Brennan Lowery

Adjunct Faculty, Environmental Policy Institute, School of Science and the Environment, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University.

Manager, Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University.

PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland

bclowery@mun.ca

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Brennan Lowery is a passionate supporter of entrepreneurship and community-based innovation to address the complex challenges facing our world. With both academic and practical experience in social entrepreneurship and innovation, Brennan is developing a transdisciplinary research agenda on how rural and resource-based communities can use entrepreneurial strategies to enhance well-being and move towards sustainable development, which informs his hands-on efforts to support entrepreneurs in western Newfoundland. Brennan completed his doctorate in 2020 through Memorial University’s Interdisciplinary PhD program, specializing in environmental policy, human geography, and economics, and prior to joining Navigate held postdoctoral fellowships through the Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures project (based at the MUN Faculty of Business Administration) and later in the Marine Biomass Innovation project (based at Grenfell Campus). He has also been involved in hands-on economic development initiatives in the western Newfoundland region, such as the development of the recently opened Centre for Research and Innovation and is an active member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation. Brennan is an Adjunct Faculty with the Environmental Policy Institute, School of Science and the Environment and Manager of Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University.

Research Engagement

• Building resilient coastal communities through social and community enterprise
• Assessing the Factors Impacting the Sustainability of the Clarenville-Bonavista Rural Secretariat Region.

Thesis

• ‘Knowing beyond measurement’: Integrating sustainability indicators and storytelling in an alternative approach to sustainable development in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. (PhD Dissertation)

Publications

• Lowery, B, J. Dagevos, R. Chuenpagdee, K. Vodden. (2020). Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach. Sustainable Development 28(6): 1813-1826.
• Lowery, B, J. Dagevos, R. Chuenpagdee, K. Vodden. (2020). Goal-Driven or Data-Driven? Inventory of Sustainability Indicator Initiatives in Rural Canada. Sustainability 12(20): 8601.
• Stoddart, M., Catano, G., Ramos, H., Vodden, K., Lowery, B., & Butters, L. (2019). Collaboration gaps and regional tourism networks in rural coastal communities. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 28(4): 625-645.
• Devlin, J. & Lowery, B. (2019). Environmental policy: What are the options? In Routledge Handbook of Comparative Rural Policy, eds. Vittuari, M., Devlin, J., Pagani, M., & Johnson, T. (pp. 237-248). London: Routledge.
• State of Rural Canada Report (2019). Eds. Main, H., Breen, S., Collins, D., Lowery, B., Gaspard, V., Minnes, S., & Reimer, B. Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.
• Lowery, B. & Vodden, K. (2019). Analysis of Rural Asset Mapping Initiatives in Newfoundland and Labrador: Final Report. Report submitted to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Corner Brook, NL: Environmental Policy Institute, Grenfell Campus of Memorial University.

Presentations

• Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation/North Atlantic Forum Conference: “Sustainable Communities”, St. John’s, NL (October 2019).
• Centre for Maritime Research People and the Sea Conference: Learning from the Past, Imagining the Future, Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 2019).
• New Rural Story Forum, Norris Point, NL (May 2019).
• World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress, Chiang Mai, Thailand (October 2018).
• Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Annual Conference: “Health and Shared Prosperity”, Saskatoon, SK (October 2018).
• 6-minute insight: Episode I, Brennan Lowery (Video). Memorial University’s INSIGHT-BLOG (May 2018).
• Small Adaptive Cities Conference, St. John’s, NL (October 2017).
• Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Annual Conference: “Different by Design”, Nelson, BC (September 2017).
• Community Indicators Consortium Symposium, Winnipeg, MB (June 2017).
• Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Annual Conference: “Building vibrant rural futures”, Guelph, ON (October 2016).
• Canadian Association of Geographers Annual Conference, Halifax, NS (May 2016).
• Canadian Association of Planning Students National Conference, Vancouver, BC (February 2012).