• European public policy, particularly regional, agriculture and fisheries policies in the EU
• Social policy: social inclusion, employment, housing, especially in rural areas
• Regional/local/sub-national governance and politics

Dr Eilidh MacPhail, Programme Leader for the BSc Sustainable Development, teaches across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Her research focuses on public policy, devolution, rural and island community development, and social policy, with particular attention to Scottish and European Union contexts.

She is also a keen advocate of online education and has recently supported initiatives to improve staff capabilities around student mental health. Eilidh’s work underpins UHI’s mission to support sustainable, inclusive development across rural and island regions.

External interests, member of associations, advisor etc

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES)
• Peer reviewer and book reviewer for ‘Regional and Federal Studies’ and 'Journal of European Social Policy'

Previous Research and Funding Awards

• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded PhD on ‘The Europeanisation of the Scottish Executive: exploring variations across different modes of governance’, with a focus on the Structural Funds, State Aid, Employment and Social Inclusion, 2004-2008
• Researcher for Notre Europe, Paris on European Social Policy, 2002-2003
• UK Government Funded Scholarship to the College of Europe, Bruges, for a Masters in European Political and Administrative Studies, 2001-2002