Claire is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Exeter where she teaches a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses on policy theories, analysis and regulation. Claire holds a first-class BA in Politics, MSc in Public Policy and PhD in all from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. In 2019, she became Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and in 2020 was conferred the honour of Fellow of the Joint University Council (FJUC) for services to public administration scholarship.
Claire’s research interests lie in the politics of expertise and knowledge utilization; epistemic communities and advisory politics; risk governance; policy learning and analysis; impact assessment; and social science’s policy relevance. She explores these conceptual interests at the UK and EU levels principally, and most frequently in relation to agricultural, environmental and LGBT issues.
Claire has been an editor of Public Policy and Administration since 2014 and in 2021 becomes an editor of Policy & Politics. Claire is a trustee of the UK Political Studies Association (PSA) and from 2020-2023 will be the associations Vice Chair. She also sits on various editorial boards and is a College member of the International Public Policy Association (IPPA). Claire has taught on Masters in Public Administration courses in the UK, France, Hong Kong, Netherlands, and United States.
Away from the office, Claire spends most weekends and holidays birdwatching with her wonderful girlfriend Kaye, and travels the world for exceptional birds and abstract expressionist art. She has a broad taste in music and is trying to develop an encyclopaedic knowledge of The Beatles. Claire is a long-suffering supporter of her home town team Rangers.