Dr Sarah Bowman
Senior Lecturer

Research interests: Public Affairs, Ethical Practice, Competencies, Visual, Spatial and Affective Practice

LinkedIn: Sarah Roberts Bowman
Twitter: Mrs SRB
About
I am a former senior communications professional turned academic with research interests focused on three broad areas: public affairs and competencies;  organisational communications and the role of arts, visual and spatial communication strategies; and the broader role of public relations in areas such as development and diplomacy.  As a practitioner, I spent over 20 years working at senior levels in the private, public and third sectors including large corporations such as BT, start-ups, and not-for-profit organisations such as Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity. I have experience of working regionally, nationally and at a pan-European level delivering high-level communication strategies and consultancy services.  

Qualifications
  • PhD, University of West London. An Examination of the Knowledge, Skills and Competencies for Effective Public Affairs Practice. A mixed methods study with interviews of public affairs practitioners, a survey and thematic analysis of competency frameworks
  • PG Cert, Academic Practice, University of the Arts, London (nearing completion)
  • PG Cert, Research Methodology, University of West London (distinction)
  • MBA, Brunel University

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Professional Affiliations
  • ​CIPR
  • PRCA
  • IABC
  • European PR Education and Research  Association (EUPRERA)
  • ICA
  • ECREA
  • CIM
Employment
  • 2017: Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer, BSc (Hons) Communication and Public Relations, Northumbria University
  • 2010-17: Course Leader and Senior Lecturer, MA Public Relations, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London and also worked for The PR Academy delivering CIPR professional qualifications to practitioners.
  • 2006-09 Associate Lecturer (and Consultant) University of Greenwich, Business  School
  • 2004-06 Associate Lecturer (and Consultant) University of West London, London  School of Film, Media and Design
  • 2000-2007 Consultant advising a range of clients including Centrepoint, Metropolitan Police, Central London Partnership, National Youth Agency, Eutilia and others.
  • 1989-2000 Held a range of positions at BT including Head of Communications and Head of European Public Affairs.



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Modules Taught
Level 6: PR in Practice that looks at contemporary issues in PR and communications, as well as how to deliver powerful and effective PR and communication strategies.
Level 6: Undergraduate Communication and PR Project that focuses on employability with students working on a real client brief in terms of strategy and content creation
Level 6: Critical Theories in PR that provides students with an overview to the theory and practice of PR
Level 6: Texts and Context that looks at the different contexts in which PR operates and the type of factors that impact a.
Level 7: Advanced Practice  (work-related project) supporting students on the MSc that want to explore a particular aspect of professional communication practice.

I also support on dissertation supervision at all levels.
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Recent Publications ​
  • 2018 – Co-editor, PR Beyond Text, Routledge
  • 2017 – Author, Public Affairs, Concepts, Challenges and Identity (in development – Routledge)
  • 2016 – What is Public Relations (Chapter One, pp3-16) and PR and Communications (Chapter Two, pp27-49) in A.Theaker (2016), 5th Edition, The Public Relations Handbook, Routledge
  • 2015 – The Knowledge, Skills and Competencies for Effective Public Affairs Practice: A mechanism to embed ethics (pp235-261) in  A. Catellani, A.Zerfass and R. Tench (Eds), (2015) Communication Ethics in a Connected World. PIE Peter Lang, Brussels

  • Other Academic Esteem I act as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Public Affairs and the Journal of Communication Management.  I also peer review papers for the annual EUPRERA congress and History of PR conference. I am currently External Examiner, MA Public Relations,  University of Sunderland,
Conferences & Talks
  • 2017 – Organised and led the 19th Annual Congress of EUPRERA, London, entitled Creativity in Public Relations
  • 2016 – Global Tasks for PR: Defence, Diplomacy and Development Conference
  • 2015 – EMEA, IABC Conference
  • 2014 – PR and The Visual, Exploring Space, Identity and Performance Conference
  • 2014 – Paper presented on public affairs and ethics at the World Public Relations Research Symposium, Madrid
  • Delivered papers on aspects of public affairs, and also on change communications and visual metaphors at the 2014, 2015 and 2016 EUPRERA annual conferences
  • 2013 – PR and Disruption Conference
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