Research objectives for the Centre for Water, Communities and Resilience (CWCR)

Our research objectives

The research objectives for the Centre for Water, Communities and Resilience (CWCR) include:

Building communities resilient to environmental and social stresses

Lead: Professor Lindsey McEwen

This work is focused on themes relating to dealing with flooding, droughts, extreme weather risk and wider water relations – past, present and future. Topics reflect the diversity and interdisciplinary nature of challenging issues in the development of equitable and resilient communities. Research sits across the natural and social sciences, and also arts and humanities. Strong attention is given to social and environmental justice issues, and ensuring meaningful participation in local decision-making. Flood-related work is also still carried out under the banner of UWE Bristol's Centre for Floods, Communities and Resilience (CFCR).

Addressing water insecurity around the world

Lead: Professor Chad Staddon

The International Water Security Network, led by UWE Bristol, but formally involving scientific and knowledge transfer partners from a dozen countries around the world, focuses on water security issues including urban water services, water and sanitation for health (WaSH) services in the Global South, the contributions of grey-green infrastructure to societal resilience and water-energy-food nexus interactions.

Empowering young people to deal with risk for climate resilience

Lead: Dr Sara Williams

This work is focused on the potential contribution young people can make as influencers and agents of change in building resilience. Projects focus on factors that influence young people’s knowledge of environmental topics (such as climate change/flooding/drought). Importantly, this research also explores young people’s attitudes and dispositions, such as empathy, as well as their developing skills such as influencing others to think or behave differently.

Integrating earth observation, environmental data and spatial analytics for environmental management

Lead: Professor Nevil Quinn

This work aims to harness the increasing availability of remotely sensed data, modelled and observed climate data, and high-resolution environmental time-series. Our emphasis is on developing practitioner and community focussed resources and outcomes, as well as contributing to the development of scientific understanding of key drivers in the air-land-water system.

Connecting environmental hazards, resilient communities and emerging infrastructures

Lead: Dr Antonia Chatzirodou

This work aims to research emerging challenges in the infrastructure systems that arise because of climate change and other natural or/and man-made hazards. Emphasis is put on building resilient communities through transforming grey infrastructure to blue-green infrastructure. Qualitative and quantitative research methods combined are used to develop research. Mapping tools serve as visualization tools to disseminate outputs and support understanding of science and impacts of research to collaborators and communities.

Developing innovative research and knowledge exchange methods

Lead:  Professor Lindsey McEwen

We are willing to design training/learning or other user-led resources for different stakeholder groups. Our way of working in research and knowledge exchange involves co-production with diverse stakeholders, participatory engagements and community-based/local interventions. It aims build local capacities and capital through these processes of co-working in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary settings. We pay particular attention to translating and brokering differing types of knowledge (scientific; lay) and supporting how these meet in community and other settings for participatory decision-making.