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UKADR Conference 2024: Collaborative Research to Make a Difference
26 June 2024–27 June 2024, 8:30 am–6:30 pm
The UK Alliance for Disaster Reduction (UKADR) 2024 Conference is hosted by UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction. #UKADR2024
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Sold out
Organiser
-
Joanna Faure Walker – UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction
Location
-
UCL IOE20 Bedford WayLondonWC1H 0AL
The UKADR 2024 Conference will bring together academics, practitioners and funders with an interest in disaster risk reduction.
This year, there will be invited talks on case studies of positive collaborations across sectors to encourage evidence-based policy, participant breakout discussions around how to improve collaboration and assist practitioners to guide research conversations, primary research and practitioner presentations as well as flash talks from early career researchers and practitioners to share current work, findings and challenges.
- UKADR AGM will take place on Wednesday evening following conference sessions.
- Follow us using the conference hashtag: #UKADR2024
On this page: Programme | Confirmed speakers | Getting here | Accommodation | FAQs
Programme
| Day | Time | Programme |
|---|---|---|
Wednesday | 09:00 | Welcome: Prof Joanna Faure Walker |
| 09:10 | Panel Discussion: Successful Collaborations – Past, Present and Future Panel members:
| |
| 10:20 | Communicating with data visualisation – Tobias Sturt This mini masterclass will include tips and tools on how to communicate and visualise data using story-telling, helping to share information with different audiences. | |
| 10:50 | Morning break (outside Logan Hall) - tea and coffee will be provided | |
| 11:30 | Oral Presentations and Flash Talks in Breakout Rooms Presentations from submitted abstracts under the following themes:
Mhari is a PhD Student at UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction within the Warning Research Centre. Her research focuses on asylum seekers' and refugees' experiences of natural hazards and warnings.
Jack is Project Support Officer, Disaster in the UKHSA Risk Reduction team. Jack has recently collaborated on research projects to provide strategic recommendations for UKHSA’s international approach on climate and health and the UKHSA Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin
Rebekah is a UCL IRDR PhD student with over ten years of experience working for NGOs in the development and humanitarian fields. Her research comprises disaster risk mitigation processes before, during, and years following an event, focussing particularly on microinsurance, warning, shelter and housing. | |
| 12:50 | Lunch break (W3.01 – Level 3) | Lunch will be provided | |
| 14:20 | Oral Presentations and Flash Talks in Breakout Rooms Presentations from submitted abstracts under the following themes:
Thaisa is a research fellow at UCL IRDR. Thaisa's research is generally based on informal settlements and other contexts of socio-spatial vulnerability and marginalisation. Most recently she has been a part of Tomorrow’s Cities – an interdisciplinary research hub aimed at strengthening the voices and capacities of the poor in risk-prone areas in the global south.
Harriet is a final-year PhD student in the Department of Geography at King’s College London. Her research focuses on using semi-quantitative and qualitative methods to characterise natural hazard interrelationships and better understand impact in multi-hazard scenarios (with a focus on Kathmandu Valley, Nepal).
Dr Shipra Jain is a Lecturer in Meteorological Risks at UCL IRDR. Her current research focuses on weather and climate extremes, with a particular emphasis on hydrometeorological extremes across Asia. She has several years of experience in operational research, where she led and contributed to the development and delivery of climate services. | |
| 15:40 | Afternoon break (outside Logan Hall) - tea and coffee will be provided | |
| 16:10 | Funder Panel Discussion
Representatives from UKRI and other funding agencies discuss current research priorities, innovations in good research practice and how researchers can become involved in research funding processes. Panel members sit on the UK Disaster Research Group of funders, an informal committee to enable joined-up programming across funding agencies. The DRG is a sister committee to UKADR with UKADR chairs acting as members on DRG to enable exchange, this panel aims at enhancing such exchange between funders and researchers in the UK. Followed by an open Q&A. | |
| 17:00 | UKADR AGM | |
| 18:00 | Evening reception - Drinks and canapes will be provided | |
| Thursday | 09:00 | Keynote Presentation Chair – Rozana Himaz |
| 10:00 | Invited Talks
Chair – Mohammad Shamsudduha | |
| 11:00 | Morning break (outside Logan Hall) - tea and coffee will be provided | |
| 11:30 | Oral Presentations and Flash Talks in Breakout Rooms Presentations from submitted abstracts under the following themes:
Dr Rory Walsh is a Social Science Advisor at the Government Office for Science - his expertise in disaster risk reduction, disaster research, climate change adaptation and policy, particularly regarding the role of local knowledge, culture and long-term processes in community vulnerability and resilience.
Victoria is an independent consultant specialising in humanitarian shelter and settlements. After training as an architect, Victoria became involved in post-disaster reconstruction following the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami in 2004. Victoria is particularly interested in the impacts of humanitarian interventions on the recovery and resilience of people’s lives and livelihoods.
Sarah is a Lecturer in Risk Perception and Risk Communication at the UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction. She researches how people understand and respond to communications of risk and uncertainty across domains, from climate change to earthquakes to Covid, and how misinformation may influence how people think about these issues and act in response to them. Prior to joining IRDR, Sarah was a Research Associate at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge. | |
| 12:50 | Lunch break (outside Logan Hall) | Lunch will be provided | |
| 14:20 | Learning Labs
Session Chairs:
| |
| 15:40 | Afternoon break (outside Logan Hall) - tea and coffee will be provided | |
| 16:10 | Oral Presentations and Flash Talks in Breakout Rooms Presentations from submitted abstracts under the following themes:
Roberto is a Lecturer in Catastrophe Risk Modelling. His research integrates civil engineering and disaster resilience, advancing multi-hazard risk assessment approaches and developing innovative risk-targeted infrastructure design methodologies. Roberto's research includes advancing seismic risk assessment for built structure design, retrofit and rehabilitation, and catastrophe risk modelling. He is a co-director of the UCL DE|RISC Lab (Disaster Engineering for ResIlient SoCieties Laboratory).
Abigail (Abby) is a PhD student at UCL IRDR. Her PhD research seeks to understand how urgent action around disaster recovery and resilience in an uneven development context intersects with ongoing cultural processes that shape individual self-identification with and public action on disability. She previously worked as a research officer on various NGO projects globally.
Salma is a PhD Student at UCL IRDR. Her research interests include risk assessment, natural resources management, sustainable land use and water resources management. Her PhD focuses on studying the decadal climate variability of precipitation to assess the feasibility of a cloud seeding project over the Al-Hajar mountains in Oman. | |
| 17:30 | Feedback from Sessions | |
| 17:50 | Conference close |
Confirmed speakers
Wednesday
- Frank Savage CMG, LVO, OBE, Commonwealth Disaster Agency
- Frank Savage is Chairman of the Commonwealth Disaster Management Agency (CDMA), established in the early 1980s by fellow Director Robbie Lyle to establish an insurance facility for less developed countries in regions threatened by disasters, Director of FJS Associates Ltd, providing disaster management consultancy services to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and a retired senior British diplomat who served as Her Majesty’s Governor of Montserrat (1993-97) and the British Virgin Islands (1998-2002), as well as earlier posts in Cairo, Washington, Aden, Dusseldorf, Beijing and Lagos.
In Montserrat, he assumed oversight responsibility for the on-island response to the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption in 1995 and the U.K. Emergency Aid programme following the devastation caused by Hurricane Hugo in September 1989. The former involved the total evacuation of all the Southern half of Montserrat, with two thirds of the population evacuated to the U.K. and other countries. He worked closely on island with U.K. Forces and around 100 international scientists.On retirement in 2003, Frank was re-engaged by the FCDO until 2015 as an adviser for disaster planning for the 14 U.K. Overseas Territories, leading a small team to each to review and report on disaster preparedness, with recommendations for improvements, and to conduct exercises to train the local response teams. He also established a rapid UK response team to assist stricken Territories and he instigated an annual DM conference in the Caribbean to share best practice and encourage closer working relationships between the main Territories.
Frank was honoured by HM The Queen for services to Montserrat and received the Montserrat Badge of Honour from the people of the island. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory The Great by Pope John Paul II for services in the Caribbean. He is the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Montserrat Defence Force.
- Hélène Galy – MD WTW Research Network
- Hélène is an environmental economist, who landed in the world of insurance by chance. She joined WTW, a global risk advisor and insurance broker, in 1998, specialising in natural catastrophe modelling and reinsurance optimisation. She’s been leading multi-disciplinary teams, who research and design analytical solutions for risk identification, quantification and management. She leads the WTW Research Network, an award-winning public-private partnership, which cultivates long-term collaborations with 60+ science partners to improve the understanding and quantification of risks for the benefit of clients and wider societal resilience.
Hélène is a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission. She holds a BSc in Economics & Political Science (Sciences Po, Paris), and an MSc in Environmental Economics (University College London).
- Alice Marks – Senior Manager, Royal Academy of Engineering
- Alice Marks is a Senior Manager at the Royal Academy of Engineering, overseeing the Frontiers Programme. Frontiers aims to connect and empower enthusiastic researchers, innovators, and practitioners from the UK and around the world to collaborate on innovative solutions for complex global challenges. By supporting interdisciplinary research, it aims to catalyse creative solutions that deliver impact and build a lasting global community. Since 2016, Alice has overseen more than 23 symposiums in 14 countries, addressing a diverse array of projects and themes that cover all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Jess Camburn – CEO, Elrha
- Jess Camburn is Chief Executive of Elrha an organisation that champions the role of research and innovation in the humanitarian system and that has invested in hundreds of research and innovation programmes globally. Jess has developed and led the organisation from its creation in 2009 to its place today as a leading global actor in humanitarian research and innovation. She serves as a member of the Board of Sphere humanitarian standards and several strategic Boards for UK research and innovation, including the UK’s Disaster Research Group, and previously the Strategic Advisory Group for the Global Challenge Research Fund. Jess is passionate about challenging the lack of investment in research and innovation in the humanitarian system and is committed to working with others to make sure the challenges faced by people affected by crises get the attention they need, so they can be addressed by the very best that global science, research and innovation can offer.
- Tobias Sturt – Creative Director, Add Two
- Tobias Sturt was head of creative at the Guardian’s digital agency and is now creative director of Add Two. He also runs corporate training and teaches masterclasses in data visualisation and information design. He has been working in digital storytelling for almost two decades using all kinds of media – from web to TV, games and infographics.
Thursday
- Adnan Khan, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
- Professor Adnan Khan is the Chief Economist and Director for Economics and Evaluation in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). He is seconded from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he is a Professor in the School of Public Policy.
Adnan has focused his career on advancing the understanding of development economics, political economy, entrepreneurship, and public sector reform. He has taught courses at the London School of Economics on development economics, public organisations, and political economy. He has spent time teaching at Harvard Kennedy School. He has also been an Academic Director at the School of Public Policy in which role he has helped shape the school’s vision and pedagogy.
Adnan is committed to using economic analysis and research to achieve impact. He has used real-time, cutting-edge analytical work that feeds directly into policy, and has also applied frontier research on real-world questions conducted through deep and long-lasting collaboration with policy partners to achieve policy and academic impact.
Adnan brings substantial practitioner and policymaker experience. He has spent more than a decade in the policy world in different capacities and various ministries. He originally trained as an engineer but moved to public policy and economics studying at Harvard Kennedy School and Queen’s University.
- Anna Beswick, Policy Fellow, LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
Anna is a Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE working on climate adaptation and resilience. She is working on the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance programme which is a multi-sectoral collaboration focusing on finding practical ways to support communities in developed and developing countries to strengthen their resilience to flood risk.
- Alexandra Freeman, Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge
- Dr Alex Freeman spent 16 years as a science documentary maker for the BBC and 7 as head of the Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, where she also developed the Octopus.ac scholarly publishing platform. During this time she has worked on many collaborative projects between the media/academia/practitioners/policy-makers. At the Winton Centre the team studied the communication of risk and uncertainty, but also practised it - such as producing the infographics around the newly emerging evidence of blood clots as a side-effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which were made overnight for the MHRA to present to policymakers and then broadcast nationwide the same day. Using examples from her own experience, Alex will talk about some of the key aspects that make collaborations between academics and non-academics successful – and when they will be doomed to failure.
- Nancy Hey, Director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation
- Nancy Hey joined Lloyd’s Register Foundation as Director of Evidence and Insight in June 2024. Before this, she set up and led the UK’s What Works Centre for Wellbeing for 10 years, making her a global leader in the field of wellbeing. Before setting up the Centre, Nancy worked in the UK Civil Service in nine departments as a policy professional and coach, delivering cross UK Government policies including on constitutional reform. She has worked with the UK’s top civil servants to introduce wellbeing into public policy and to establish the professional policy community in the UK. She has degrees in law and in coaching and development, specialising in emotions, and is a passionate advocate for learning systems.
Registration
Your registration includes tea/coffee/water and lunch. A drinks reception will be held on the first evening for those attending both days or Wednesday only.
How to get here
Nearest underground stations: Russell Square (Piccadilly line), Euston Square (Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City lines), Goodge Street (Northern line).
Nearest mainline stations: Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras
Accommodation
There are several hotels close to the venue.
In addition, UCL has some accommodation available: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/residences/ucl-summer-residences. UCL staff, students and alumni are eligible to receive 10% off their booking. To access this, please email guest-bookings@ucl.ac.uk for the discount code.
Individuals can book rooms directly on the UCL Summer Residences website. For additional information about organising group bookings, email guest-bookings@ucl.ac.uk.
Frequently asked questions
- Please can you send me the detailed conference programme for approval by my local institution?
All up-to-date agenda information is available on the website. More details will be added once registration of presenters is confirmed.
- Can you provide me with a letter stating my participation?
Please use your ticket confirmation. If you require further details, please draft a letter and send it together with your ticket information to irdr-events@ucl.ac.uk.
- Can you provide me with a letter / any other means as evidence to support my Visa application?
Please draft a letter that covers the information required by the visa process applicable to you, and send it to irdr-events@ucl.ac.uk for review.
- Can you provide funding for my flight ticket to ensure my participation?
Unfortunately, we do not have funding to cover travel costs of conference participants.
About the UKADR
The primary motivation for the UK Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR) is to bring together the UK's rich and diverse disaster research community. This will facilitate collaboration and partnership to aid representation of the research community at government level in the UK, and, where appropriate, help with the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Alliance is independent and managed by voluntary contributions from the UK research community.
About the UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR)
The UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) inspires innovation and evidence-based practice focused on improving disaster risk reduction (DRR) through our research, education, and partnerships. This creates a better life for many people by reducing the negative impacts of disasters. The IRDR is an exciting cross-UCL department, which leads research, knowledge exchange and teaching in the fields of risk and disaster reduction and humanitarian action. By providing a focus for UCL’s activities, with its breadth of disciplinary emphasis, promotion of novel multidisciplinary research and translation into practice, the IRDR aims to assume a role of leadership both in the UK and internationally.