PhD Research

Mel undertook doctoral research at the University of Technology Sydney, investigating the role of Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) in accelerating systemic climate action. She completed the research phase and reached the final stage of the PhD, before choosing to step away.

The Research

The research explored how communities built around knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation could shift the pace and scale of climate action. Drawing on transition theory, systems thinking, and real-world case studies, the work mapped the conditions under which KICs create lasting change, as well as the structural barriers that prevent that change from taking hold.

The findings deepened Mel's understanding of why good ideas so rarely translate into systemic transformation, and directly shaped the frameworks she now brings to her work through Sensibilizer.

Why She Stepped Away

Mel made the deliberate decision to leave the PhD before completing the final write-up. Not because the research wasn't done (it was), but because she realised that publishing an academic thesis wasn't going to create the change she was pursuing. The work had given her what she needed. Channelling that into direct practice, facilitation, and real-world impact felt like a more honest use of her time and energy.

It's a decision she's clear-eyed about. The knowledge lives in her work. The credential doesn't.

"The research gave me everything I needed. What it couldn't give me was the change I was trying to make, so I went and made it." - Melanie Lewis