Dr Melissa Hawkins

Assistant Professor

Department: Newcastle Business School

Melissa is an academic at Northumbria University's Business School, with research interests shaped by over twenty years of experience in education, including time spent as a teacher practitioner in schools. Her work centres on developing complexity-informed policy and practice through utilsing action-oriented research methods. Melissa adopts an engaged scholarship approach to her role, actively linking research and knowledge exchange with teaching and learning activities.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Futures in Public Management: The Emerging Relational Approach to Public Services, Wilson, R., Hesselgreaves, H., French, M., Hawkins, M., Jamieson, D., King, M., Kimmitt, J. 28 Mar 2025
Areas of Research Interest: a Practical Guide, French, M., Hawkins, M. 10 Dec 2024
Why teacher appraisals need SMARTER targets, James, C., Hawkins, M. 3 Jan 2024
Harnessing Complexity for better outcomes in Public and Non-profit Services, French, M., Hesselgreaves, H., Wilson, R., Hawkins, M., Lowe, T. 23 Feb 2023
New development: Learning communities—an approach to dismantling barriers to collective improvement, Wilson, L., Hawkins, M., French, M., Lowe, T., Hesselgreaves, H. 19 May 2023, In: Public Money and Management
Reflective practice at 40: why it’s still a vital leadership tool, James, C., Hawkins, M., Gilbride, N., Connolly, M. 20 Sep 2023
Secular discernment: A process of individual unlearning and collective relearning, Burton, N., Vu, M., Hawkins, M. 1 Nov 2023, In: Management Learning
Using complexity theory to understand the problematic nature of performance management in schools in England, Hawkins, M. 28 Jun 2023
Human Learning Systems: Public service for the Real World, Brogan, A., Eichsteller, ., Hawkins, M., Hesselgreaves, H., Jennions, B., Lowe, T., Plimmer, D., Terry, V., Williams, G., Scharfe, L., Cox, J., French, M., Hill, B., Masters, J., Norman, R., Sanderson, H., Smith, M., Wilson, R. 1 Jun 2021
Managing the complexity of outcomes: a new approach to performance measurement and management, French, M., Lowe, T., Wilson, R., Rhodes, M., Hawkins, M. 7 May 2021, Handbook on performance management in the public sector, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Other: Complexity and Systems Thinking Executive Leadership CPD course 2024
Other: Funded Project: Using Areas Of Research Interest To Sustain Research-Policy-Practice Relationships For Regional Policy Engagement 2024
Other: Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) Fellowship 2023
Other: Relational Public Services Annual Conference 2023
Other: Impact Case Study: Transforming public services through new commissioning and management priorities 2021
Other: Externally Funded Research Project: Funding and Commissioning in Complexity 2018

PGR Supervision

Julie Wooton A Critical Analysis Of Vulnerability Beyond Health In a Global Crisis: A Case Study Using Normalisation Process Theory Start Date: 08/11/2024