ALEX MONEY

The latest edition of the RI Quarterly, produced by the UN Principles of Responsible Investment (UN PRI) is a good read, and I'm not saying that simply because I have a bit part in it. Actually, who am I kidding. That is exactly why I am publicising it. But beyond the article on fintech, I would commend the piece about incorporating human rights issues into ESG and investment valuation. It's a tricky one. We were approached early last year by a big investor who wanted to know

So there a lots of great conferences, and the challenge for most people is finding the time and budget to attend the ones most relevant to them. I am delighted to have been invited by Roy Brower of the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo to participate a conference on the role of water technology innovation in the Blue Economy, taking place in September. Roy, and Mark van Loosdrecht of Delft, the co-chairs are the editors in chief of the Elsevier journals Water Res

We've just finished 'Nougth Week' - the one before the formal start of the new term. In my department, it is also the week when first year PhD candidates give a presentation on what their proposed research idea is. It's part of a formal 'transfer of status' procedure where the proposal is assessed, and where necessary modified, before candidates embark on substantive research in the field (or the library). The process is a bit daunting for the candidates, as in most cases, th

This week we bade a fond farewell to Daniel Tulloch who is leaving the Smith School to do something exciting around electricity market regulation in New Zealand. Okay, 'exciting' might be overselling it, but it's a terrific opportunity. It is always a bit sad when colleagues leave, but I've come to see that it is a prerequisite for progressive academic research. Oxford is a pretty comfortable environment, and it would be easy, I am sure, to happily plough my own little furrow

The call for abstracts has recently opened for 2017's World Water Week in Stockholm. I love this event - had the opportunity to give a talk this year to a gratifyingly full room - and you're virtually guaranteed to make at least one meaningful connection while you're there. Plus, it's a pretty cool city. So, I'm keen to go again, but it's tricky for me to justify the time out unless I'm presenting something, so I've been scouring the themes to see what I might have a punt at.

My Department's Annual Review came out today, and a cracking read it is too. Billed as a snapshot of the School of Geography and the Environment, it sheds light on things like how much money the department raises each year, where the grants are coming from, and the amounts we're getting. I've worked for and even (ahem) help run companies where nothing like this level of disclosure was available to employees. I think the report is excellent - concise, accessible and engaging.

I participated in my first Whitewall 'ideation session' in Oxford today, led by the redoubtable Lucas Kruitwagen. Over two hours at sunny Mansfield College, seven colleagues from the Smith School and INET started off with some brainstorming warmup, before establishing some large questions, and then did a few rounds of divergent/convergent thinking to get to some concrete ideas. Having grown up in an era when 'brainstorming' gave us businesses like boo.com, my default switch i

I am delighted to have secured one of 16 grants awarded by the British Academy, under their Sustainable Development Programme. The grant will fund a major research project to further sustainable development and work to eliminate poverty. This programme from the British Academy' is supported by the UK government's £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund. My project, entitled 'Making Light Work' focuses on a unique model for delivering utility-scale solar powered electrici