Professor Sarah Pearson is Dean of Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (RIKE). She is responsible for delivery of the University’s RIKE strategy.

She is Director of the Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness, funded by UK Research and Innovation through its strategic priority to Create Opportunities and Improve Outcomes.

Sarah is an experienced research leader. She joined Hallam as a Research Associate in 1997 in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR). She has been both Deputy and Interim Director of CRESR, and Director of the Social and Economic Research Institute.

Her academic background is in social policy and sociology. Her research focuses on community participation and engagement, and evaluation theory and practice.