Walker Update - 23rd Feb 2021

Welcome to the Walker Update, bringing you up to speed with the latest news and developments from the Walker Institute. We’re trying something new this issue and have produced a video version of the Walker Update so, if you need a quick break from text, click the video below. If you prefer to stick with the written version, it’s still available underneath the video, so read on to find out what’s been going on at the Walker Institute.

One community:

• We recently held a meeting for teams from across the University of Reading to organise activities for November’s COP26 climate conference, this year hosted by the UK. It was great to hear everyone’s plans and, by coordinating our efforts, we hope to amplify the impact that the University can have at COP, making this event really count. If you would like to be involved in future sessions, please email our Knowledge Management Officer, Ross Fairgrieve (r.r.fairgrieve@reading.ac.uk).

Committed to making a meaningful difference in people’s lives: 

• Dr Grady Walker, Senior Research Officer at the Walker Institute, recently published a paper in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods (IJQM) with colleagues from the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. The paper, ‘Thematic Collages in Participatory Photography: A Process for Understanding the Adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming in India’ explains how collages of photos, taken by farmers, can help researchers and policymakers to better understand motivations and barriers to adopting new farming practices. More information about the paper can be found in this blog article.
• The final data collection for the NIMFRU flood resilience project is now complete. Led by our on-the-ground partner ECOTRUST, in-depth interviews were conducted with community members and district officers in Katakwi, Uganda. These interviews will allow us to better understand the impact that the NIMFRU project has had on the lives of local people, assess how the project’s findings have been used to improve district policies and processes, and identify areas that need further research and development.

By shaping a climate resilient future together:

• Last week, the Walker Academy ran the Assessing Livelihood Vulnerability to Extreme Shocks (ALiVE) course. The course, which was run in partnership with Evidence for Development, provided an introduction to the Household Economy Approach and Individual Household Method, both used to analyse the resilience of rural livelihoods to climate shocks. ALiVE was attended by 16 students from the UK, Uganda and Kenya, and from institutions including Gulu University, the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the African Research and Impact Network (ARIN), Vihiga County Government and the University of Reading. Early feedback from the course has been excellent and we look forward to running part two of this training course later in the year.
• Did you know that the 11^th of February was the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science? Check out the new video version of this update to see Walker Institute Director, Prof Ros Cornforth, explaining why the full and equal participation of women in science is such an important topic to the whole Walker team.

What happened across the world this week? Please click on this link to access the Global Hazard Weekly Bulletin produced by Prof Virginia Murray and her team at PHE. It contains a weekly summary of global hazards, including recent developments of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Last week's bulletin can be found here.

Wishing you all a productive week.
 
The Walker Institute Team