Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/L010429/1
Developing a drought narrative resource in a multi-stakeholder decision-making tool for drought risk management
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr I G Grove, Harper Adams University, Agriculture and Environment
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JM Monaghan, Harper Adams University, Agriculture and Environment
- Grant held at:
- Harper Adams University, Agriculture and Environment
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Crop science
- Conservation Ecology
- Hydrological Processes
- Environmental Geography
- Geography and citizen science
- Media & Communication Studies
- Abstract:
- 1. To develop a robust innovative interdisciplinary methodology for integrating drought science and scenario-modelling with stakeholder engagement/narrative research. Through a systems-based approach, this method will lead to the production of an online resource of multi-stakeholder drought science-narrative data to input into decision-making in drought risk management. 2. To develop hydrological modelling of drought impacts at nested spatial scales (mesocosms, catchments) so evaluate present/future water resource availability, focussing on past, present and future drought periods across N-S and W-E climatic gradients. This will provide gap quantification between present/future water supply/demand for 7 case study catchments. 3. To develop several new mesocosm experiments in urban and rural environments, interwoven creatively in their delivery to progress expert drought science, and promote citizen science/multi-stakeholder awareness of drought impacts. 4. To develop a sequential participatory methodology that interweaves expert drought science with lay knowledge as a means of responding to gap quantification between present/future water supply/demand for case study catchments. This involves developing multi-stakeholder 'science-engaged' narrative enquiry so that it provides feedback on impact thresholds and adaptation/mitigation options in varied domains that can be input as parameters to 'expert' hydrological modelling. 5. To provide a critical interdisciplinary analysis of multi-stakeholder drought narratives explored within a robust systems framework. This will involve using systems thinking in analysing relationships between different stakeholder perceptions of trigger thresholds/tipping points for drought awareness/action, and physical thresholds for water/temperature stress. 6. To provide a detailed critique of potential synergies between story/telling/narrative enquiry and science communication in promoting the exchange of expert/lay science about drought risk and mitigation, and to capitalise on these insights in the development of the project's interdisciplinary methodology and science communication protocols. An 'open science' protocol will be designed to maximise stakeholder engagement/ capacity building through and beyond the research project's lifespan. 7. To develop an accessible engaging web-based utility for bringing narrative data into drought risk decision making. This will include developing a cutting-edge social media web-platform to share project resources/ensure longer-term sustainability of the narrative resource. 8. To provide an evaluation of water-use conflicts, synergies and trade-offs, drawing on historic drought experiences and integrating both expert/lay knowledge to develop drought indices for use in water resource planning. The project resources will be mined to construct a database of species responses/management options to mitigate drought/post-drought recovery at different scales; and to produce management guidelines/advice on coping with drought/water scarcity at different scales based on narratives from different stakeholder domains. 9. To undertake thorough project scoping for wider sharing: (A) structured international literature reviews on use of narrative in risk settings nationally/internationally; (B) scoping reports providing literature /secondary data on different UK drought risk settings from physical, historical, water-use by stakeholders, socio-economic and cultural character, and narrative perspectives, as a precursor to final selection of case-study catchments; (C) 7 catchment reports from literature review/ stakeholder engagement to determine the characteristics/functioning of each case-study catchment. These will draw together data on water use, water resources planning (demand, licensed abstractions, minimum flow data etc.) for observed and future conditions for each catchment.
- Period of Award:
- 1 Apr 2014 - 22 Nov 2019
- Value:
- £154,849 Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/L010429/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed (Research Programmes)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- UK Droughts
This grant award has a total value of £154,849
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £16,130 | £27,261 | £51,790 | £6,290 | £41,765 | £11,613 |
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