We are delighted to announce that Sarah Allan, previously Director of Capacity Building and Standards, has moved into the exciting new role of Director of Climate Programmes at Involve.
As seen around the world, we can’t get to net zero without engaging people from all walks of life. If people aren't part of shaping climate policies, policy makers risk missing the opportunity to move forward on areas that have public support and to do so in a way that is fair. Public engagement on climate change has formed an increasing part of our work in recent years, and we are proud to be bolstering our commitment to this with today’s announcement.
Done well, public engagement in climate decision making can give politicians and officials confidence to take action on climate, knowing that they have heard and acted on the views of both the “silent majority” and those groups likely to be disproportionately affected.
Sarah’s work on climate change ranges from leading Climate Assembly UK for six select committees of the House of Commons, to founding Involve’s Local Climate Engagement Programme for local authorities, to running hyper local engagement on a fair transition. She is the (co)author of research reports, policy papers and practical guides on different aspects of public participation on climate change.
Public engagement is vital to efforts to address climate change. Without it, we cannot reach net zero, adapt to our changing world, or achieve either of these goals fairly. The good news is that Involve and others already know so much about how to do public engagement on climate well. I am looking forward to building on Involve’s impressive track record, to support, deliver and make the case for public engagement that helps to achieve our climate targets.
Carly Walker-Dawson, previously Head of Capacity Building and Standards, will be taking the role of Director of Capacity Building and Standards as Sarah steps into her exciting new position. Carly will be responsible for overseeing the crucial work of the function, which aims to build capacity both inside and outside of public institutions for effective public participation in decision-making. Carly brings with her the experience developed in her time as Head of CB&S and will oversee the functions work in offering training, mentoring programmes, network building and communities of practice, good practice guides and strategic support to organisations and institutions in the public, private and third sector.
I am excited to take on this leadership role within the Capacity Building and Standards function so we can support even more organisations and institutions to reap the benefits of public engagement in decision-making. I am looking forward to thinking about how we evidence our work and maximise our impact at Involve, how we can celebrate and build on good practice happening across the participatory and deliberative democracy field, and how we can better respond to the needs of those we work with by meeting them where they’re at and providing them with the support, tools and confidence to do high quality public engagement themselves.