UKADR - Who are we?
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.
What is our focus?
The focus is on all contexts and systems of disaster risk recognising of the UK role in this field across an interconnected world. UKADR understands science on disaster risk and its management to be interdisciplinary. There is an emphasis on integrated and applied dimensions of knowledge production rooted in fundamental science. This includes work from the natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences, agricultural science, social sciences, and humanities and includes information technology, economics, and behavioural sciences.
How does UKADR aims to support excellence in science and enhance opportunity for impact on policy and practice?
UK science on disaster risk is widely recognised as world leading. UKADR aims to support excellence in science and enhance opportunity for impact on policy and practice by acting as:
- An alliance of the research and academic disaster research community to facilitate collaboration and partnership across the UK
- An advocate of UK science to UK Government
- A contact point for UK Government seeking the best UK science input
- A mechanism for UK Government to communicate emerging needs to the UK science community.
- A national contact point for international efforts to coordinate science efforts to reduce the global impacts of disaster
- Collaborator with other international agencies engaged in supporting Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
What are the key examples/ contributions in 2021 and planned activities for 2022?
- A substantive discussion around the potential contributions by the UKADR to the wider UK funding landscape, focusing on structure, mechanisms, and values of funding
- Partnership support to UKRI in the context of the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Event Series
- Contribution to priority research themes have been proposed through this process
- UK Alliance for Disaster Research Annual Conference 2022, University of Edinburgh, and the British Geological Survey, in Edinburgh on 7-8 December 2022
- Partnership building with Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA), Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI) and South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes
How can I be a member of UKADR?
Membership is open to staff and PhD students of any research-and-capacity- building institute based in the UK that is active in researching disaster risk and its management. This includes universities and other educational institutions, charitable trusts, think tanks and research departments within government agencies, private businesses or civil society organisations.
Disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness, disaster response, reconstruction and recovery are all of interest.