Robin Gregory, Ph.D.
Robin Gregory is Senior Research Scientist with Decision Research and Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. He works on problems of policy and risk analysis, stakeholder consultation, improving the decision making skills of K-12 students, prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, choice under uncertainty, and community and indigenous health assessment. Clients include government departments in the US and Canada, international organizations, NGOs, and a variety of programs and agencies interested in improving the decision-making skills of their members. His research and applied work emphasizes collaborative decision-aiding approaches that help participants understand their own and others’ responses to the consequences of actions characterized by multiple dimensions, substantial uncertainty, and often controversy. In such cases, defensible choices need to be made across different options; the use of structured decision methods can serve as the basis for generating better alternatives and for creating more broadly accepted options. Robin has written and consulted extensively on the subject of informing public policy choices and is first author of the book Structured Decision Making: A Practical Guide to Environmental Management Choices (Wiley-Blackwell Press, 2012). He has a BA in Economics from Yale University, an MA from the University of British Columbia in Natural Resources Management, and an interdisciplinary PhD from UBC in Psychology, Ecology, and Economics.
Phone: 604-747-1866; Email: robin.gregory@ires.ubc.ca
Current Research
Teaching Decision Skills in the Classroom
Evaluating Social and Cultural Impacts: Decision Theory Meets Practice
Stakeholder Involvement in Environmental and Risk Deliberations
Choices and Preferences: The Psychology and Economics of Value
Learning and Adaptive Management: Policy Choices Under Uncertainty
Recent Publications
Gregory, R. (2017). The troubling logic of inclusivity in environmental consultations. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 42, 144–165. doi: 10.1177/0162243916664016
Gregory, R., & Dieckmann, N. F. (2013). Communicating about uncertainty in multistakeholder groups. In J. Arvai & L. Rivers (Eds.), Risk communication: New perspectives. Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis.
Gregory, R., Halteman, P., Kaechele, N., Kotaska, J., & Satterfield, T. (2020). Compensating Indigenous social and cultural losses: A community-based multiple-attribute approach. Ecology and Society, 25(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12038-250404
Gregory, R., Halteman, P., Kaechele, N., & Satterfield, T. (2023). Methods for assessing social and cultural losses. Science, 381 (6657), 478–481.
Gregory, R., Satterfield, T., & Boyd, D. R. (2020). People, pipelines, and probabilities: Clarifying significance and uncertainty in environmental impact assessments. Risk Analysis, 40, 218–226. doi:10.1111/risa.13409
