Alexandra Collins

Alexandra Collins is an Associate Professor in Environmental Sustainability at the Centre for Environmental Policy, part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London. Her work focuses on integrating environmental decision-making with societal benefits through ecosystem services and natural capital frameworks. She is affiliated with the Grantham Institute, Human Behaviour and Experience Network, and Ocean Plastic Solutions Network, among others.

Education: BSc Biological Sciences (University of Bristol), MSc Environmental Technology (Imperial College London), PhD Environmental Research (Imperial College London). She has held roles including a NERC Policy Fellowship and a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship with Defra.

Research interests include holistic approaches to environmental challenges, societal benefits from green/blue spaces, participatory methods in decision-making, and co-production of knowledge. Current projects include the NERC-funded CAMELLIA project (urban water management) and the EU-funded HEART project (blue-green technologies for urban health). Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary systems thinking and stakeholder engagement.

Publications span evidence-based policy, ecosystem service valuation, and climate-resilient infrastructure. She has collaborated with governments (UK, EU), NGOs, and international organizations to translate research into actionable strategies. Her recent work addresses barriers to flood adaptation, Indigenous inclusion in water governance, and multi-use offshore systems.

Advising & Grants: Supervises PhD research on cultural ecosystem services and participatory catchment management. Co-investigator on major grants including £4.2M NERC CAMELLIA project. Active in developing decision-support tools for green infrastructure investments through the Nature Smart Cities initiative.

Labs/Teams: Core member of the Centre for Environmental Policy, leading interdisciplinary teams on urban sustainability and environmental governance. Engages with cross-sectoral partnerships to bridge science-policy-practice gaps.