Who does what research? KfWf survey of UK vegetation fire researchers

Wildfire costs UK Fire Services alone £55 million pa. Wildfire management is a truly cross-disciplinary issue, affecting a wide array of stakeholders operating in different scales from the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Department for Communities and Local Government (the Government lead for wildfire), DEFRA agencies (Forestry Commission, Natural England, Met Office), Fire Services, Ministry of Defence, Network Rail, Highways Agency, Association of National Park Authorities, Heather Trust, Confederation of Forest industries, landowners, to land-managers. The majority of which also constitutes the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF), the key, wide-ranging, public-private stakeholder group for wildfire. Up until now stakeholders of the EWWF used to contact a select few individuals for consultation and advice over wildfire and vegetation fire issues in the UK. This NERC IAA-funded project aims to develop a ‘who does what’ database focusing on UK-based researchers with interest and relevant research across the nation. In giving added visibility to NERC-produced research, it will facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers and stakeholders. The database will be a first-base hub where researchers working on vegetation fire will be able to make their work more widely available and potentially increase its impact. It should also help researchers develop their peer-to-peer network.