Increasing Civil Society's capacity to deal with changing extreme weather risk: negotiating dichotomies in theory and practice

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Scientific consensus on climate change anticipates marked increases in extremes in Europe particularly in heatwaves, droughts and heavy precipitation events. At the same time, UK government approaches to the management of increasing extreme weather risk have shifted since the mid-1990s from a top-down centrally imposed model to devolved responsibility where Civil Society (CS) is a key player. These changes in the responsibilities of CS are also being played out in other international settings. The seminar series aims to examine critically the changing role of CS in Extreme Weather Adaptation (preparation, recovery, prevention, mitigation, evaluation). The series comprises 9 seminars - interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and inter-professional - with strong representation from CS and non-academic organisations, both nationally and internationally. These will navigate and negotiate challenges and opportunities for research and practice in how CS prepares for extreme weather risk, and recovers from actual events. The seminar series discussions will capitalise on dialogue between new configurations of UK and international participants (academics from different disciplines, CS representatives, businesses in the community, risk management agencies). Partners include National/Scottish Flood Forums, and Climate Outreach and Information Network. Case-study settings are UK 2007 floods, 2013/2014 floods Somerset levels; Hurricane Sandy in New York/New Jersey; Vanuatu, Maldives, and Bangladesh.The series will be organised to three themes: 1: Civil Society: new citizenship, social networks and 'emerging publics': The role of the State in society is changing, requiring new relationships between the State and individuals (citizenship), and CS to be defined. Understanding these is critical if we are to manage risk from extreme weather and work together towards building greater resilience. The seminar series starts by examining different shifts that have taken place in role of CS in the UK and internationally (Europe, US, Australia), and development of new understandings of 'participation' and 'citizenship'.2: Reframing social spaces in extreme weather adaptation and governance: The seminar series will offer opportunities to discuss changing associations within and with CS - from primary vertical interactions between citizens and the State, to increasingly horizontal interactions between the third sector, informal groups and networks, public sector, private sector and government agencies played out at local level. The expansion of the range of actors actively involved within Extreme Weather Adaptation has necessitated a level of convergence between institutions, groups, and networks that formerly operated separately from each other, thereby creating new social spaces. In defining such new social spaces, voices of the marginalised and disenfranchised must be heard.3: Achieving Civil Society innovations in managing extreme weather events and risk: In many parts of the world, local CS has responded to extreme weather event impacts creatively- either through using technology in new ways or through social and artistic innovation. This part of series explores learning from collective experiences of these innovations and their implications for the functioning, capital and empowerment of CS within Extreme Weather Adaptation.The seminars will be co-hosted with CS organisations and other players, situated in different UK locations, and be available virtually to maximise national/international engagement to draw together different perspectives and approaches that exist in research, practice and social learning for increased resilience. Diverse seminar outputs will be co-produced and tailored to different audiences, with attention to sustainability/legacy: dedicated website, set of position papers, academic-practitioner journal articles, online discussion forum, twitter feed, newspaper articles and participatory toolkit.