Professor Karen Vella

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Program Leader, Human dimensions and governance

PhD (University of Queensland)

Professor Karen Vella (BRTP Hons, PHD) is an urban and environmental planner and Head of the School of Architecture and Built Environment.  Professor Vella leads a multidisciplinary team of scholars who teach and conduct research in architecture and design, planning, construction, and evaluation in support of built environments that meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The team that Professor Vella leads combines complementary disciplinary strengths in architecture and the built environment to equip students and professionals with the skills and knowledge to take sustainability action in a complex world. New research initiatives draw on deep disciplinary strengths and emerging methodologies to solve real-world problems in the built environment in partnership with industry.

Professor Vella leads high impact multidisciplinary projects on the human dimensions of environmental sustainability problems with a particular focus on supporting effective environmental governance and community resilience building in the context of environmental change.  Her projects bring social scientists, engineers, bio-physical scientists, mathematicians, legal scholars and design professionals together to identify evidenced-based solutions to support sustainability outcomes. Professor Vella is an experienced leader of major research projects in the Great Barrier Reef, urban and regional communities, as well as in international contexts. Her research research has been directly translated into policy and legislation, governance practices and monitoring systems at state/territory and national levels.

Projects (Chief investigator)

Projects

Additional information

Experience

Professor Vella provides advice to government as a member of the Human Dimensions Working Group for the Queensland Office of the Great Barrier Reef and the Community Reef Protection Working Group for the Reef Trust Partnership, administered by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Since April 2017,  Professor Vella has also been a Director of the Board of Reef Check Australia, an environmental charity for citizen science and reef conservation.  Professor Vella has more than 15 years practical planning and delivery experience in a range of strategic and regional planning contexts in Australia and Internationally.  Previous roles held include: Manager NRM Plan Wet Tropics, Terrain Natural Resource Management Project Manager/Acting Manager of Social Science Research and Monitoring, Australian Government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Post Doctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, and PhD Candidate, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Planning Officer, Department of Local Government and Planning & Local Government Association of Queensland Planning Assistant - Department of Main Roads, Brannock Humphreys Planning and Environment Consultants, Cairns City Council, Mulgrave Shire Council.

Awards

Type
Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
Reference year
2017
Details
Member of the Human Dimensions Expert Group for the Reef Integrated Research and Monitoring Program (RIMReP) for the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Community
Reference year
2017
Details
Director on the Board of Reef Check Australia and the Reef Check Foundation, a registered environmental organization and Australian charity focused on engaging people in hands on citizen science and conservation.
Type
Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2017
Details
Editor for the Routledge Australian Handbook of Urban and Regional Planning. This work "the most comprehensive survey of Australian planning that has been produced" (Glesson), brings together over 40 scholars to address critical topics in Australian urban and regional planning.
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2017
Details
State of Australian Cities Biannual Conference. Keynote panelist on 'urban resilience'
Type
Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
Reference year
2016
Details
Assessor for ARC Discovery Applications in 2014 and 2016
Type
Funding Award
Reference year
2016
Details
Catapult Grant. $28,334 Vella, Northdurft, Sloss, Baker, Gibbs 'Monitoring and reducing human impacts on water quality entering the GBR through best practice urban planning and management'.
Type
Funding Award
Reference year
2014
Details
SEF Learning and Teaching Grant (2014) "The benefits and constraints of planning studio teaching to address complex educational challenges and improve outcomes" $15,000.00

Publications

Research Projects

Title
Cost-Effective Indicators and Metrics for key GBRWHA Human and Governance Dimensions and Values Linked to Specific Objectives and Targets in the Reef 2050 Plan
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
Start year
2017
Keywords
Governance Dimensions of Reef Management; Human Dimensions; Indicators; Indigenous Dimensions of Reef Management; Reef 2050
Title
Monitoring and Adaptively Reducing System-Wide Governance Risks Facing the GBR
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
3.11
Start year
Keywords
Governance; Outcomes; Policy; Regulation; Risk
Title
The impact of governance on regional natural resource planning
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
LP130100933
Start year
2014
Keywords
Regional Governance; Land Use Planning; Sustainable Environments

Current Supervisions

Completed Supervisions (Doctorate)

Completed Supervisions (Masters by Research)