Dr Vangelis Pitidis, Assistant Professor at IGSD, attended the 2nd workshop on Bridging the Risk Perception and Action Gap that took place in the context of the RiskPACC project in the City Hall of the Municipality of Rafina-Pikermi in Greece. The workshop was very successful, with over 30 participants from the Fire Brigade of the region, the Civil Protection of the Region and the Municipality, volunteer groups, local schools, as well as citizens of various ages.

I have worked hard here with Dr Sama Zefania head of IESM (University of Menabe) trying to make progress with our UoW-funded PSF project: Exploring policy pathways considering migration dynamics in the sustainable management of protected areas in Madagascar. IESM is our external partner in the implementation of this project. We are on the preparation phase of the project, meeting authorities, key partners and research assistants. Eights students from IESM will be engaged in data collection in Menabe and Androy interviewing migrants and local authorities to understand reasons of migration and its link with deforestation within Menabe Protected Area. I recall that Menabe protected area (210,000 hectares) has an exceptional biodiversity with very high rate of species endemism but has faced rapid deforestation hypothesised to be exacerbated by migration of people from Southern Madagascar, the driest region, located in the extreme south of the country. It is believed that migrants have fled from drought and hard life condition in South to squat in the forest or settle in villages near the protected area to practice slash and burn agriculture and grow maize and peanuts. In collaboration with local partners and authorities here in Menabe, our PSF project aims at unravelling socioecological complexities and increasing awareness in order to promote informed policy decisions.

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The STEM Grand Challenge is a long-term project, working to enhance the science, engineering and innovation infrastructure on campus. We asked him five key questions about what this means for Warwick.

The Faculty Research Development Fund is now inviting applications for projects with activities taking place between 1 January 2023 and 31 July 2023.

The Faculty RDF offers awards up to around £5,000 to support researchers at all stages in their careers to prepare major external research funding proposals. Researchers can apply to the below pathways:

• RDF Seed Funding
• RDF Seed Funding – Early Career Researcher pathway for researchers up to five years’ post-PhD experience

Funding is available to support pump-priming activities such as (but not limited to) research assistance for literature reviews, pilot projects, bringing together potential collaborators, or engagement and co-creation with non-academic stakeholders.

Further information on the scheme, including eligibility, can be found in the guidelines so please read them carefully before applying.

Applications, which should consist of (i) the fully completed application form and (ii) a CV from the main applicant (up to 5 pages), should be emailed to fss.rdf@warwick.ac.uk by 5pm on Friday, 9th December 2022. Completed applications should be emailed as an attachment with ‘RDF application' followed by the applicant’s name in the subject line.

For further information please contact the Faculty's Research Strategy and Development Manager, Harbeena Lalli (h.lalli@warwick.ac.uk).