Kate Donovan

Dr Donovan is the Co-Director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI) at the University of Edinburgh. She is also Deputy Programme Director for an MSc in Carbon Management and lectures in climate change risk and adaptation. Dr Donovan has worked as an applied researcher, consultant and practitioner in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) for over fifteen years. She currently leads research projects that aim to examine the role of heritage for climate change risk assessment and adaptation.

Prior to working at the University of Edinburgh, she was a Hazard and Risk Engineer at the National Water and Atmospheric Research Institute (NIWA), New Zealand. There she led a national risk visualisation and scenario development tool programme and led an international development project on adapting risk assessment tools for Pacific Island Countries. Dr Donovan advised the New Zealand Government on national disaster resilience and was the national risk lead for the New Zealand Natural Hazards Research Platform. Previously, she worked as an international DRR Adviser for an NGO called CAFOD. At this time, she was the co-chair of the BOND NGO DRR working group as well as a member of the UK Collaborative for Development Research working group on international development.

She completed a PhD at the University of Plymouth examining cultural vulnerability to disasters and post-doctoral research at Oxford University on flood science knowledge exchange. Her research interests cover a range of DRR and CCA topics including risk assessment and visualisation methods and tools for decision makers; disasters and culture; indigenous knowledge; social vulnerability and capacity; Resilience frameworks/measurement; science communication and knowledge exchange.

Dr Kate Donovan joined the SSAC on 16 June 2022.

Education/Academic qualification

• GeoSciences, Doctor of Science, Cultural Responses to Volcanic Hazards in Indonesia, University of Plymouth Award Date: 1 Jan 2010

• Geophysical Hazards, Master in Science, University College of London, UK; Award Date: 1 Sept 2006

• Geological Hazards, Bachelor of Science, University of Portsmouth Award Date: 30 Jun 2005