Professor Louise Reardon

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2020

Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, 2018

PhD in Political Science, University of Sheffield, 2014

MA in Governance and Public Policy, University of Sheffield, 2009

BA (hons) Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Durham, 2008

Louise joined the University of Birmingham in 2017, having previously been a Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. She was awarded her PhD from the Department of Politics, University of Sheffield in 2014.  

Louise is internationally recognised for her expertise in transport policy and governance, with her research spanning a range of issues including how institutions work together across scales to advance local transport goals (such as wellbeing), technological innovation (such as autonomous vehicles and the future of flight), and sustainability (including net-zero).

She has been involved in securing and delivering high-value research awards from funders including the Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and Australian Research Council. Her work is published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Political Studies, Policy Studies, and Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice.

Louise is a political scientist and through her analysis of transport issues has advanced theoretical understanding of the policy process and multilevel governance. Including how place-based/local dynamics influence issue recognition and agenda setting, policy change, and approaches to wicked problems.

Louise regularly provides scientific advice to a diverse range of stakeholders nationally and internationally and is currently on the advisory board of the UK Department for Transport’s Transport Research Innovation Grant.

Louise is also Thematic Research Lead for Transport for UK Parliament, advising parliamentary teams on the latest transport research and evidence, and working to make the boundaries more porous between parliamentary and research communities.  

Louise embraces multidisciplinary approaches to research, whilst also being a passionate advocate for growing the application of political science frameworks and analysis to understanding transport issues.

To this end she has co-edited the Handbook of Transportation and Public Policy (Edward Elgar, 2025) and previously co-Chaired the Special Interest Group on Governance and Decision-Making Processes for the World Conference on Transport Research Society.

Louise is on the Editorial Boards of Research in Transportation Business & Management and Local Government Studies, having previously been an editor of the latter. She also regularly acts as a peer-reviewer for international research funders and leading academic journals, across disciplines. 

Louise is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and specialises in supporting public sector professionals to advance their careers and develop effective approaches to public service.

She led the development and delivery of the College of Social Science’s first Degree Apprenticeship programme and has specialised in developing blended approaches to teaching and learning.

Louise has supervised PhD students on a range of different issues related to her research expertise and interests. These include projects on evidence use in local policymaking, the role of politicians in centre-local government relations, and the role of walking in relation to the climate change agenda.

Louise will consider supervising doctoral students on topics including:

• Multi-level governance
• Agenda setting and policy change
• Policy implementation
• Smart and sustainable transitions
• Transport policy (including intersections with other policy areas such as health and energy)
• Urban governance
• Wellbeing and quality of life

Please contact her for an informal chat about the topic you have in mind.

Live Projects:

Louise is Co-I of the UKRI-NSF Global Centre ‘CLEETS’ (Clean Energy and Equitable Transport Solutions), led by Prof Jonathan Radcliffe, University of Birmingham. Within this centre Louise leads a cross-cutting, international work package on governance, developing a comparative analysis of the extent to which different governance arrangements effect the viability of different policy scenarios for meeting net-zero policy commitments. More information can be found on the CLEETS website.

Louise is Co-I of WM-Net Zero, led by Prof Zongbo Shi and Dr Suzanne Bartington, University of Birmingham. Louise is co-leading an interdisciplinary strand of research (with Profs. Rosie Day and Aleksandra Cavoski), analysing the implementation of Net-Zero Neighbourhoods within the West Midlands and their implications for community engagement and legitimacy. She is also leading a knowledge exchange and impact strand, developing pathways to impact with project partners. More information can be found on the WM Net-Zero website.  

Previous Projects:

Louise was Co-I of the Future Flight Social Insight social science research programme led by Prof Fern Elsdon-Baker, University of Birmingham. Working as part of the wider UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge team. The programme aimed to better understand some of the key social, economic and governance issues relevant to the future of flight. Louise led a work-package looking at the local governance of future flight, including the role local authorities play in future flight innovation projects. More information on the project can be found on the programme website.

‘Emerging transport technologies: finding new practices in urban governance’:

(Australian Research Council)’ – Led by Professor Carey Curtis, Dr Crystal Legacy, and Dr John Stone (University of Melbourne), Louise is a co-Investigator. The research explores the rapidly changing political economy of Australia’s urban transport systems as private companies deploy new technologies, such as platform services and automation. Many new and existing policy instruments are available to governments to manage this difficult technological transition. In-depth case studies of emerging policy responses in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will be set in the context of fast-moving international developments to explore these issues. This work will deliver new insights into the design and use of better instruments for policy, planning and governance to meet the needs of businesses and the public in this rapidly changing context and to ensure that the potential benefits of the new technologies are fully realised in Australian cities.

‘Facilitating Policy Change for Low Carbon Mobility: The Role of Multilevel Governance’

(CREDS/EPSRC). Louise was PI of this project, collaborating with Dr Timea Nochta (University of Birmingham) and Dr Li Wan (University of Cambridge). Urgent and significant change in transport policy is required if the UK wants to meet its net-zero ambitions. This project uses interpretive network and problem analysis to identify the role multi-level governance plays in influencing local-level policy responses towards low carbon mobility.

The project compares the multi-level governance of two city regions: Birmingham and Cambridge, using original data from policy documents, participatory mapping workshops and semi-structured interviews. In doing so, the project provides important and timely recommendations for ways current UK governance arrangements can be supported to enable more effective local policy responses towards low carbon mobility. More information on the project can be found on the CREDS website.

UNDER REFORM (ESRC/ICSSR):

Louise was co-Investigator of ‘UNDERstanding Indian Urban Governance REFORM: A comparative analysis of the Smart City Mission reforms and their impact on sustainable urban mobility’. This project was an interdisciplinary collaboration led by Prof. Greg Marsden, University of Leeds, alongside Prof. Sanjay Gupta, School of Planning and Architecture Delhi (SPA), Prof. Ashish Verma, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the World Resources Institute.

This research had two primary aims. The first was to develop cutting edge, theoretically informed insights into the nature of mobility governance reform in India’s smart cities and their potential to generate more sustainable urban mobility. The second aim was to bring together, develop and inspire a community of researchers and practitioners to advance the study and understanding of mobility governance across India and between the UK and India. More information on the project can be found on the Under Reform website.

Louise is co-Chair of the Governance and Decision-making Processes Special Interest Group of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS). The aim of the special interest group is to transform the ways in which the formation and delivery of transport policies are understood within the research community and amongst policymakers and practitioners, with the aim of accelerating the adoption of more inclusive and sustainable transport futures.