Professor Matthew Cook

Professional biography

Matthew's research interests are in innovation.  Drawing on several related literatures (including sciene and technology studies, urban studies, complex systems, transition management and spatial planning) he follows a socio-technical approach to understanding these complex pocesses.  This novel approach recognises the instrumental value of technologies in achieveing desirable outcomes such as imporvements in resource productivity and crucially, the meanings they recreat when combined with the social in various contexts, e.g. firms, urban environments.  His current research fosuses on three main topic areas:

1 Critical perspectives on innovation to promote smart and more sustainable urban futures

2 Fluid transitions to more sustainable Product Service Systems

3 Inducing, shaping and modulating sustainable innovation journeys in pursuit of circular economies

Matthew uses a variety of qualitative research methods in his work including longitudinal case study, ethnography and discourse analysis.

Matthew's teaching interests are in innovation.  He is presentation chair of the post graduate module T849 Strategic Capabilities for Technological Innovation.  He is also lead author of a new block concerned with cities and sustainability which will form part of the revised module U116 Environment: Journeys Through a Changing World.

Matthew has worked on both research and teaching projects with a variety of industrial and non-industrial partners including Western Power Distribution, The William Jackson Food Group, Milton Keynes Council, Defra, CGI.

Matthew has strong international links with universities in Northern Europe.  He has worked on complex system approaches to urban planning with Drs Ward Rauws and Terry van Dijk from Groningen University, The Netherlands.  He has a strong relationship around teaching and research projects focused on product service systems in cities with Professor Tim McAloone, Danish Technical University, Denmark.  

Finally, he has developed an effective and enduring collaboration on sustainability and innovation in both cities and the food and farming sector with the Swedish Life Sciences University, Uppsala, Sweden, where he is now August T Larsson Visiting Scholar.