Chay Brooks

Chay is a Lecturer in International Entrepreneurship at the University of Sheffield.

Chay completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge which explored the geographies of American philanthropy and its emergence as a catalyst of economic, political and social change. Chay was Director of Studies in Geography at Queens' College, University of Cambridge until 2015. Chay joined Sheffield University Management School in 2014 as a Research Associate focusing on local economic development within the region. This was followed by a prominent role within the ESRC-Innovate UK Innovation Caucus providing social science insights to inform the future directions of UK innovation policy.

Chay is a member of the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED). Chay's research explores the development and practices of entrepreneurial philanthropy, specifically how philanthropy works to shape economies and societies through the support of institutions and direct engagement in projects. This includes exploring the social responsibilities of international foundations, corporate philanthropies and the philosophies of philanthropic giving at regional and international scales.

Chay has wider interests in the role of institutions as forces that shape enterprise and innovation on a regional scale. He has a strong research background in regional economic development which has been developed through a combination of academic and practitioner-focused outputs with national and regional policy makers and stakeholders.