and risk management. Her current research in the 'CARE' project (2025 to 2027) examines how restorative (in)justice for human and non-human worlds is shaped by coastal adaptation (in)action in England and the Netherlands. This interdisciplinary project (environmental geography, environmental humanities, political science, philosophy) is utilising diverse methods (literary analysis, deliberative dialogues, governance analysis, interviews and participatory workshops) to advance both theoretical understanding and inform decision-support instruments to facilitate restoratively just adaptation.

Her prior research has examined a range of issues related to climate adaptation governance. For example, within the Meghan examined how self-reinforcing 'lock-in' dynamics are created and sustained in ways that maintain 'business as usual', focusing on six key problem domains - including coastal adaptation, water scarcity, mental health under extreme events, heat stress, biodiversity and forestry - in the UK, Netherlands and Germany. In turn, the research identified entry points for 'unlocking' lock-ins and policy recommendations to facilitate transformative change and accelerate adaptation action.

Past Research

Projects:

• Coastal Adaptation for REstorative justice (CARE project) (PI) (2025 to 2027). Awarded by the : International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2025 (£299,934.61).
• - Understanding the impact of policy lock-ins on climate change adaptation (2019 - 2023). Adapt Lock-in is a €1.5 million project, funded through the Open Research Area (round 5), support by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NOW) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
• (2023 - 2024) (Co-investigator). Awarding body: Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy & Evidence Centre / AHRC.
• (Co-investigator) / Developing pragmatic guidance for effective governance in Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management and integrated water management (Co-investigator) (2019 - 2021)
• The Resilience Games (Principle Investigator) (2018-2019), funded by the GW4 Crucible fund.
• : Valuing the contribution which coasts make to human health and well-being, with a focus on the alleviation of coastal natural hazards and extreme events (2016 -2019), funded under the Valuing Nature Programme.
• SECTEUR: Sector Engagement for the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S): Translating European User Requirements (2016 -2017)
• - Strengthening And Redesigning European flood risk practices towards more resilient flood risk governance (2012 - 2016), funded by EU FP7 Programme.
• CapHaz-Net: Social capacity building for natural hazards: towards more resilient societies (2009 - 2012)

• NICHOLAS JAGER, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, LISANNE GROEN, DAVE HUITEMA, BERND SIEBENHÃœNER, JULIE KING, JOHN TURNPENNY, TIM RAYNER, JEAN HUGÉ and TORSTEN GROTHMANN, 2026. Earth System Governance. 28, 100320
• BETHANY JACKSON, ESTHER WEIR, JONATHAN MEAD, ANTHONY DIPRETA, MARY SEBASTIAN, KIMBERLEY HUTCHISON, JOLAADE OLATUNBOSUN, VICKY BROTHERTON, DOREEN BOYD and MEGHAN ALEXANDER, 2024. Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre.
• JOHN TURNPENNY and MEGHAN ALEXANDER, 2024. Climate Policy.
• JULIEN PÉTILLON, EMMA MCKINLEY, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, JANINE B. ADAMS, CHRISTINE ANGELINI, THORSTEN BALKE and JOHN N. GRIFFIN, 2023. Science of The Total Environment. 898, 165544
• LISANNE GROEN, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, JULIE KING, NICOLAS JAGER and DAVE HUITEMA, 2022. Journal of European Public Policy.
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, SALLY PRIEST, EDMUND PENNING-ROWSELL and PAUL COBBING, 2021. GOV.UK.
• SALLY PRIEST, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, SIMON MCCARTHY, EDMUND PENNING-ROWSELL, LYDIA CUMISKEY and PAUL COBBING, 2021. GOV.UK.
• EMMA MCKINLEY, JORDI F. PAGÈS, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, DARYL BURDON and SIMONE MARTINO, 2020. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 243, 106840
• DRIES HEGGER, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, TOM RAADGEVER, SALLY PRIEST and SILVIA BRUZZONE, 2020. Environmental Science and Policy. 106, 157-165
• OLIVIA R. RENDÓN, ANGUS GARBUTT, MARTIN SKOV, IRIS MÖLLER, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, RHODA BALLINGER, KAYLEIGH WYLES, GREG SMITH, EMMA MCKINLEY, JOHN GRIFFIN, MERRYN THOMAS, KATE DAVIDSON, JORDI F. PAGÈS, SIMON READ and NICOLA BEAUMONT, 2019. People and Nature. 1(4), 486–496
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER and SURAJE DESSAI, 2019. Climatic Change. 133–149
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, EMMA MCKINLEY and RHODA BALLINGER, 2019.
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER and SALLY PRIEST, 2019. A House of Cards: The Challenge of Establishing Societal Resilience to Flooding Through Multi-Layered Governance in England. In: ISABELLE LA JEUNESSE and CORINNE LARRUE, eds., Facing Hydrometeorological Extreme Events: A Governance Issue John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• HANNELORE MEES, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, MATHILDE GRALEPOIS, PIOTR MATCZAK and HELEEN MEES, 2018. Environmental Science & Policy. 89, 330-339
• MARIA PETTERSSON, MARLEEN VAN RIJSWICK, CATHY SUYKENS, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, KRISTINA EK and SALLY PRIEST, 2017. Water International. 42(8), 929-944
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, SALLY PRIEST and EDMUND C. PENNING-ROWSELL, 2017. Area. 50(3), 426-429
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, NEELKE DOORN and SALLY PRIEST, 2017. Regional Environmental Change. 18(397–408),
• MARTA BRUNO SOARES, MEGHAN ALEXANDER and SURAJE DESSAI, 2017. Climate Services. 9, 5-20
• MARIE FOURNIER, CORINNE LARRUE, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, DRIES HEGGER, MARLOES BAKKER, MARIA PETTERSSON, ANN CRABBÉ, HANNELORE MEES and ADAM CHORYNSKI, 2016. Ecology and Society. 21(4),
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, SALLY PRIEST and HANNELORE MEES, 2016. Environmental Science & Policy. 64, 38-47
• HERMAN KASPER GILISSEN, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, PIOTR MATCZAK, MARIA PETTERSSON and SILVIA BRUZZONE, 2016. Ecology and Society. 21(4),
• HERMAN KASPER GILISSEN, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BEYERS, PIOTR CHMIELEWSKI, PIOTR MATCZAK, THOMAS SCHELLENBERGER and CATHY SUYKENS, 2016. Bridges over Troubled Water – Towards an Interdisciplinary Framework for Evaluating the Interconnectedness within Fragmented Domestic Flood Risk Management Systems Journal of Water Law. 25(1), 12-26
• HANNELORE MEES, ANN CRABBÉ, MEGHAN ALEXANDER, MARIA KAUFMANN, SILVIA BRUZZONE, LISA LÉVY and JAKUB LEWANDOWSKI, 2016. Ecology and Society. 21(3), 7
• MEGHAN ALEXANDER, CHRISTOPHE VIAVATTENE, HAZEL FAULKNER and SALLY PRIEST, 2014. Journal of Flood Risk Management. 7(3), 205-216
• HAZEL FAULKNER, MEGHAN ALEXANDER and DAVID LEEDAL, 2014. Translating uncertainty in flood risk science. In: KEITH BEVEN and JIM HALL, eds., Applied Uncertainty Analysis for Flood Risk Management World Scientific.