Improving flood risk communication to promote informed decision making by at-risk communities in the context of climate change

Introduction

Flood risk maps are important tools to aid decision-making among public audiences. With climate change increasing flood risk, there is more need for effective decision-making to reduce impacts. However, current flood risk tools e.g. the Government's long-term flood risk digital service, do not always communicate how climate change affects flood risk.

Although initiatives to include climate risk are underway, when attempts are made, information can be difficult to access and interpret for non-specialists e.g. house buyers. Proposed research

I will work with geospatial flood risk data to develop recommendations and solutions to improve communication of climate risk information, helping improve tools for decision-making. I will assess how risk is perceived based on the interaction of belief and the way that information is presented.

This project is highly interdisciplinary and embraces four SENSS themes: supporting adaption to long-term climate risk (Sustainability and Climate Emergency), improving the accessibility of data to inform decision-making (Digital Social Sciences), addressing barriers to decision making due to uncertainty (Resolving Uncertainty and Addressing Crises) and using large geo-spatial datasets (Advanced Methods).

Reviews of flood risk communication identify the need to convey data of how climate change will impact flood risk in accessible and comprehensible ways thatare relevant and actionable for local communities. However, psychological theories highlight that the way people interpret information can differ based on their motivations and beliefs and how risk information is presented.

My first aim is to evaluate flood risk maps and approaches which convey long-term flood risk. Then, I will explore how representation of climate risk information impacts risk perception and decision-making for users with different motivations and perspectives. Finally, I will create and evaluate new approaches for communicating climate-related flood risk, using co-production to establish what works best in practice.