Dr Diana E Valero

(Photo credit: Perth College-UHI, May 2019)

I am a social scientist working at The James Hutton Institute on issues around sustainability and rural development and water security in particular. My research interests are focused on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable social development and governance of rural areas. I currently hold a MDT Fellowship on rural water security in Scotland, studying water security challenges in Scotland and the potential for community action and social innovation for overcoming them. You can find more details about my current research in my Hutton staff page.

Previously I worked as a postdoc at the University of Stirling in the UK-Brazil research project ENDORSE, studying the factors shaping farmers’ land management choices through behavioural experimental games.

Before that, I worked at the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College-University of the Highlands and Islands on issues around sustainability and rural development. There, I participated in several collaborative international projects around those topics: SHAPE – Sustainable Heritage Areas: Partnerships for Ecotourism, BRIDGES – Balanced Regional Development in areas with Geographic Specificities, SIMRA – Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas.

I completed my PhD at University of Valencia in Spain. In my PhD, I looked at social exclusion in rural areas and the local policies addressing it to better understand the role of small local Councils and communities in social exclusion and inclusion processes. Previously, I completed a Master in Management and Promotion of Local Development and a Bachelor in Political Science at the University of Valencia.

Updated information about my current research and links to new papers is available on my Hutton staff page. I also have a profile in ResearchGate where you can find most of my papers (e.g. on poverty and social exclusion in rural areas, rural women, social innovation, narratives of rurality). I am also an Editorial Board Member of the journal of local development Terra: Revista de Desarrollo Local. I participate regularly at international conferences, including the European Rural Sociology Conferences. And I tweet as @DianaEValero

Follow the links below to access detailed information on my academic interests, career and publications. Please contact me at diana.valero[at]hutton.ac.uk with any questions or requests, including getting copies of my papers that you can not access due to subscription restrictions.

Sustainable Rural Areas ¦ Social Justice ¦ Interdisciplinary research and stakeholder engagement ¦ Publications

Beyond academia, I am just Diana: a Spaniard living in Scotland who does not miss the weather and loves cheese and oatcakes. In my free time, I go for walks, jog, read (mostly fiction!), dance, and get involved in community initiatives.