Dr Emilie Vrain is a Senior Research Associate and was part of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia from 2007 - 2022. As of January 2022, she has moved to the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at The University of Oxford.

Her new email is emilie.vrain@eci.ox.ac.uk 

As a social scientist, her research uses both quantitative and qualitative methods, analysing factors which influence the adoption of sustainable innovations. Her current project at ECI is about the impacts of digitalised daily life on climate change. She is working with households to investigate how and why digital technologies are used as part of daily life at home and on the move.

Previously, Emilie worked on the ‘Social Influence and disruptive Low Carbon Innovations’ project at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, exploring social networks, communication behaviour and information sources related to a range of consumer-facing low carbon innovations.

Emilie also works closely with the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs to inform UK agri-environmental policy and post-Brexit strategies for environmental land management and farmer engagement. She has delivered a variety of policy reports on farmer behaviour change, farm advice and natural capital. She has led a national knowledge dissemination project as part of the Demonstration Test Catchments – a 10-year project which assessed the effectiveness of on-farm water pollution mitigation measures.

Prior to this, Emilie completed her PhD at UEA which investigated the role of farm advice and influencing factors on the uptake of on-farm diffuse water pollution mitigation measures across four agricultural contexts in the UK.

She has particular interest and specialism in knowledge exchange, qualitative research, translating science for policy development and has most recently developed skills in social network analysis and designing/analysing complex online surveys.

Low carbon digital innovations; Smart home technologies; Farmer behaviour change; Mixed methods research; Social network analysis; Agri-environment policy mechanisms