Dr. Barnard’s research centres on the application of creativity to the challenge of bridging the digital divide. She collaborates with government departments and other key stakeholder groups to inform policy and develop digital literacy. Her research into digital literacy is represented by her Macmillan International Higher Education monograph 'The Multimodal Writer: Creative Writing Across Genres and Media' (2019). Her research into digital inclusion is represented by her BBC Radio 4 programme, 'Digital Future: the New Underclass' (2019). She has developed an empirically tested pedagogical model for teaching digital literacy.
Award-winning author of six books, extensive print and broadcast journalism and international academic articles and chapters, Josie is currently co-editing a Multimodal Writing Special Issue of the National Association of Writers in Education journal 'Writing in Practice' (forthcoming). Her research is the subject of a chapter in Sue Gee’s 'Just You and the Page: Twelve writers and their art' (Seren, 2021). She is a member of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Digital Skills and Inclusion Working Group.