The Consortium approach favoured was adopted to enable multi-disciplinary research activity in complex multi-scale research areas.  Addressing flood risk management in a holistic way was essential to ensure a complete and seamless integration of management options.  By involving a broad spectrum of skills throughout the Consortium members, it was planned that present boundaries and gaps in knowledge and understanding would be identified and addressed.  Indeed, this novel approach can take advantage of the opportunity to explore existing deficiencies in the current approach to flood risk management.

Additionally the unique Research Council and end-user funding partnership led to real and meaningful collaboration between the academic community, commercial research organisations and end-users of research.  It also provided an integrated research programme in this area comparable to a large European Integrated Project.  Addressing the problem of flood risk management research in such a holistic way using a single, multi-disciplinary team, permits and encourages a conistent approach to the problem that is founded on risk based methods applied to the source-pathway-receptor model which has been adopted by the UK Government.  Part of this consistent approach was the adoption of common principles and language which cemented together existing knowledge and practice with new outcomes from the project.

The first phase of the Consortium (FRMRC1 - 01.02.2004 to 31.07.2008) delivered short term outputs based on existing knowledge and expertise not yet translated into practice within the common and consistent risk based framework, short/mid-term outputs from ongoing research, and long-term outputs requiring significant research effort within the academic environment.  The scientifc research was of the excellence demanded by the Research Councils' international peer review process but with the focus on useful and useable outcomes as demanded by the User Group, funders and the industrial participants.

The consistency of approach and outcome was embedded within the project by the periodic training and briefing in the common principles of flood risk management offered to the researchers and extended to the wider team through their engagement with the participating industrial partners.  This developmental aspect of the Consortium was also designed to generate a well-qualified team of professionals who were likely to remain within flood risk management, thereby further promulgating the consistency of principle and approach.  In addition, the academic participants were also exposed to - and embraced - the same consistency.  They in turn promulgated a holistic approach to flood risk management in their undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.  The involvement of a large number of academics and university departments also led to a strengthening of the UK research base in engineering, physical and social sciences and supported  interests relating to flooding in general.

Good communication within the Consortium was vital to address the cross-cutting and common thematic issues.  This took several forms:  engagement between researchers; between researchers and industrial partners; and beyond the Consortium to other researchers in relevant fields and the user community at large.  Such dissemination activities weere also designed to encourage timely take-up of outcomes within the framework of flood risk management.

The Consortium could not cover all aspects of flood risk management:  only those priority areas identified at a scoping workshop were included.  It was important that the Consortium fully links to, and engages with, other relevant ongoing research funded by the Research Councils, the Defra/EA research programme and EU funded research.  It is hoped that the Consortium can develop its position to act as a focal point to which subsequent Research Council responsive mode research and future Defra/EA projects can be linked.  This will assure relevance, continuity and consistency.  Furthermore, during the lifetime of the Consortium, firm indicators were provided by the UK 'Foresight' Flood and Coastal Defence project and on future research needs in this area.  The Consortium has been guided in its development by these findings and was also able to provide an input.

To achieve these objectives the Consortium was managed as an integrated single project, albeit with several priority areas and many work packages.  It was steered by continual engagement with a representative team of funders and industrial users.  The management style was deliberately light-touch and orientated towards facilitation rather than dictation.


THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME OF FRMRC

The initial Consortium did not cover all the topics that could reasonably be identified within the flood risk management area.  It therefore adopted an organisational structure that addressed eight research priority areas identified as being of key importance at Flooding Research Workshops organised by EPSRC during 2002 and 2003.

The proposed structure recognised the need for the Consortium to build on existing research and to benefit from frequent interaction with the end-user community, whilst at the same time promoting effective management.  This empowers researchers to develop new and innovative science, whilst ensuring delivery of short-term products of genuine use to practitioners.

For practical reasons, the research was disaggregated into discrete work packages, several with a measurable outcome that could be audited.  However, since the principal aim of the Consortium was to foster integrated research, researchers from two or more priority areas conducted most work packages jointly and the Consortium encouraged a holistic approach.  The Consortium was designed to complement Research Council, Defra/EA, Foresight, UKWIR and EU projects in flooding.  In particular, its formulation has featured liaison with Defra.EA Theme Advisory Group Leaders and early planning for the NERC FREE initiative.  Involvement of like-minded researchers and the end-user community throughout the Consortium's lifetime, in both its management and research, has enabled continuous feedback.  The key topics of each of the priority areas of research, and the individual work packages, can be found on the project website, together with other news about the activitites of the Consortium.

In October 2006, FRMRC was invited to prepare the case for the second phase of funding and this was successfully approved and commenced in late 2007.  The Consortium took the opportunity to recast its management structure and simplify its procedures in the light of the experience gained in the first phase.

The science programme was revisited and modified, its membership changed and the funders updated.  An important change was the inclusion of The Office of Public Works (OPW) in Dublin in the funder group and the extension of the research network to the Republic of Ireland.  In addition, more formal links with international science were agreed, in particular with the People's Republic of China, and the inclusion of a Strategic Advisory Board to assist in the science audit function.  The complete science programme will be found on the website and an Implementation Plan for the second phase, along with all the output from the initial Consortium.

Full details can be found here