Natasha Grist specialises in climate change, food systems, farming and international development, aiming to influence strategy and technical programmes that improve people’s farming practices and livelihoods across the world.

Natasha returned to UEA in January 2020, teaching on agriculture and climate change. From November 2020, Natasha is funded by the John Innes Foundation to address the urgent challenges of agriculture, food security and sustainable development. She is fostering a coherent programme of research, policy engagement activity and capacity building, bringing together the wealth of science research at UEA, Tyndall Centre, the John Innes Centre and the wider Norwich Research Park, and their national and international partners.  

During her ten years before this at the Overseas Development Institute and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Natasha’s applied research focussed on agriculture and biogas. These examined  the processes of how innovations to improve livelihoods and reduce impacts of climate change are embedded on-farm and in communities in developing countries, and how institutions mainstream climate resilience into strategy and programming.  This included technical policy advice, programme design and evaluation and stakeholder engagement at all levels. She was Head of Research for the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), establishing a £13m research fund with innovative funding streams, capacity building and partnerships development.

Natasha is an Affiliate Member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, contributing to the themes 'Overcoming Poverty with Climate Actions' and 'Building Resilience'.  She completed her PhD at UEA  in 2005, and a post-doc at Tyndall UEA in 2008 and has international experience in many countries in East and West Africa, and Brazil and Nepal.

Natasha’s research and work interests focus on:

1. How to integrate impacts of climate change into food systems, farming and agricultural value chains, improving their resilience through better understanding and application of climate change science and improved, responsive organisational processes.

2. How to integrate development priorities of poverty reduction and health with building resilience to climate change and mitigation of carbon emissions through clean development pathways.

Natasha is currently completing a journal article relating to an inclusive development biogas programme in Kenya. This programme is ongoing. For more details see: https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/resources/natural-resource-security-publications/clean-fuel-switch