Dr. Lauren Lecuyer

Senior Research Scientist

Just Economies and Human Well-Being Impact Area

Phone
+41 31 684 69 27
E-Mail
lauren.lecuyer@unibe.ch
Office
255
Postal Address
Dr. Lauren Lecuyer
Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)
University of Bern
Mittelstrasse 43
CH-3012 Bern

Areas of professional focus at CDE

  • Climate Governance & Democracy
    • Analysis of the democratic deficit in climate policy.
    • Focus on climate democracy, i.e. inclusion, legitimacy, and participatory decision-making in climate governance.
    • Design and evaluation of institutional innovations to make climate action more democratic and locally grounded.
  • Policy Instruments & Institutional Innovation
    • Comparative study of climate change mitigation policy instruments (CCMPI) in agriculture.
    • Expertise in the sociology of policy instruments and procedural tools (e.g., participatory workshops, advisory committees, co-design mechanisms).
    • Application of instrumentation of public action to assess how policies are designed, implemented, and adapted in practice.
  • Agriculture & Mountain Livelihoods
  • Specialization in livestock farming systems in mountain regions (Colorado Rockies, Swiss Alps, Kenyan Highlands).
    • Study of agriculture as both a GHG emitter and a provider of ecosystem services, biodiversity protection, and cultural heritage.
    • Emphasis on the resilience and adaptation of mountain farming to climate change.
  • Participatory and Transdisciplinary Methods
    • Design and facilitation of participatory workshops with farmers, policymakers, and associations.
    • Co-development of solutions with stakeholders (policy dialogues, collaborative governance models).
    • Experience bridging science and policy through transdisciplinary collaboration.

Projects

  • Sept 2025-Sept 2026: Return Post-Doc (SNF) "From Colorado to the Swiss Alps: Translating Research into Action for Mountain Policymakers and Livestock Farmers"

Further professional interests

  • Transformative Food Systems
    • Linking climate democracy with debates on sustainable and just food systems.
    • Exploring territorial governance of food systems in mountain regions (e.g., Valais) as laboratories for innovation.
    • Connecting agricultural transitions to broader debates on food security, sovereignty, and equity.
  • Comparative Climate Policy & Multi-Level Governance
    • Expanding the comparative lens beyond Colorado and Switzerland to Global South contexts (Kenya, Latin America).
    • Examining how federalism, decentralization, and local autonomy shape climate policy implementation.
    • Interest in policy transfer and translation of governance instruments across contexts.
  • Climate Finance and Just Transitions
    • Understanding how climate finance mechanisms (EU, CGIAR, FAO, development banks) influence agricultural policy.
    • Exploring how funding schemes can either enable or constrain inclusive transitions.
    • Linking democratic innovation with the politics of climate finance and justice.
  • Science–Policy Interfaces & Knowledge Co-Production
    • Developing methods for bridging research and policy-making, especially through participatory foresight tools.
    • Strengthening transdisciplinary collaborations between researchers, policymakers, and local practitioners.
    • Interest in theories of change as a framework for linking academic work with practical governance outcomes.
  • Resilience & Adaptation in Mountain Regions
    • Cross-regional focus on mountain areas as climate-sensitive socio-ecological systems.
    • Comparative studies of resilience strategies in the Rockies, Alps, and African highlands.
    • Connecting biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage, and agricultural transitions.
  • Emerging Research Interests
    • Climate democracy & digital tools → Using digital participatory platforms and deliberative technologies in rural/mountain governance.
    • Conflict and cooperation in natural resource governance → E.g., water, soil, rangeland management.
    • Evaluating impact of participatory tools → Developing metrics for legitimacy, inclusion, and policy effectiveness.

Field experience

United States, France, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Ghana

Languages

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan

  • European Consortium for Political Research- Member Standing Group on Democratic Innovations+Standing Group on Elites and Political Leadership
  • International Political Science Association (IPSA)
  • American Political Science Association (APSA)
  • Conference on Policy Process Research (COPPR)
  • HIGHLANDS.3- Collective Approach of Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development in Highland