Ruth Lightbody

Ruth Lightbody is a senior lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She joined Glasgow Caledonian University in 2014 after completing an MSc in Political Research from the University of Strathclyde. She was awarded a PhD from the University of the West of Scotland in 2016 which looked at the role of public hearings in institutionalising deliberative democracy to promote environmental policy making.

Ruth's principle research interests are deliberative democracy, public participation and community engagement, and how they can be used to implement policy changes which tackle social inequalities and environmental issues. She has established a reputation as a renowned expert in the area of deliberative democracy and community engagement, providing guidance to the Scottish Government, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, What Works Scotland and other third sector organisations, policy actors and organisers of democratic innovations.

Ruth was awarded a Fellowship at the Scottish Parliament in 2023 exploring the core principles of participative democracy and developing a framework for measuring impact.