Between October 2015 and June 2016, our topic was 'Risk, resilience and response'. As in previous years, a panel of three expert 'witnesses' from across and beyond Cambridge joined us each month. They were a rich mixture of policy- and decision-makers from governments and businesses , and technical experts and each of them will provide their perspective on the gaps in our knowledge and burning questions for future research.
Each term, we explored a different theme. First, we focused on food and water supply resilience. We jointly hosted these three meetings with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and we are co-producing a brief white paper for EC policy makers identifying future research gaps and opportunities in this area.
Between January and March 2016, we built on the discussions we had during our first topic and focus on resilient cities and ways in which big data and technology will shape the way we view and live in cities of the future.
In April, May and June we explored energy resilience. Our expert witnesses helped us to explore research questions related to ‘How can Bioenergy (based on photosynthesis) be used as a deployable and sustainable energy source for off–grid situations’.
Profiles of the witnesses
