A clutch of project ideas and some very useful feedback have come out of the iCASP Confluence 2018. About eighty delegates from partner organisations and partner universities attended to catch up on project progress, network and share experiences so far.
Some of the highlights were a question and answer session with Angela Smith MP, whose talk provided some very useful pointers on how to achieve policy impact from iCASP; a demonstration of flood dynamics in the Aire Catchment using a purpose built water feature, Wetropolis; and a chance to question a senior Met Office scientist about the new climate projections due to be published in November.
Our interactive workshops were well received so we are considering how to run them again in future.
Going forward, we are going to develop one or more projects around sustainable urban drainage and water quality, explore how to support networks of natural flood management practitioners and people involved in flood alleviation schemes and focus on how to use the Agricultural Bill and 25 Year Plan as opportunities to provide evidence for policy-makers.
In response to feedback, we will be looking more closely at some of the challenges around public engagement that we may be able to help address as an additional dimension in new projects and we will be encouraging partners to communicate more widely about iCASP, encouraging their colleagues to stay in touch through newsletter items, twitter feeds and features on our website.