MAPS IE Seminar - UCL Warning Research Centre: impact beyond academia

The UCL Warning Research Centre (WRC) is a trans-disciplinary centre, conceived over a decade ago, and born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the frustration of a lack of investment and funding in warnings, the WRC was founded to help raise attention to the importance of warnings for natural and human-made hazards and threats, and remains the only such focused centre in the world. Launched in 2021 by Mami Mizutori (Head of the UNDRR) at the IRDR annual conference, the WRC has grown to over 30 UCL members, and 40 global affiliates. They are partnered with the Red Cross Anticipation Hub, and the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership, and have worked with a number of UK and international stakeholders including the UNDRR, GFDRR World Bank, IFRC, REAP, National Preparedness Commission, and CUAMM Doctors with Africa. Their work to date has included consulting, commissioned reports, research grants and projects, organising international conferences, developing and providing training courses, and developing two new student modules, and a core group of PhD students. The WRC also has an active events schedule, social media, and website. 

The WRC has grown quickly, and most of their income is generated from external funding, yet the demand outstrips their supply capability. In this talk Professor Carina Fearnley will discuss the growth of the WRC, the successes and failures, and the ongoing challenges in both the operation, growth, funding, and engagement of the centre. Key to this has been the ability to conduct and implement truly inter and trans disciplinary work, and meeting the demands of those that require and implement academic knowledge and skills. Working across MAPS has been a fruitful experience and some pointers on how to make such intra-departmental will be discussed.

An opportunity to hear about the activities of the UCL Warning Research Centre, the only such dedicated facility in the world. 

The seminar will include ample opportunity for Q&A.

Please have your questions ready for Carina.

More on the Speaker: Professor Carina Fearnley

Carina Fearnley is Professor of Warnings and Science Communication at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL, and Director and Founder of the UCL Warning Research Centre (WRC), the only such dedicated facility in the world. Carina is an interdisciplinary researcher, drawing on relevant expertise in the social sciences on scientific uncertainty, risk, and complexity to focus on how natural hazard early warning systems can be made more effective, specifically alert level systems. She has published over 40 peer reviewed academic publications, including 3 authored books, and is Co-I for the EU Horizons Project ‘The HuT’, and sits on numerous UK and international policy advisory groups. 

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Related links:

• Professor Carina Fearnley
• UCL Research Warning Centre
• Department of Science and Technology Studies