Our Team
Our team is made up of dedicated individuals who are passionate about improving research quality, transparency, and culture. Their background and experience allows them to bridge the gap between strategic planning and practical delivery, ensuring that UKRN’s initiatives run smoothly and effectively. They are the people behind the scenes who keep everything connected, responsive, and aligned with our mission.
Elle Chilton-Knight
Elle is the Project Officer and EDI Champion (Training) for the Open Research Programme, where she manages a national train-the-trainer programme aimed at improving the uptake of Open Research practices in UK institutions. Elle brings extensive experience in research and project management, stakeholder engagement, communications and events from roles across Health and Life Sciences, Arts, Social Sciences, and Research and Enterprise at the University of Bristol.
Elle holds an MSc International Security (Bristol) and BA Politics (Newcastle) and is a dedicated advocate for research staff representation and improving research culture, as demonstrated in her roles as Chair of University of Bristol UNISON and previous work supporting the Inclusive Research Collective.
Part time, usual working days Monday-Thursday AM.
Amy Devenney
Amy Devenney is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, where she leads the COMET study team. She brings an interdisciplinary approach shaped by her academic expertise in medieval studies and her professional background in scholarly communications.
Amy holds a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Leeds and has held roles across UK academic libraries and at Jisc, where she supported the national licensing and negotiation activity with data-driven insights and evidence.
Will Gawned
Will qualified as a biologist, educator and creative writer, and is an experienced improv theatre instructor and performer. He has worked in University professional services in Australia and the UK since 2000, and with UKRN since 2019 initially in the role of administrator and as community manager since 2023. In his current role he fosters community activity, especially with the Local Network Lead member group, facilitating meetings and events, and leads on the UKRN Ground-Up project. Will is interested in fostering effective human connection for collaboration, the role of reproducibility in performance arts, and games-based approaches to learning.
Part time, usual working days Tuesday – Friday.
Diane Hird
A plant molecular biologist by training, Diane has worked within research, academic publishing and research management. She has created national and international training programmes, networking events and public outreach resources. In her current role as Project Officer for the Ground-Up project, she provides opportunities for researchers to share good research practice, this includes creating resources, videos, in-person and online events. Diane is interested in the different methodologies used within research disciplines and is keen to enable researchers to understand and appreciate their different approaches so that together they can tackle complex challenges.
Part time, usual working days Monday – Thursday.
Neil Jacobs
Neil Jacobs is Head of the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) Open Research Programme. With a background in library and information science, Neil has held senior roles in research policy and open science, including at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Jisc, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He brings extensive experience in research integrity, scholarly communication, and open research infrastructure. Neil holds a PhD from Loughborough University and currently also serves as Chair of the Supervisory Board for the Directory of Open Access Books.
Nicola Payne
With a career spanning both higher education and business, Nicola has extensive experience in funding, policy, and organisational leadership. In higher education, she has written funding bids on behalf of universities and worked at the Higher Education Funding Council, where she assessed bids, developed funding policy, and served on the Senior Management Team, focusing on the role of higher education in regional economic development.
Outside the HE sector, Nicola founded and led a digital marketing agency as Managing Director, overseeing people, processes, and financial strategy. She is also an experienced executive coach, with a particular interest in supporting career development and building high-performing teams.
In her current role, Nicola coordinates projects across the Open Research Programme, bringing together expertise from a range of areas to support collaboration and the sharing of best practice.
Part time, usual working days Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Rhian Pennie
Rhian is a recent university graduate with a strong foundation in laboratory techniques and statistical data analysis. She has a passion for science communication and is particularly enthusiastic about making research accessible to a wide audience. Rhian enjoys working in diverse teams and brings a customer-first mindset from her previous experience in customer service. She also has a keen interest in presenting and public engagement. Outside of work, Rhian finds balance through yoga and long walks, which help her recharge and stay focused.
Clare Williams
Clare joined the University of Bristol in 2003, and has worked as project coordinator for a number of multimillion-pound scientific research initiatives. She brings extensive experience in managing complex projects and supporting academic teams. In addition to her coordination expertise, Clare has strong skills in web design and development, and contributes to the maintenance of the UKRN’s website as well as it’s social media sites.
Part time, usual working days Tuesday and Friday
Lizzie Ville
Lizzie is a social researcher with a career spanning the charity sector, local government, and academia. She currently works as a Research Associate on the UK Reproducibility Network’s COMET project at the University of Bristol, investigating evidence use in decisions affecting research cultures within higher education. Most recently she worked at feminist charity the Fawcett Society, leading research and developing evidence-based recommendations e.g., on racism and misogyny in public services and exclusionary workplace cultures within the tech industry and Parliament. Lizzie is strongly motivated to help improve academic research culture and ensure that change is supported by evidence.