Susan researches digital, AI and data concerns, focussing on well-being, inequalities and improving organisational and policy practices. She works in-and-with organisations to understand these complex policy problems in-the-round from across citizen, organisational workers and governance perspectives. Using co-designed narrative devices, she communicates complex ideas and systems to diverse audiences to reach ‘shared understanding’, and has received recognition and awards for her open research, impact and creative public and digital engagements. Susan’s expert commentary regularly appears across BBC news outlets.

Susan’s research includes a two-year policy-research fellowship on international digital culture inside the UK Government’s Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS, 2022-24) and a two year fellowship with Arts Council England on data and diversity (2018-2020). Her open access 2021 monograph Understanding Well-being Data: Improving Social and Cultural Policy, Practice and Research was endorsed by pre-eminent academics from across disciplines and leaders in the BBC and Arts Council England. Downloaded 70,000 times, it's also been developed into an interactive website to train policy-makers, practitioners and students. Susan has delivered presentations, workshops and advice to international policy-makers and practitioners, in and beyond: DCMS; DSIT; MCLHG; Home Office; Cabinet Office; Welsh Government; ADRUK; BBC; Sheffield City Council.

Prior to becoming an academic, Susan has worked as a curator, a gallery manager, in communications and partnerships management.