Mark Reed

Mark Reed is a Professor of Rural Entrepreneurship and Director of the Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). He holds visiting professorships at the University of Leeds, Birmingham City University, and Newcastle University (pending). His research focuses on environmental governance, research impact, and sustainable agricultural systems. He has led over £4M in projects as Principal Investigator and contributed to £30M in collaborative research. His work emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches, particularly in peatland restoration, ecosystem markets, and UN policy engagement.

• Key Roles: Research Manager for IUCN UK Peatland Programme, Member of UKRI-BBSRC’s Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Panel, and UN Global Peatlands Initiative.
• Education: PhD completed in 2005, with extensive post-doctoral contributions across 30+ countries.

Reed’s research interests span environmental decision-making frameworks, participatory technologies, and decolonizing engagement language. He has authored/co-authored over 100 journal articles, 3 books, and 60 reports, with a Google Scholar H-index of 64. His work has been cited over 20,000 times, including 4 papers with >1,000 citations.

He advises international bodies like the IPCC, IPBES, and UK Government on climate policy, land use, and peatland conservation. His company, Fast Track Impact, trains researchers globally to enhance societal impact. Recent projects include the Wet Horizons initiative and Greenhouse Gas Removal via Peatlands.

Awards: ESRC Michael Young Prize (2008), Royal Society Award for Changing Research Culture (2018), and multiple shortlistings for environmental accolades.

Grants & Funding: Led 19 projects as PI; contributed to over 30 initiatives. Notable grants include RESAS 22-27 (Scottish Government) and Global Peatlands Research Funding.

Labs & Teams: Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre, IUCN Peatland Programme, and UN Global Peatlands Initiative.