Prof. Nicola Beaumont

Professor Nicola Beaumont is the Mission Network Lead for Sustainable Marine Economy at the National Oceanography Centre. She is an internationally established expert in the assessment and valuation of marine biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital. Her research spans scales from local to global, and a variety of environmental challenges, including: renewable energy, plastics, nitrogen pollution, flood and erosion management, climate change, ocean acidification, and marine planning and policy. Nicola has honorary professorships at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, and the College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Nicola has published more than 80 peer reviewed publications, and is an editor for the Journals of Environmental Economics and Policy, and Coastal Futures. Nicola has also published influential reports, including for the UK Cabinet Office, the European Marine Board, Defra, and the Crown Estate. She has evidenced impact in the international policy sphere, and has contributed to a number of high-level reports, including acting as the lead economist for marine and coastal margins for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) and The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review.

 

Nicola has extensive project management experience and as lead investigator, she has secured and managed >£10 million of research funding, including leading four large (£1 million+) multi-institute collaborative projects. Including co-investigator roles, she has contributed to over 50 research projects. She has a particular interest in interdisciplinary research, and has written numerous guides and spoken extensively on this topic, providing both leadership and training in this area.

 

Nicola is skilled in research communication including working with academics, policy makers, managers and varied research user groups. She embraces outreach and media, including festival related STEM activities, YouTube, and interviews with radio, newspaper and television. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is of paramount importance to Nicola and she is experienced in the development and implementation of EDI strategies. As a senior academic Nicola draws on her people management skills to support and guide numerous teams, colleagues, and students, including formal and informal mentoring.