Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Communicating flood risk science at the academic- practitioner interface Meghan Alexander * Hazel Faulkner * Christophe Viavattene * Sally Priest * Simon McCarthy Are we lost in translation?
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Mounting pressures on a broader base of practitioners, with less formal training in flood science Science- practitioner communication Increased flood risk Pressure to deliver pragmatic flood research Identify knowledge gaps and future research The need for communication …
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Barriers to communication… Scientific complexity Vs practitioner simplicity Understanding the professional context – roles, responsibilities, constraints and institutional frameworks Assumptions and expectations
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Expanding communication ‘toolkits’ * The growth of Decision Support Systems and visualisation WP3.2 sought to tailor a GIS-based flood risk assessment tool to emergency professionals Highlighted the success of animation Desire for interactive vulnerability assessment; user-controlled rather than expert-defined Debates surrounding simplicity: K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple Stupid Simplistic-user friendly tools and/or simplistic information tools? WP7.3 FRMRC 1 – 4 day real-time simulation of an extreme flood event A range of new tools are required to meet the different communication needs of emergency managers.
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Taking pragmatic flood research forward… The future of visualisation and DSS Tailoring flood research The role of the ‘end-user’ – not a passive receiver of knowledge, but an active participant in the research process and co-producer of knowledge The importance of “Knowledge transfer” i)Jointly assess knowledge gaps ii)Mutual learning iii)Facilitate uptake of new ideas, technologies and tools in FRM
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Taking pragmatic flood research forward… To what extent should we tailor flood research? Who determines the level of detail required? How do we negotiate sacrifices? To what extent can decision support tools be integrated into FRM toolkit? How might these instruments change the requirements of end- users? The nature of decision making?
Funders: EPSRC Grant: EP/FP202511/1 Acknowledgement The research reported in this presentation was conducted as part of the Flood Risk Management Research Consortium with support from the: – Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Environment Agency Joint Research Programme – United Kingdom Water Industry Research – Office of Public Works Dublin – Northern Ireland Rivers Agency Data were provided by the EA and the Ordnance Survey.