Our network

Our aims

• To maximise the use of existing NERC-funded research and promote mutually beneficial new research and KE projects on wildfire.
• To assist the management of wildfire risk in the UK at all stages from prevention to response and recovery.

Our objectives

• Join up emerging cross-sector, cross-disciplinary interests in wildfire;
• Apply and adapt NERC's fire-related research to improve the evidence base for managing wildfire risk;
• Facilitate new partnership research and knowledge exchange projects to fill knowledge gaps.

Knowledge Exchange Fellow's role

A central point of contact and knowledge broker between NERC researchers and wildfire management practitioners and policymakers.

Our approach

We use NERC’s Apply-Adapt-Create staged approach to knowledge exchange.  Building on the FIRES seminar series, we work closely with the England and Wales Wildfire Forum to grow, connect and maintain a strong network and members’ database. 

We aim to share four complimentary types of knowledge:

• ‘Know-what’; formal knowledge about facts
• ‘Know-why’; formal knowledge about underlying principles
• ‘Know-how’; implicit knowledge based on practical skills and experience
• ‘Know-who’; knowing who to approach, drawing on a wide, interconnected network.

Our activities

KfWf activities have included:

• Networking events
  wildfire@manchester seminars and workshops; KE sessions and attendance at conferences, e.g. Wildfire 2013, 2015, 2017; academic advisory panel for Wildfire 2017
• Resources & website
  Briefing papers summarising existing research on key topics; co-produced resources based on adapting user data; website and shared web-based resources.
• Advocacy
  Awareness-raising amongst researchers, government agencies and other end-users through networking and attending local fire groups, national forums and conferences.
• Facilitation & advice
  Facilitating partnerships to develop new spin-off research and projects to address knowledge gaps.

Project approach and selected activities. Know-what, know-why, know-how, know-who knowledge types after Lundvall and Johnson (1994).