Dr Matthew Jones

• Qualifications:DPhil, MPhil, MA
• Position:Professor of Public Health and Community Development
• Department:HAS - Health and Social Sciences
• Telephone:+4411732 88769
• Email:Matthew.Jones@uwe.ac.uk

Area of expertise

Mat Jones is Professor of Public Health and Community Development at UWE Bristol. He has an academic background in social anthropology, social and political science applied to public health, and a practice background in community development. His research specialises in the contribution that third sector and civil society initiatives make towards promoting public health and wellbeing, and has worked on over 30 evaluation projects in this field. In recent years he has led a nation-wide programme of research examining the links between community-centred action, food system sustainability and public health. Mat is interested in the development and practical application of methodologies for theory of change evaluation, assets-based approaches, and social return on investment. He leads the Community Development theme for UWE's Bristol Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing and advises a range of state and third sector bodies on programme innovation, funding, governance and evaluation design. 

Mat lectures in mixed methods research, public health policy, community development, food systems, social activism and behaviour change on the MSc Public Health, MSc Sustainable Development in Practice and MSc Sustainable Food Systems. An active researcher in health issues in higher education, he is co-chair of the UK Healthy Universities Network.

Current and recent research projects:

• ConnectED: an NIHR funded project that aims to help decision-makers in Adult Social Care make better decisions by growing their ability to use research (2021-24).
• RECETAS (Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces), an EU-funded project aiming to test and evaluate Nature-Based Social Prescribing across Europe, Latin America and Australia (2019-25).
• Sustainable Food Cities: a research project on the UK's leading sustainable urban food programme (2017-24).
• Food for Life Get Togethers: an evaluation of a UK-wide programme designed to bring communities together through food (2019-24).
• Healthy Ageing in North West Bristol: a community co-production and NHS patient data-driven research project to create upstream solutions for ageing well (2023-24).
• Evaluation of Bristol Ageing Better: a city-wide programme addressing isolation and loneliness of older people (2015-23).
• EPESS (European healthy pupils and skilled educators via integrated food systems): an Erasmus+ funded research and knowledge exchange collaboration (2017-20).
• Healthwatch England Digital Transformation Research Project, understanding how to promote citizen engagement in health and social care in the digital age (2019-22).
  

Publications

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