EPSRC Flooding Focus Philippa Hemmings

EPSRC Strategic Plan Our strategy has three clear goals Delivering impact Embedding impact throughout our portfolio by creating an environment in which is arise naturally, in whatever form, from the knowledge base Shaping capability Ensuring we have the right people, with the right resource, in the right place to deliver the highest quality long-term research in areas where the UK leads internationally and where there is current or future national need Developing leaders Nurturing the visionary leaders who set research agendas and inspirational team leaders who act as role models

EPSRC’s portfolio

EPSRC portfolio Overview and analysis of entire EPSRC portfolio Available at:

EPSRC Water Portfolio Shaping Strategy for Coastal and Waterway Engineering Definition: Engineering research pertaining to coastal and waterway structures, management and defences (both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ defences), estuarine engineering, reservoir and dam engineering and hydrodynamics. Current portfolio: £15.8M, 30 grants

EPSRC Water Portfolio Shaping Strategy for Coastal and Waterway Engineering Importance: Given that at least 6 million properties in the UK are at risk of flooding, addressing flooding in terms of prevention and mitigation with due regard for the economic and social costs is a high priority. Flood risk, both in the UK and globally, is likely to increase in the future in the face of both climate change and socio-economic pressures. The potential societal impacts and economic damages from flood risk are therefore significant. The area is multi-disciplinary (encompassing fluid dynamics, civil engineering and materials science as well as social, biological and environmental sciences) Quality: Current investment in this area is FRMRC, which has generated high quality research Opportunity to develop research in exciting and innovative directions Impacts could be potentially transformative, raising the UK’s profile in an international context and contributing to societal challenges.

EPSRC Water Portfolio Shaping Strategy for Coastal and Waterway Engineering Action: Maintain: Looking to focus on developing novel and disruptive challenges going beyond those driven by current legislation and generating more creative, visionary and longer term research. Need to draw fresh thinking into the area to broaden the portfolio wider than flooding.

EPSRC Flooding Portfolio Portfolio Highlights Flood Risk Management Research Consortium (FRMRC) £7.3m multi-institution consortium Managed by Heriot-Watt University Work Packages in: Inundation Modelling – Catchment Inundation Modelling – Coastal Urban Flood Modelling Infrastructure Management Land Use Management

EPSRC Water Portfolio Portfolio Highlights Innovative Solutions to Flood Risk Sandpit (April 2012) Developing creative and novel research projects to answer some of the challenges identified in the LWEC FCERM report Three Funded Projects Organisational Operational Response and Strategic Decision Making for Long Term Flood Preparedness in Urban Areas Delivering and Evaluating Multiple Flood Risk Benefits in Blue Green Cities Clustering of floods and impacts on resilience of physical and socio-economic systems

EPSRC Water Portfolio Links to Other Research Areas Research in “Water” also links to different areas across EPSRC Energy Challenge Theme Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) Physical Sciences ICT Also links to: NERC ESRC

EPSRC Water Portfolio Links to Other Research Areas Key Activities RCUK Water Interest Group (WIG) Informal cross-council group Representatives from EPSRC, NERC, ESRC, BBSRC, STFC, MRC RCUK Water Showcase Event March 2012 Organised by LWEC programme Showcasing the breadth of RCUK research in water

Summing Up - Useful Links