I am an expert in learning, development and employability. I specialise in learning in Higher Education and in work organization settings.  I am committed to the integration of research, scholarship, practice, teaching and learning.

I am an expert member of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Technical Committee focused on Human Capital Management and the Convenor of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Working Group developing the first International Standard for Learning and Development. 

I am Professor of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Education in the Faculty of Business and Law with experience of working in operational and consultancy roles in private and public sector organizations prior to my academic career. I lead and supervise doctoral research for awards of both PhD and DBA. I am Co-Chair of the University Forum for Human Resource Development (UFHRD).

Formerly I initiated and led the successful Portsmouth University Graduate School Development Programme and served as DBA Director for the Portsmouth Doctorate in Business Administration programme. I was Co-Editor of the leading empirical journal in the HRD field - Human Resource Development Quarterly from 2016-2019. I am a member of the Editorial Boards of Human Resource Development International, Human Resource Development Review, and European Journal of Training and Development.

In addition to funded research leading to academic publications I have undertaken a range of practice-based research projects and authored over 15 practitioner tools, webinars and reports. I am a member of the steering group for the annual International CIPD Applied Research Conference. I am the leading author of a leading textbook - Research Methods in Human Resource Management, currently in its 4th edition.

Research – past and present

I am currently doing research into the standards and standardization in emerging professions focusing specifically on standards in Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development. This work led to the publication of the first comprehensive guide to the BSI and ISO frameworks for people management - https://www.koganpage.com/product/human-capital-management-standards-9780749484347

I am also actively engaged in taking forward research into employability arising from an award of £144,000 by HEFCE / OfS to examine stakeholder perspectives of learning gain from Higher Education - https://srheblog.com/2019/01/18/learning-gain-expectations-the-parental-perspective/

In the past, I have undertaken varied research projects, into learning and education-related topics such as: managerial coaching; technology and learning; academic agency and academic practice; experiential learning; the value of the research doctorate and the strategic evaluation of learning in organizational settings.

I have published 2 books, (one in its 4^th edition); 17 professional publications; 6 book chapters and 26 journal papers with further papers currently under review and under development.

I teach on a variety of Business School and Doctoral Level Graduate School courses. My current teaching focuses on: Technology and education – especially online programme development; Qualitative Research Methods; Publication and Dissemination; Research Design; Human Resource Development. I have specific expertise in teaching professional education programmes.

In 2012 I established the Portsmouth Business Education Research Group to promote research informed excellence in business education, focussing specifically on:  Technology Enhanced Learning; Pedagogy; Employability and Entrepreneurship; Management and Leadership Development; Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning.

I have successfully supported doctoral students to completion on diverse topics including:

• The strategic value and evaluation of learning by organizations
• HRM in offshoring outsource organizations in India
• Technology enhanced learning in the workplace
• Emotional Labour and Professional Practice
• Talent Management