Imogen Bayfield

Imogen Bayfield is a Researcher at the Research Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University. Her work focuses on social cohesion, community empowerment, and organizational governance through ethnographic research. She holds a Doctorate in Sociology, Anthropology, and Development Studies from Coventry University (2022), an MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies from SOAS (2017), and a Degree in Anthropology from Durham University (2013).

• PhD Thesis: Communities in Control? The Dilemma of Empowerment in Participatory Community Development

Her research explores the state-civil society nexus, collective organizing in crisis contexts, and the role of communities in socio-political systems. Recent studies include analyses of moral orientations in organizational habitus and pandemic-driven community agility.

Key research interests include participatory development, civic engagement, and intersectional analysis of inequalities. She has contributed to consultancy projects on social cohesion and organizational culture, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives.

• Awards: Best student on MA Migration and Diaspora Studies (SOAS, 2017)

Bayfield actively participates in academic networks, including the British Sociological Association and European Association of Social Anthropologists. She has delivered invited talks and organized conferences on topics ranging from crisis management to organizational ethnography.