The UK Alliance for Disaster Research / DRG Joint workshop part 1/6: Introduction

Last Monday, I had the enormous privilege of being invited to the UK Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR) / Disaster Research Group (DRG) joint workshop, organised by Professor Mark Pelling and Amy Donovan and Adrian Butcher, who hosted from UKCDR at the Wellcome Trust.

UKADR & DRG together support actionable science to reduce risk and build resilience from natural hazards, including climate change in the context of international development. The aim of this joint workshop event was to undertake a health check and review the ways in which UK Funded research is relevant and impactful in an ODA (Overseas Development Aid) context and to review how research management, practise and support can be enhanced, for greater impact and contribution in achieving the overarching joint goal.

This event presented a unique opportunity, to bring a convergence in my perspectives, as a consumer of disaster science research, as a UK practitioner, and an aspiring early career researcher. Before the event, I reviewed the workshop questions, aims and objectives of each session. I mapped out my thoughts in advance, from the multiple perspectives, ensuring maximum contribution on the day. I will address each three workshop discussions in subsequent posts, with the highlights from the table I fed back to the room. In my final summary, I will go back to the thoughts I had prior to the event and reflect back on them.

Overall, this was an inspiring event, a wonderful opportunity to catch up with colleagues, whilst meeting, building and exploring new connections, with a fantastic group of researchers and funders. I had a truly fantastic time listening, and joining in with the many conversations and discussions that took place. This was a room, full of incredibly passionate and dedicated people all looking to advance research in disaster risk reduction and resilience.

You can find out more about UK Alliance for Disaster Research on their website: https://www.ukadr.org/home.html

You can find out more about the Disaster Research Group on their website: https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/what-we-do/our-funder-groups/disasters-research-group/