CECHR Annual Report 2014/15

CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE & HUMAN RESILIENCE University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN T: 01382 388692 E: cechr@dundee.ac.uk

www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr

Research Initiative between the University of Dundee & the James Hutton Institute

Annual Review 2014/15

Quote from Tim Newman

Annual Review 2014/15 Contents Introduction 2 Tim Newman – Vice Principal for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Wider Impact

2

Team and CECHR Board

3

CECHR – Director’s Take - Professor Ioan Fazey

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James Hutton Institute

5

Dean of School – John Rowan

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CECHR Academic Associates

6-7

Social Media

8-9

CECHR Postgraduate students – new and completed

10-11

CECHR Postgraduate events – change maker workshops and Facing the Future Conference

12-13

Diary of CECHR Events

14-15

Incubator fund

16

Research Grant Successes

17

Impact Case Studies

18-19

CECHR’s Artist in Residence - Jean Duncan

21

MSc in Sustainability

22-23

Transformations 2017: Transformations in Practice

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Acknowledgements: We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Review, notably Jackie Malcolm for the design and Tracey Dixon for the photography.

Annual Review 2014/15

Publications 20

1

Introduction - University of Dundee

The CECHR Story

The University of Dundee is a vibrant institution in the northeast

CECHR was established in 2009 as a strategic partnership

of Scotland, UK. Dundee was recently awarded the Scottish

between the University of Dundee and the James Hutton

University of the Year based on its commitment to teaching

Institute. The centre was founded to create an internationally

and real world impact arising from its research (Times/Sunday

significant academic community working together to tackle

Times Good University Guide 2016). The University has over

the major global challenges of food, water, energy and health

18,000 students from well over 100 countries, and is

security. The aim was to link the University’s broad range of

consistently ranked within the Top 200 global higher education

environmental research spanning geography, law, engineering,

institutions. For a remarkable 6th year in a row, Dundee

life sciences and health with the James Hutton Institute’s

University was voted number 1 for student experience in

expertise in plant sciences and ecosystems.

Scotland (Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2010-2015).

The multi-disciplinary nature of the centre is considered key society. CECHR strives to promote not only multi-disciplinary

expertise: Art and Design; Dentistry; Education and Social

working but also interdisciplinary thinking to tackle such

Work; Humanities; Life Sciences; Medicine; Nursing and Health

challenges and to help create a more sustainable future.

Science; Science and Engineering and Social Sciences.

CECHR’s core values are consistent with the University’s

The Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR) works across all of these schools to capitalise on the diverse expertise in environmental and sustainability research.

Tim Newman Vice Principal Research, Knowledge Exchange and Wider Impact ‘Sustainability is one of three strategic themes at the University of Dundee, and CECHR plays a fundamental role within this theme of connecting disciplines, researchers and students within the University, and dynamically interfacing this network of activity to partners such as the James Hutton Institute and to

Annual Review 2014/15

the international community. The issues that CECHR addresses absolutely require an interdisciplinary approach, which combines research exchange and new modes of teaching. CECHR has been a vibrant and successful platform for the sustainability theme under the tremendous leadership of Prof John Rowan, and I wish his successor, Professor Ioan Fazey, every success taking CECHR to new heights in the coming years.’

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Transformation vision, placing a premium on valuing people by nourishing creativity and innovation; working together by blending multiple disciplines to tackle complex and seemingly intractable problems; promoting integrity and trustworthiness; making a difference by concentrating on problem-solving; and focussing on excellence to ensure our research and teaching are of the highest quality.

The skilful and enthusiastic leadership of CECHR in its formative years has been led by Professor John Rowan. In 2015 this role was taken up by Professor Ioan Fazey, who has an interdisciplinary background in sustainability, resilience, adaptation and research on knowledge exchange.

CECHR Team Professor Ioan Fazey Louise Henderson Jean Duncan Tracey Dixon Tony Hodgson

Director Communications Resident Artist Social Media Transformative Facilitator in Residence

Associate Directors Mark Cutler

Mike Brown Roy Neilson

Christopher Connolly

Matthias Klaes

Husam Al Waer

Jackie Malcolm Kate Irvine

Head of Geography, School of Social Sciences Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering Ecological Scientist, James Hutton Institute Reader in Neurobiology, School of Medicine Associate Dean of Research and Scholarship, School of Humanities Senior Lecturer, Architecture, School of Social Sciences Lecturer, DJCAD Senior Researcher, James Hutton Institute

CECHR Board Ioan Fazey Tim Newman

Colin Campbell

John Rowan

CECHR Director Vice-Principal (Research, Knowledge Exchange and Wider Impact) Acting Chief Executive, Director of Science Excellence Dean, School of Social Sciences

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to finding solutions to the complex challenges facing modern Dundee has nine schools encompassing world class research

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New CECHR Director - Professor Ioan Fazey

James Hutton Institute

‘I am honoured to be taking on the role of Director of CECHR to build on the acclaimed and enthusiastically driven work of the former Director, Professor John Rowan. Global sustainability challenges are intensifying, but so is recognition of the need for interdisciplinary work at the interface of science and practice and for fundamentally new ways of thinking. I therefore look forward to helping shape the future direction of CECHR and to building on the exciting opportunities that this interdisciplinary centre provides.’

The aspirations of CECHR and the James Hutton Institute continue to be highly complementary and build on the established collaboration arising from the co-location of the University’s Plant Science Division within the Institute’s Invergowrie estate and co-funding interdisciplinary CECHR PhD studentships. We are delighted to have Professor Colin Campbell, Interim CEO and Director of Science Excellence for the James Hutton Institute sit on our governing CECHR board.

Professor John Rowan, outgoing CECHR Director Dean of School of Social Science ‘It has been a pleasure to help steer CECHR from a good idea amongst a few like-minded individuals into

Colin Campbell Acting Chief Executive, Director of Science Excellence Reflecting on the value of the initiative to Hutton, Colin writes, ‘CECHR is an excellent initiative which extends our networks and capabilities to address areas of mutual interest around some of the global challenges. We have benefitted enormously from it through joint PhD students and learning new ways of combining our talents and promoting our science. Further

Annual Review 2014/15

highlights over the year were the annual symposium which goes from strength to strength and the workshops on the Transformation agenda and Developing and Interdisciplinary Culture of Excellence. These all work due to the energy and commitment of the participants and CECHR team.’

We are delighted to have Professor Colin Campbell, interim CEO and Director of Science Excellence for the James Hutton

a flourishing self-organising community within the University of Dundee and our partners in the James Hutton Institute. From the outset the emphasis has been towards interdisciplinary problem solving and tackling the grand challenges of water, food, energy and health security. Growth in the volume of collaborative projects has been accompanied by a strengthening in the research environment and an alignment to the University’s Transformation vision – aiming to help transform people’s lives locally and globally. Never more relevant, CECHR is set for further growth under new Director Professor Ioan Fazey, and I wish the team every success for the future.’

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© The James Hutton Institute and was taken by Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo

Institute sit on our governing CECHR Board and we welcome Dr Roy Neilson and Dr Kate Irvine on to our team of Associate Directors.

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practice

adapting rural biodiversityeconomy

health

international futures

CECHR Associates The CECHR Associate Programme was launched in June 2014 in conjunction with the website re-launch. The programme provides staff across James Hutton Institute and the University to engage and showcase their sustainability and environmental portfolio in a single space. We currently have over 70 registered associates.

CECHR ASSOCIATES BY AFFILIATION

The benefits of joining the Associate Programme include membership of a progressive and dynamic interdisciplinary community of practice; a strong collaborative research culture; a supporting academic programme; horizon - scanning of future funding calls; and support from the CECHR Operations team in terms of marketing and communications. In return Associates have responsibilities to promote and share best research and teaching practices; mentor graduate students and early career researchers; and provide key reporting data (grant income, paper outputs, events and outreach activities) to evidence the trajectory and impact of the CECHR initiative.

For more information on becoming a CECHR Associate, please contact Louise Henderson cechr@dundee.ac.uk or l.henderson@dundee.ac.uk

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Academic Associates

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Name

Prof Adrian Newton Prof Chris Spray Prof Claire Halpin Prof Colin Campbell Prof Colin Reid Prof Deborah Peel Prof Frank Sargent Prof Geoff Gadd Prof Graeme Hutton Prof Graeme Morton Prof Ioan Fazey Prof John Rowan Prof Lorraine Van Blerk Prof Margaret Smith Prof Matthias Klaes Prof Niamh Nic Daeid Prof Nic Beech Prof Robin Matthews

Institution Division JHI UoD UoD JHI UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD UoD JHI

Cell & Molecular Sci. CWLPS Plant Sciences Science Excellence Law TRP Molecular Microbiology Geomicrobiology Architecture Humanities Geography Dean of School, Social Science Geography Dean of School, Nursing Humanities CAHID Vice Principal Information and Computational Sciences

Expertise Plant Pathology Catchment science Plant Biology & Biotechnology Soil science Environmental Law Planning & Sustainability Microbiology & Biofuels Geomicrobiology Architecture Scottish History Resilience & Transformation Physical Geography Development Studies Nursing and Health Science Economic resilience Forensics Academic Planning and Performance Systems Modeller

Academic Associates

Name

Institution Division

Prof Sue Black UoD CAHID Prof Terry Dawson UoD Geography Prof Thilo Kroll UoD Nursing/SDHI Prof Tim Newman UoD Vice Principal

Dr Alison Karley JHI Ecological Sci. Dr Alistair Rieu-Clarke UoD CWLPS Dr Andrea Ross UoD Law Dr Andrew Black UoD Geography Dr Andrew Brennan UoD Civil Engineering Dr Annie Tindley UoD Humanities Dr Anna Moss UoD Geography Dr Anthony Leung UoD Civil Engineering Dr Ariel Bergmann UoD CEPMLP Dr Beverley Searle UoD Geography Dr Blair McKenzie JHI Env. & Biochem. Sci. Dr Callum McGregor UoD ESWCE Dr Chris Connelly UoD Neuroscience Dr David McGloin UoD Electronic Engineering and Physics Dr Deepak Gopinath UoD TRP Dr Drew Hemment UoD DJCAD Dr Ed Hall UoD Geography Dr Eirini Politi UoD Geography Dr Fiona Smith UoD Geography Dr Fraser Milne UoD Geography Dr Geoffrey Wood UoD CEPMLP Dr Husam Alwaer UoD Architecture Dr Johnathan Knappett UoD Civil Engineering Dr Johnathan Mendel UoD Geography Dr Kerry Waylen JHI Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Dr Kit Macleod JHI Information and Computational Sciences Dr Lorens Holm UoD Architecture Dr Mark Cutler UoD Geography Dr Megan O’Neill UoD Geography Dr Mike Woolvin UoD Geography Dr Mohammad Radfar UoD TRP Dr Nick Taylor UoD DJCAD Dr Pete Ianetta JHI Ecological Sci. Dr Peter Moug UoD CECHR Dr Roy Neilson JHI Ecological Sci. Dr Sarah Hendry UoD CWLPS Dr Sue Dawson UoD Geography Dr Sue Morris JHI CREW Dr Thomas Dyer UoD Civil Engineering Andy Cobley UoD Computing, Engineering Ellie Harrison UoD DJCAD Esther Carmen UoD Geography Jackie Malcolm UoD DJCAD Joshua Msika JHI Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences

Kirsty Holstead JHI Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Trudy Cunningham UoD Estates and Buildings Mr Andrew Allan UoD CWLPS Ms Elizabeth Kirk UoD Law

Expertise Forensics Global Change Health Research, Knowledge Exchange and Wider Impact Ecology Water Law Environmental Law Hydrology Foundation Engineering Social History Climate Change Geo-energy and Geo Environment Energy Economics Wellbeing Soil Science Informal Education Environmental Chemical Risk Optical Physics Planning & Sustainability Design and Citizen Science Vulnerability Remote Sensing Human Geography Geoscience Low Carbon and Energy Transmissions Sustainability Indicators Offshore Engineering International Security Political Ecologist Catchment Science Urban Theory Earth Observation Methods Policing & Security Social Geography Urban Design and Planning Human-Computer Interactions Ecology Resilience Soil Ecology Water Law Coastal Hazards CREW Concrete Engineering Data Scientist Activism & Art Environmental Sociologist Transdisciplinary Communication Low-Carbon Communities Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Energy and Environment Water Law Environmental Law

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sustainability well-being management

change

food

city

policy

security carbon

energy law green

climate low

water environment

ecosystem

services

resilience governance

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CECHR – Social Media We use a variety of tools to communicate with our community

Twitter

• In May 2015 @CECHR_UoD was number 45 in the

Facebook

via social media:

CECHR has a fantastically successful twitter account

SustMeme.com Climate Change and Energy Top 500

CECHR’s facebook account (CECHRUOD) was launched just

http://sustmeme.com/top-500-leaderboards/

(@CECHR_UoD) which has an astounding 70,000 followers Website

(January 2016)! Followers include Matt McGrath (Environment

The CECHR website was re-launched in June 2014

Correspondent for BBC News), Climate Reality (founded by

climate-change-energy-top-500/. This list ranks the top

www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr and includes information on

Al Gore) and FAOknowledge (Food and Agriculture Organisa-

500 influencers and players active on Twitter in Climate

CECHR events, relevant news, CECHR Associates, the Post-

tion, part of the United Nations).

Science & Forecast, the Carbon Economy, Emissions

and Green 1.

graduate group, related courses and other research groups.

The success of this account is down to our colleague Tracey Blog

Dixon who works tirelessly to keep the account updated and

The CECHR SPHERE blog encourages our postgraduate

relevant.

over a year ago and currently has 2100 followers. The aim of the account is to encourage communication and networking within the community and to promote relevant news and events.

• We have a Klout score of 71 (100 highest, 1 lowest) and

we are ranked number 5 (above WWF which is number

students to post details of their international research/fieldtrips/

7) on a list of top experts to follow on the topic of

conferences and can be found on the cechr website.

Biodiversity and number 8 on recommended experts to

follow in relation to Renewable Energy.

• The CECHR account was included in a case study of

examples of quality public engagement via social media

along with NASA and the Union of Concerned Scientists

in research about Social Media and Public engagement

by Dr Heather Doran - Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Fellow 2015

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2015/07/30/

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She highlighted that:

‘@CECHR_UoD is an extremely interactive account that shares news from the centre and related communications. They have generated their own, large virtual audience as part of their everyday communications.

This account doesn’t only disseminate information but also responds and engages with their audience.’

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online-engagement-strategy-dont-go-it-alone/

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Oana Iacob

Congratulations to the following CECHR Postgrad

Research title: Natural flood management (NFM) –

students who completed their studies in 2014/15:

an Ecosystem based Adaptation response to climate change.

Graduate:

Manik Deepak Gopinath

Division/School:

Town and Regional Planning

Research title:

Wellbeing and place: exploring

perspectives of older people

in Scotland.

Where now:

Lectureship in Ageing at the Open

University, Milton Keynes.

CECHR Postgraduates

Graduate:

Amy Holden

Division/School:

Geography

The Graduate face of CECHR

Research title:

Landscape values, management and

CECHR has a vibrant postgraduate community who are

Currently, Nandan is affiliated as a PhD student at the

art in Highland Scotland: can cultural

working on a variety of interdisciplinary research projects on

School of the Social Sciences and also with the Centre for

Oana was one of the original CECHR funded PhD student

values be incorporated into

food and water security; biodiversity and landscape sensitivity;

Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR).

and during her PhD she played an active role in many CECHR

landscape management practices?

He is on study leave from BRAC University where he was

related student initiates such as the Facing the Future

Research assistant/conference

involved in teaching and research as Director and Assistant

Where now:

Conference and Change Maker Workshops.

support. UHI Perth College.

focused on the assessment of NFM measures efficacy in

Graduate:

Elizabeth Young

reducing the flood risk for the current and future climate with a

Division/School:

Geography

consideration for the impact of these measures on the delivery

Research title:

Natural flood management (NFM) –

of ecosystem services. She applied a hydrological modelling

Soil and landform sensitivity to

approach and used Tarland Burn catchment, a tributary of

erosion in the machair landscape

the River Dee in north-east of Scotland as a platform to test

of the southern Outer Hebrides,

different NFM options. Oana has a new role as a water engineer

Scotland

for Arup (Bristol office), a widely recognized engineering

Where now:

Probationary year as a teacher

consultancy company.

in Perth.

resilience of health systems to climate change; natural flood management; renewable energy policy and social justice.

These students are a valuable part of the CECHR community and are heavily involved in the ‘change-maker’ workshops and the annual student conference ‘Facing the Future’. More information can be found on our website www.dundee.ac.uk/ cechr/postgraduates/currentphdstudents or by contacting cechr@dundee.ac.uk The following postgraduate students are/were both closely associated with CECHR. Nandan Mukherjee from Bangladesh has just completed his first year of study and Dr Oana Iacob

Professor in the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER).

Nandan’s research advocates the mainstreaming of climate change into Hydro Nation policy (cf. Sayan, 2013). Its main aim being to investigate how best deliver robust ‘climate ready’ evidence to ground trans-boundary water agreements.

The research centres on one of the largest, most populated and geo-politically complex river basins in the world, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) in South Asia (Figure 1).

Particular attention is given to Bangladesh, recognised by the

(one of the original CECHR funded PhD students) has recently

UN as one of a group of least developed countries (LDCs) by

graduated.

virtue of low income, weak human assets and high economic

Oana was awarded her PhD in June this year, her project

vulnerability - and one of those most vulnerable to climate Nandan Mukherjee

change induced hydro-meteorological disasters. The research

Research title: Integrated river basin management

will explore the potential effectiveness of ecosystem-based

framework under the lens of loss and damage.

water management options to address climate change induced loss and damage – sustainably and equitably.

Change Maker Workshops These workshops are organised by CECHR for all postgraduate students across the University from all disciplines. The aim is to equip participants with practical skills in collaboration and leadership and to encourage them to become active players in facilitating change for sustainability.

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When

Title Facilitators

Oct 2014

Science and Art, Collaborating to Communicate Jean Duncan (CECHR Artist in Residence)

and Geoff Squire (JHI)

Nov 2014

Resilience in Biomimicry

David Sanchez (DJCAD)

Jan 2015

Bright Club – Finding Comedy in your Research Susan Morrison

Feb 2015

Three Horizons – How can we better understand

paradigm shifts in order to lead strategic

innovation and transformation

Tony Hodgson (International Futures Forum)

Facilitation Part 1 and Part 2

Ioan Fazey (CECHR)

Mar/April 2015

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Annual Review 2014/15

The following workshops took place during the 2014/15 academic year:

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Facing the Future 2015

31st May - 1st June

University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

The first Facing the Future was held in April 2013 at Dundee

Realising Resilience

University, organised by a group of CECHR Postgrad students. The aim of the conference series is to encourage interdisciplinary thinking around some of the worlds’ most

A conference for PhD students and early stage researchers

significant contemporary challenges and provide opportunities for early career researchers to network and develop their own

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

capacities to work with complexity and change.

Ralph Throp – Head of Community Resilience Policy – Scottish Government Tony Hodgson and Graham Leicester from the International Futures Forum (IFF) facilitated the remaining sessions on the ‘Three Horizons Approach’ and ‘The World Game’ which aim to enhance understanding of the integrated nature of contemporary challenges and involve role-plays of different interests and stakeholders (e.g. governance, biodiversity,

Mike Bonaventura – CEO Crichton Carbon Centre Facilitated by – International Futures Forum

CONTACT

water etc).

enthusiasm from the delegates to continue to build the network.

Facing the Future 2015 took place over two days, 26th-27th

The conference series will now be held annually, with alternate

May at the University of Dundee. The conference was primarily

years in Dundee and at other venues. The next conference,

organised by two CECHR postgrad students, Emma Bryder

Facing the Future 2016, will be held on 31st May and 1st June

and Jennifer Williams with support from the CECHR office

2016 at Aberdeen University.

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and was attended by students from across the UK.

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Keynote speakers were Professor Sue Black (Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology) and Professor David Sigsworth (Chairman of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) who delivered well received talks to kick off both days.

Delegates delivered turbo talks (5 minute max) on their research in groups, followed by Q & A’s.

To buy tickets, go to: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr/postgraduates/ftf16/ Join Facing the Future on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/XCECHR @FTF21st Email: cechr@dundee.ac.uk Annual Review 2014/15

The highly interactive conference resulted in a buzz of

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Diary of Events A wide variety of CECHR events are organised throughout the academic year all of which underpin the ethos of the centre. Both UK based and international speakers have joined us this year to share their work with the CECHR community with working lunches, networking dinner, lectures, seminars and workshops. All of our events have been well attended and well received.

CECHR Events Annual Symposium

Present

Nov 2014 Lecture

Professor Allister McGregor, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Resilience and the Three Dimensions of Human Wellbeing: A Study of Coastal Fishing Communities in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Fiji.

50

Nov 2014 Lecture

John Pattison - Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich.

Alleviating Poverty and Malnutrition in Agrobiodiversity Hotspots in India: Lessons from the Field.

25

Nov 2014 Symposium

Professions, Place-making and the Public: what next?

Organised by Dr Husam Al Waer

60

CECHR Networking Dinner with Lesley Riddoch

60

Dec 2014 Lecture

Dr Marion Patrick - Stockholm International Water Institute.

The Cycles and Spirals of Justice in Water Allocation Decision Making.

40

Pete Fox - Director of Strategy and Investment Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency. Reflections on a testing winter and the importance of friend.

40

KNET – Knowledge Network Enabling Transformation – international workshop bringing together experts in ‘transformation’ held in Aberdour over 4 days.

20

Winds of Change: Rethinking the way we respond to a changing climate.

Professor Karen O’Brien, Professor Laura Lindenfeld, Professor Ioan Fazey and Paul Ryan

300

Feb 2015 Symposium

Annual CECHR Symposium themed Impact, featuring research presentations by colleagues from University and the James Hutton Institute.

60

March 2015 Lunch

Professor Gabriele Bammer from the Australian National University.

Addressing complex real-world problems: a new discipline, a repository and you. 20

April 2015 Workshop

Resilient Coasts and Flourishing Seas.

Organised by Professor Alison Reeves and Professor Deborah Peel.

60

May 2015 Lunch

Dr Wendy Kenyon, Senior Research Specialist, Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Knowledge Exchange and Impact.

40

May 2015 Seminar

Dr Sonja Klinsky, an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University.

Peace and Reconciliation in a Climate Context?

20

May 2015 Conference

Facing the Future 2015 – CECHR Postgraduate Conference.

Learning the Power of Multiple Perspectives.

43

May 2015 Seminar

Thomas Hartmann (Utrecht Univesity) and Jirina Jilkova (J. E. Purkyne University) Flood Retention & Resilience. Organised by Professor Deborah Peel.

25

Sep 2015 Conference

Conference on Buildings, Cities & Climate Change.

Event organised by Dr Husam Al Waer

50

Oct 2015 Lunch

Professor Mike Christie, Head of the School of Management and Business, Aberystwyth University. Valuing nature: ecosystems, ecosystem services, value and decision-making’ - a practical insight into managing biodiversity risks and delivering real business value.

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The final session of the day took the form of an ‘impact

February 2015, the ‘Impact Agenda’ being the theme. The

workshop’ where the group explored options, lessons and

event was well attended and showcased the wide range of

opportunities for CECHR’s future development. The feedback

innovative and impactful research being undertaken by the

from this proved to be extremely useful as it provided an insight

CECHR community.

into the community’s expectation of the centre.

The day was structured around sessions which included

Overall the symposium was extremely well received with some

5 minute speed talks from researchers within the CECHR

positive and insightful comments noted on the evaluation forms.

Jan 2015 Lunch

CECHR postgraduate students showcasing their research

The 2016 Symposium will take place on Wednesday 24th

through a poster session and key note talks from the University

February at the West Park Conference Centre, Dundee.

Feb 2015 Workshop

management team.

Annual Review 2014/15

Description

CECHR’s 6th Annual Symposium was held on the 11th of

community providing an opportunity to share their work,

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Date Event

Nov 2014

Feb 2015

Dinner

Saturday Evening Lecture

Annual Review 2014/15

Recommendations for future visitors are gratefully received.

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CECHR Incubator Fund 2015

Research Grant Successes

The Incubator fund awards seed funding to projects aligned

Research at the University of Dundee has been ranked among the very best in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework 2014.

with CECHR’s mission and values of promoting more sustainable

CECHR Associates are currently collaborating on a number of externally funded research projects generating in excess of £3.5M

and equitable futures to all. Over the last 5 years approximately

income into the University from a variety of funders including BBSRC, Scottish Government, JRF, NERC, the Leverhulme Trust

£15,000 has been awarded to various research projects, some

and CREW.

of which have led to further funding.

Selected Larger Grants to University-based CECHR Associates

School Pupils to digitally reimagine and Build Dundee’s Waterfront’, ‘Natural disaster mitigation for people with disabilities: identifying vulnerability, building resilience’ and ‘The Greening of Eigg – Carbon Abatement and Fuel Poverty

Flourishing Communities and Productive Seas

Reduction Through Adoption and Adaptation of Renewable

Over forty delegates attended a one day CECHR-funded

Energy Resources’.

symposium on marine spatial planning on 28 April, organised

by Deborah Peel and Alison Reeves, and postgraduate

Award

2015-2016 Scottish

Government

Centre for Expertise on Climate Change

£91K

Connections across the Tay catchment’s creative

expertise from Marine Scotland, the Highland Council, the

communities (CATC3H) by Dr Kit Macleod (James Hutton

Offshore Renewables Institute, Northumbria University, and

2015-2018 EC Horizon 2020 £114K

2020 - Societies (£3.3M)

Institute), Dimitrios Efstathiou (Computing), Dr Andy Cobley

the James Hutton Institute, together with colleagues from law,

(Computing), Dr Mel Wood (DJCAD) and Dr Susan Main

environment, DJCAD and planning. Participants also included

(Geography). This aimed to explore how diverse creative

central government, local authorities, Scottish Natural Heritage,

communities (artists and scientists) are influenced by their

the Crown Estate, and NGOs, such as Scottish Environment

physical and social environments using Twitter, machine learning

LINK and PAS. The event was chaired by Greg Lloyd, Emeritus

and graph databases. Dimitrios Efstathiou with Andy Cobley

Professor at Ulster University.

The aim of the event was to find ways to ‘talk’ across marine science, social science and lay communities at different scales

content) could be visualised, a wider geographical spread than

– international, national, regional and local and to explore the

just Dundee could be seen, to be interactive and to provide

emerging concept of marine spatial planning. The purpose

functionality to track tweets about creativity over time to

was to exchange knowledge with respect to the marine and

measure spikes during and after events (Figure 1).

land/sea interface from different scientific and practice-based and to explore the practical implications of implementing Scotland’s first National Marine Plan. Topics addressed included the Scotland’s national marine plan, insights into the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters pilot marine spatial plan, wellbeing and coastal communities; marine protected areas and invasive species; ecosystem management in international law; aquaculture; offshore renewables and 3D visualisation of underwater environments. The event has led to a successful Scottish Universities Insight Institute award.

Figure 1. Screen shots of the CATC3H app that enables a user to visualise social media interactions (Tweets in this instance).

Demonstrating the increase in Tweets from and to Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design from (a) 2012 to (b) 2015.

Prof John Rowan

2015-2017 CSO £161K Prof Thilo Kroll

Planning). The symposium brought together inter-disciplinary

net/). The app was developed so that connections (rather than

Project A Synthetic Approach to Bioconversion of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid (Joint with University of Nottingham)

were:

hosted on the Microsoft Azure Cloud (http://catc3h.cloudapp.

CECHR Lead

2015-2016 BBSRC £37K Prof Frank Sargent

students from the Masters in Spatial Planning (Marine Spatial

perspectives, raise awareness of different research projects,

Annual Review 2014/15

Funder

The two successful projects from this year’s competition

produced the CATC3H web app using a graph database

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Period

SUII

2015-2016 JRF

£100K

Community Pharmacy Services Used by Older People with Sensory Impairment and Polypharmacy Needs

Prof Deborah Peel (TRP) Home not Housing: Engaging with wellbeing outcomes Dr Megan O’Neill (Geography)

UNITY Project (Joint with 13 Other Partners)

Prof Ioan Fazey (CECHR) Resilient Communities Under Future Climates

2015-2018 Leverhulme Trust £168K Dr Jonathan Knappett The Incubator fund awards seed funding to projects aligned

(Civil Engineering) with CECHR’s mission and values of promoting more sustain able2015-2017 EPSRC £99K Nickapprox.

Taylor and equitable futures to all. Over the last 5 Dr years

Influence of Plant Roots on Soil Resistance to Earthquake-Induced Liquefaction

£15,000 has been awarded to various researchDr projects, 2015-2018 EPSRC £341K Andrewsome Brennan

(£1M) (Civil Engineering) of which have led to further funding.

Supergen Wind Challenge 2015: Screw Piles for Wind Energy Foundation Systems (Joint with Universities of Durham and Southampton)

examples CARIAA of projects include £270K ‘Using Minecraft with Allan Some 2014-17 Mr Andrew

(7.4M) (Water Law) School Pupils to digitally reimagine and Build Dundee’s Water-

Deltas, vulnerability and climate change: migration and adaptation. (15 Partner Institutions)

‘Natural disaster people with disabilities: front’, 2014-15 Univ ofmitigation Stanford for£129K Prof Claire Halpin (CLS) identifying vulnerability, building resilience’ and ‘The Greening of 2014-16 TSB £170K Dr Ed Hall (Geography)

Lignin Management Optimizing Yield in Lignin Modified

2014-15 CREW £140K Prof Chris Spray

(Water Law)

Methods to assess the role of catchment management to protect and improve water quality in a cost effective way. (With collaborators CEH & Westcountry Rivers Trust)

Hacking for Situated Civic Engagement

Improving the response to energy disruption for vulnerable people in extreme weather events.

(KTP with SSE)

2013-17 NERC/ESPA £500K Professor Terry Dawson Which ecosystem service models best capture the needs

of the rural poor? (WISER). (Collaboration with CEH) 2013-17 BBSRC £448K Prof Frank Sargent Metal-hydrido intermediates in enzymes: atomic level

(Molecular Microbiology) mechanistic insight and technological applications of

hydrogenases 2013-15 EU FP7 £175K Ms Elizabeth Kirk (Law)

The European Union and the Law on the Protection of Marine Biodiversity in the Arctic. Marie Curie Fellowship

2012-17 NERC

Global Observatory of lake responses to environmental change (GloboLakes). (Consortium award, five partners)

£487K (£2.4M)

Dr Mark Cutler (Geography)

2012-16 NERC £228K Dr Sue Dawson

(£2.1M) (Geography)

Annual Review 2014/15

Some examples of projects include ‘Using Minecraft with

Will climate change in the Arctic increase the landslide-tsunami risk to the UK? (Consortium award 8 partners)

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Examples of Research Impact • Matthias Klaes – CrowdFundRES

Improving the response to energy disruption for

• Irena Connon and Ed Hall – SSE Project ‘Improving

community members during extreme weather events.

the response to energy disruption for community

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership Project (KTP) between

members during extreme weather events’

the University of Dundee and Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution

CrowdFundRES

Project Researcher: Dr Irena L C Connon, Department of

The team at Dundee is led by Professor Matthias Klaes,

Geography, University of Dundee, i.l.c.connon@dundee.ac.uk

The overall objective of CrowdFundRES is to contribute to

This Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a 30 month

the acceleration of the renewable energy growth in Europe

project with the University of Dundee and Scottish and

by unleashing the potential of crowdfunding for financing

CrowdFundRES, a three-year EUR 1.9M project funded by

Southern Energy Power Distribution. The aim of the project is

renewable energy projects.

the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Framework

to identify, implement, evaluate and disseminate best practices

Programme for Research and Innovation, is run by a consortium

to support communities in their preparations and responses to

The project aims to deliver a number of benefits to academia,

We are currently seeing a deceleration of renewable energy

of 15 organisation from 8 different countries. Alongside the

electricity supply disruption caused by environmental hazards

to SSEPD, to other response organisations and to individuals

growth in Europe. This is partly attributed to the challenges

University of Dundee as the lead academic partner the

and to mitigate human vulnerability. In particular, the project

and to community members. Conducting academic research in

for financing renewable energy projects. Reduced access to

consortium includes crowdfunding platforms, renewable

is focusing on: a) how effective solutions can be developed

collaboration with a private sector organisation, with community

conventional financing options over the past few years has

energy project developers, media and legal specialists, industry

through developing a detailed understanding of how different

members and with members of other official and voluntary

triggered innovative financing schemes to emerge, with

associations and environmental groups across Europe.

communities responded to hazard events in the past and by

organisations that assist in emergency storm situations,

gaining a detailed insight into the specific needs of each

showcases the project as an applied-action and impact-based

In order to achieve its aims the project seeks to gain a deeper

different community, b) how proposed solutions to weaknesses

research project that aims to produce real world impacts, as

understanding of the public’s perception of crowdfunding

and vulnerabilities identified with current response procedures

part of the University of Dundee’s commitment to enhancing

as well as the issues faced by crowdfundign platforms and

can involve capitalising on the local knowledge of community

the real world impact of research pursuits as part of key

renewable energy developers. This together with a set of

residents and organisations through engagement processes

measures in the University’s Research Excellence Framework

longitudinal case studies will feed into the formulation of

that bring people together to design response strategies that

(REF) exercise.

guidelines to help inform the application of crowdfunding for

draw upon local expertise and enhance local empowerment,

renewable energy projects in Europe, and to improve market

and c) how the successful implementation of proposed

and regulatory frameworks.

solutions at the local level can be better achieved when

Annual Review 2014/15

crowdfunding attracting a lot of attention.

supplemented by proactive engagement with key personnel See more at: http://www.crowdfundres.eu/project

from official emergency response organisations at the regional and national levels to provide clarity over expectations and responsibilities, to develop effective communication processes, to ensure full consideration of local needs within response operations, and to assure that policies and strategies that are

Annual Review 2014/15

together with Professor Bruce Burton and Dr Ariel Bergmann.

developed within this field are responsive to the changing needs of a dynamic 21st century society.

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Publications

Stella Corsetti, Florian M. Zehentbauer, David McGloin, Johannes Kiefer. Characterization of gasoline/ethanol blends by infrared and excess infrared spectroscopy. Original Research Article Fuel, Volume 141, 1 February 2015, Pages 136-142.

Fazey, I., Wise, R.M., Lyon, C., Câmpeanu, C., Moug, P., Davies, T.E. (2015) Past and future adaptation pathways.

Climate and Development.

Peel, D. and Lloyd, M.G. (2014) Aquaculture Development in Scotland: Regulation as a Moving Equilibrium. International Planning Studies [on-line] DOI:10.1080/13563475.2014.921417.

Koen Arts, Antonio A.R. Ioris, Christopher J.A. MacLeod, Xiwu Han, Somayajulu, Sripada, João R.Z. Braga & René Van der Wal (2015): Supply of Online Environmental Information to Unknown Demand: The Importance of Interpretation and Liability Related to a National Network of River Level Data.

Scottish Geographical Journal, 131.

Annual Review 2014/15

Burchill, W., James, E.K., Li, D., Lanigan, G.J., Williams, M., Iannetta, P.P.M., Humphreys, J. (2014) Comparisons of biological nitrogen fixation in association with white clover (Trifolium repens L.) under four fertiliser nitrogen inputs as measured using two 15N techniques.

Plant and Soil 385, 287-302.

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Bongert and Spray C (2015) A comparison of ecosystem services mapping tools for their potential to support planning and decision-­‐making on a local scale. Journal of Ecosystem Services (Elseveir).

2014-2015 Projects.

Montrose Basin

Bere Barley

Jean has also completed a series of etchings and paintings

Jean spent some time learning about the properties of Bere

relating to Montrose Basin and the landscape affected by the

Barley with Dr Tim George and his team at the James Hutton

same tsunami 8000 years ago. These are being exhibited in the

Politi, E., Rowan, J.S. and Cutler, M.E.J., (in press), Assessing the utility of geospatial technologies to investigate environmental change within lake systems. Science of the Total Environment (Special Issue). doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.136.

Institute. With help and images from Dr Kenneth Loades, Jean

DCA print gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and

has produced a series of etchings of barley root sections. This

the Meffan Institute in Forfar.

of scientist from JHI, making drawings and drying specimens of

Jean is a valued member of the CECHR team and continues

Moffat C, Pacheco J G, Sharp S, Samson A J, Bollan K A, Huang J, Buckland S T, Connolly C N. Chronic exposure to neonicotinoids increases neuronal vulnerability to mitochondrial dysfunction in the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).

FASEB J. 2015 May; 29(5):2112-9. doi: 10.1096/fj.14-267179.

Epub 2015 Jan 29.

barley from the Living Field Collection.

to make a valuable contribution through both her research

Jayasinghe, R.C., Premachandra, W.T.S.D, and Neilson, R. (2015). A study on Maruca vitrata infestation of Yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata subspecies sesquipedalis).

Heliyon, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2015.e00014.

Rieu-Clarke A, Transboundary Hydropower Projects Seen Through the Lens of Three International Legal Regimes: Foreign Investment, Environmental Protection and Human Rights’, 3 (1) International Journal of Water Governance (2015).

collaborations and her exhibitions which engage the public in Empire

the varied research conducted by the CECHR community.

The Scottish Society of Artists invited Jean to respond to the theme of ‘Empire’ for a group exhibition in Montrose. Jean chose to explore the idea of Plant Collecting and the East India Company in particular in relation to John and Alexander Duncan from Brechin who collected plants for Sir Joseph Banks the director of Kew Gardens. The etchings and drawings completed

Soler, G., Edgar, G.J., Russell Thomson, R., Kininmonth, S., Stuart Campbell, Dawson, T.P., Barrett, N., Bernard, A., Galvan, D., Willis, T., Alexander, T.J. & Stuart-Smith, R., 2015, Reef fishes at all trophic levels respond positively to effective marine protected areas. PLOS One 10(10): e0140270.

for Empire are of a descendent of this plant growing in the

Holscher J, Klaes M. Keynes’s economic consequences of the peace: a reappraisal (2014) London: Pickering & Chatto.

and a team from BGS,the field work was a contribution to the

Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

NERC Funded Consortium Project Jean also visited Shetland with Dr Sue Dawson, Dr Fraser Milne NERC funded consortium project, ‘Will climate change in the Arctic increase the landslide-tsunami risk to the UK?’ The team

Fazey, I., L. Bunse, J. Msika, M. Pinke, K. Preedy, A. C. Evely, E. Lambert, E. Hastings, S. Morris, and M. S. Reed. 2014.

Evaluating knowledge exchange in interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research.

Global Environmental Change 25:204-220.

Hendry S (2015), Improving the physical condition of Scotland’s water’ Environment.

Scottish Planning and Environment Law 168:30 April 2015.

also involved attending a ‘Cereals in Practice Day’ with a group

were investigating the Tsunami deposits at Whale Firth and Mid Yell Voe on the Island of Yell.

Congratulations to Dr Husam Al Waer (CECHR Associate Director) who was awarded the Reed and Mallik Ltd journal prize (for the best paper in journal) for his paper ‘Improving contemporary approaches to the master planning process’ published in the journal Urban Design and Planning (Vol 167 issueDP1).

Annual Review 2014/15

A selection of the publications from CECHR Associates demonstrating the depth and breadth of expertise within the cohort.

CECHR’s Artist in Residence – Jean Duncan

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22 Annual Review 2014/15

MSc Sustainability

Annual Review 2014/15

www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr

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Professor Ioan Fazey, CECHR

Global challenges are becoming more acute as the world enters a new era of rapid social, environmental, and technology change. Humanity needs to learn to work better with change and across different disciplines.

This will define the 21st century.

TRANSFORMATIONS 2017: TRANSFORMATIONS IN PRACTICE Wednesday 30th August to Friday 1st September 2017 Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR), University of Dundee, Scotland Aim of Transformations 2017 is to develop a better understanding of the practices that facilitate social and environmental transformations at local and large scales in both developed and developing country contexts.

Annual Review 2014/15

www.transformations2017.org

Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience An initiative between the University of Dundee & The James Hutton Institute

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