Dr. Boucher is a Faculty Lecturer at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. He leads the online Master of Public Administration (MPA). His research focuses on Public Sector Entrepreneurship and Energy Transition Acceleration. Within this research area, he is interested in energy justice, comparative public policy, low-income energy efficacy, renewable energy cooperatives, public sector entrepreneurship, decentralized energy, and small modular reactors. Dr. Boucher also has a keen interest in the integration of skills development within post-secondary education, directing his research and teaching towards this area.

Dr. Boucher holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Saskatchewan. His dissertation focused on socio-technical pathways to clean energy in Canada, the United States, and Sweden. He has received several scholarships and fellowships, including the SENS Nexen Energy Graduate Scholarship and a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant. Dr. Boucher has an MA from Athabasca University and a BSc (honours) in Natural Science from the University of Waterloo.

Designations

• Ph.D., Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
• M.A., Integrated Studies, Athabasca University
• B.Sc., Honours Natural Science, University of Waterloo

Martin Boucher is currently accepting applications from new PhD and MPP students for September 2024 in the following research areas: small modular reactors, energy transitions, public sector entrepreneurship, energy democracy, post-secondary education policy, and skills and competency advancement.

Awards/Scholarships

• Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship (2016-2018): Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada - $75,000
• Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship (2016): University of Saskatchewan - $20,000
• University of Saskatchewan Top-up Scholarship (2016-2018): University of Saskatchewan - $18,000
• SENS Nexen Energy Graduate Scholarship (2014-2017): University of Saskatchewan - $90,000
• Graduate Teaching Fellowship (2016): University of Saskatchewan - $17,000
• Peter MacKinnon Graduate Fellowship (2014): University of Saskatchewan - $10,000

Research Grants

• Circumpolar Comparative Case Study Project (Oct 2022 - Dec 2026): $390,000 from the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Collaborators: Jonathan Crossen, Solveig Ballo, Ashlee Cunsolo, Jeanette Doucet, Diane Hirshberg, Else Grete Broderstad, Ken Coates, Hans-Kristian Hernes, Carin Holroyd, Emmy Neuls, Oyvind Ravna.
• Scaling-up the Impact of Renewable Energy Cooperatives in Canada (Oct 2022 - Sep 2023): $65,000 from SSHRC, Co-operators, Cooperatives First. Collaborators: Martin Boucher (co-PI) Marc-Andre Pigeon (co-PI), Derya Tarhan, Julie MacArthur, Karen Miner, Dan Matthews.
• Pathways to Energy Democracy in Canada (Sep 2023 - Oct 2028): $398,044 from Insight Grant, SSHRC. John Parkins (PI), Martin Boucher, Julie MacArthur, Clark Banack, Philippe Marcoul, Marc-Andre Pigeon, Bram Noble, Max Chewinski, Derya Tarhan, Christina Hoicka, Justin McMurtry.
• Landlords or Renters? Advancing Energy Efficiency in Low-income Rental Housing in Saskatoon (Nov 2022 - Dec 2023): $29,997 from Research Junction Development Grant. Martin Boucher (PI) Brett Dolter
• Accelerating Economic Development in the North: Case Study Development for Wise Practices in Northern and Indigenous Communities (Jan 2020 - Dec 2022): $25,000 from SSHRC. Martin Boucher (PI) Hayley Hesseln, Emmy Neuls, Ken Coates, Carin Holroyd, Jonathan Crossen.
• A Census of Renewable Energy Cooperatives in Canada (Jun 2021 - Jan 2022): $30,000 from Co-operator’s. Martin Boucher (co-PI) with Marc-Andre Pigeon (co-PI).

Select Academic Articles

• Boucher, M., & Karjalainen, J. (2022). Northern urban energy futures in Saskatoon, Lulea and Anchorage. More than ‘Nature’: Research on Infrastructure and Settlements in the North.
• Boucher, M. (2020). Governance and decentralized energy transitions: A comparative case study of three medium-sized cities in Sweden, Canada, and the United States. Central European Review of Economics and Management, 4(1).
• Boucher, M. (2018). “Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition” (Book Review) by Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen. Energy Research & Social Science.
• Dolter, B., & Boucher, M. (2018). Solar Energy Justice: A Case Study Analysis of Saskatchewan, Canada. Applied Energy.
• Cavallaro, Michael., Boucher, Martin., & Steelman, Toddi. (2016). Sustainability Champions: Role-Models in Sustainability Graduate Education. World Sustainability Series: Training Approaches and Sustainable Development in Higher Education.
• Boucher, M. (2016). Decentralized Energy: Prospects, Justice, and Transition. Energy Research and Social Science, 11.
• Boucher, M. (2015). The Political Economy of Sustainable Urbanization. Journal of Integrated Studies, 5(1).

Selected Reports and Other Publications 

• Boucher, M. (2023). Are small nuclear reactors the solution to Canada's net-zero ambitions? The Conversation. Link
• Boucher, Martin., Pigeon, M.-A., & MacArthur, J. (2023, September 26). Scale-up renewable energy co-operatives to energize the nation. Policy Options. Link
• Pigeon, M.-A., Boucher, M., MacArthur, J., Tarhan, D., & Miner, K. (2023, September 5). Empowering Communities, Energizing the Nation: Scaling Up Renewable Energy Cooperatives in Canada. Graduate School of Public Policy. Link
• Pigeon, M., & Boucher, M. (2022). A census of renewable energy cooperatives in Canada.
• Boucher, M. (2021). Micro-credentials are no panacea: Universities need to also focus on more fundamental innovation. CSIP Article.
• Boucher, M., & Gunter, C. (2020, May). Facing the climate crisis: A post-COVID green energy constructive re-emergence. JSGS Policy Brief. Link
• Boucher, M. (2020). Accelerating the pace of local energy innovation in Saskatchewan. CSIP Article. Link
• Boucher, M. (2019, December 2). The problem isn’t solar energy—it’s the energy system. Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Link
• Boucher, M. (2017, April 28). Let’s talk solar: A public consultation on solar energy. Link
• Boucher, M., & Daviduik, S. (2017). Sustainability energy options for Saskatchewan: Conference summary report. Saskatoon: School of Environment and Sustainability.
• Boucher, M. (2016). Climate Change is more than a tech problem, so we need more than a tech solution. ENSIA. Link
• Boucher, M., Goertz, C., Gouchie, M., Koebel, T., & Nwanekezie, K. (2016, January 19). Measuring action on climate change. Policy Options. Link