CECAN Fellowship: Harnessing complexity to strengthen regional systems for socio-spatial governance
Regional planning authorities increasingly operate within environments shaped by interdependent social, spatial and environmental pressures. As these systems become more complex, and as devolved governance expands, the evidence infrastructures that support strategic planning must evolve accordingly.
My Fellowship explores how complexity-aware evaluation can strengthen the analytical foundations of regional governance. Focusing on the West of England Spatial Development Strategy, I will examine how indicators behave across multiple governance scales, how data lineage and system feedbacks shape interpretation, and how complex system behaviour can be communicated clearly to diverse policy audiences. The project aims to develop practical evaluative approaches that help regional authorities build more coherent, transparent and scalable evidence systems, supporting long-term planning, housing analysis and place-based decision-making.
About Thomas
Dr Thomas O’Shea is a systems modeller and environmental intelligence researcher whose work connects physical processes, social dynamics and spatial systems to support better decision-making. His career spans hydrodynamics, computational sociology, AI-driven modelling and narrative-based analytical methods, with applications ranging from long-term hazard reconstruction to urban mobility transitions.
His academic research includes reconstructing two millennia of flood exposure across British cities, developing hybrid agent‑based and hydrodynamic modelling frameworks during his PhD at the University of Bristol, and contributing to major international programmes such as HyPAc in Kenya, FRACTAL‑PLUS in Zambia, and Tomorrow’s Cities. He has worked across interdisciplinary teams to advance pro‑poor hazard metrics, rapid social‑data assimilation techniques and climate‑adaptation pathways for vulnerable communities.
Alongside this applied systems work, Thomas has cultivated a parallel interest in the philosophical foundations of modelling, interpretation and technical systems, drawing on post‑structuralist and Simondonian thought to explore how meaning, agency and system behaviour intersect with evolving computational methods.
He is now Senior Analyst for Place at the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, where he develops connected spatial evidence systems that support regional planning, housing analysis and long-term socio‑spatial governance. His work focuses on building reproducible analytical infrastructures that help public bodies understand how people and places interact under social, spatial and environmental pressures.
