Glasgow Changing Futures

Team overview

The team at GCF works to connect people, spark ideas, and create new practices across the University, ensuring the programme is embedded and able to generate meaningful advancements. We also foster relationships with a range of stakeholders in communities, the public and third sectors, and industry to co-create solutions that advance the wellbeing of people and the planet.

Some team members focus solely on GCF, whilst others are also part of different University teams and programmes. This model enables us to build the understanding and relationships needed to mobilise the programme effectively and champion the collaborative ethos that sits at the heart of our work. 

Dr Maria McPhillips

Collaborative Futures Lead

Maria leads on GCF’s ‘Collaborative Futures’ theme, focusing on the internal conditions needed to support future challenge-focussed research teams, projects, partnerships and solutions. 
 
This approach distinctively positions GCF as both outward-looking and inward-strengthening and embodies our institutional commitment to valuing how we do things as much as what we do. 

As Challenge Programmes Director, Maria also leads the Strategic Research Initiatives portfolio. 

Whilst distinct, both programmes share the goal of enhancing the University’s collaborative environment, ambition and culture to ensure a strong future for our activities addressing complex research and societal challenges.

Prof. Petra Meier

Healthy and Equitable Futures Lead

Petra leads on Glasgow Changing Futures' "Healthy and Equitable Futures" challenge, aiming to mobilise the University's collective strengths to reimagine and shape a future in which everyone can enjoy a long, fulfilled life founded on a basis of good physical and mental health.

Petra is a Professor of Public Health, the founder of the Healthy Social Systems Lab, and the lead of Policy Modelling for Health, a UKRI-funded research consortium focused on the effect of public policy on economic wellbeing and health. She is also a co-PI of GALLANT (NERC-funded), a city–university partnership using Glasgow as a living lab to develop whole-systems solutions for a just and sustainable transition to climate resilience.

Her work sits at the intersection of systems science, public policy, and institutional leadership, with a sustained focus on reducing health and social inequalities.

Prof. Jaime L. Toney

Sustainable Futures Lead

Jaime leads Glasgow Changing Futures’ “Sustainable Futures” challenge area, aiming to enhance network-based partnerships that allow us to understand the complexity of the challenges created by our changing climate and collaborate toward meaningful solutions.  

She develops cross-discipline and cross-sector relationships that build opportunities and capacity for the University to drive transformative change toward sustainable futures.  

Jaime is a Professor of Environmental and Climate Science, Co-Founder and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Solutions and the Principal Investigator of GALLANT, a NERC-funded research programme that is addressing the city’s key environmental challenges while considering the co-benefits and trade-offs for public health, wellbeing, and the economy.

Dr Emma Källblad

GCF Senior Programme Manager 

Emma is responsible for leading and managing the GCF operations team, leading strategic project work and reporting, and making a significant contribution to shaping service delivery and the strategic direction of the overall programme.

She also works in close partnership with colleagues from across the University and external partners on opportunities to co-develop projects. 

Emma brings deep expertise in strategic and transformational change, sustainability, and higher‑education policy, strengthened by significant international advisory experience and a research background.

Kasia Kokowska

GCF Communications Specialist

Kasia provides professional communications expertise to enable the ambitions and objectives of GCF through leading on the development and delivery of strategic communications that support the programme delivery and articulate GCF’s vision and roadmap to internal and external audiences. 

As part of her role, Kasia supports communications for Scotland Beyond Net Zero and is a member of the Communications Subcommittee of the U21 Nature Positive Coalition. 

She’s a member of the Research Communications Team and contributes to their activities by providing expertise in content creation and process improvement. 

Kasia is a communications professional with a background in journalism and science communications and two decades of experience in academia, research and tech.

Dr Ashley Lewis-Cole

Healthy and Equitable Futures Challenge Area Project Manager

Ashley provides wide-ranging professional and organisational support to the academic lead of the Healthy & Equitable Futures challenge area. 

Dr Maria Lima

GCF Programme Administrator

Maria provides high-level administrative, operational, and event management support to ensure the successful delivery of Glasgow Changing Futures. She leads on designing, organising, and evaluating a varied programme of in-person, online, and hybrid events, while serving as a key point of contact for GCF.

She manages data, budgets and internal funding processes and builds strong relationships with colleagues across the University and external partners.

Maria is also a member of the Research Services Operations team and contributes by improving systems, ensuring service quality, and supporting operational resilience across the directorate.

Maria’s background is in molecular biology and biochemistry, and she’s an experienced researcher and research development professional. 

Craig McLenaghan

GCF Programme Coordinator

Craig’s role focuses on developing robust processes and data informed systems that support delivery of the strategic programme. This includes establishing and managing the GCF Seed Fund and implementing a stewardship approach that supports applicants and recipients throughout their engagement. 
 
Craig brings together insight from funding activity, stakeholder relationships, and impact evidence to strengthen learning, partnerships, and decision making. His role also enhances reporting and evaluation practices, supports the growth of GCF’s stakeholder network, and leads the design and delivery of the programme’s first impact evaluation framework. 

Craig joined GCF from the Careers, Employability and Opportunity team at UofG, where he supported employer engagement across the institution.  

Nicola Smock

Sustainable Futures Challenge Area Project Manager

Nicola is also the Centre for Sustainable Solutions Manager.

She is responsible for the delivery of initiatives and activities that align the objectives of Glasgow Changing Futures' Sustainable Futures challenge area with the Centre for Sustainable Solutions and the wider University community.

Building relationships with strategic partners across multiple disciplines and organisations, she identifies and enables opportunities for collaboration to lead and support process and policy change around sustainability. 

Nicola brings expertise in collaborative practice with experience in event coordination, stakeholder engagement, and research‑support operations.

Dr Emma Waters

GCF Executive Assistant

Emma is currently on secondment to Glasgow Changing Futures and has contributed to projects including the intersection of Glasgow Changing Futures and Learning and Teaching at the University of Glasgow, exploring opportunities in Civic Engagement and stewardship of challenge-led interdisciplinary seed funds.  

Emma's substantive post is in the Research Culture and Researcher Development Team as Research Development Specialist (PGRs).  

Emma has been at the University of Glasgow since 2022 with a strong background in Learning, Teaching and Scholarship, including the award of an Early Career Teaching Excellence Award in 2023.