Dr Loraine McFadden

Senior Research Fellow, RCUK Fellowship

Department: Flood Hazard Research Centre

Contact

Telephone: +44 (0) 208 411 5531
E-mail: L.McFadden@mdx.ac.uk

Qualifications

BSc (Hons), PhD.

Research Interests

Loraine’s research centres on exploring challenges and opportunities for enhancing ‘integrated’ management within coastal environments. Her work has been characterised by interdisciplinary research that aimed to strengthen scientific theory, methods and tools for improving the strategic management of coastal systems.

Loraine’s research therefore focuses on understanding integrated dimensions of social and environmental behaviour and in exploring approaches to management which can better reflect the connectedness of the natural and human coastal environments. This research includes a number of related themes: exploring social learning for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), building effective science-science interrelations and knowledge, understanding barriers and opportunities towards adaptive management approaches, as well as developing approaches for operationalising the resilience concept for strategic coastal management. An additional emerging theme, which in turn unites each facet of Loraine’s research programme, is that of coastal futures. This research currently focuses on examining the opportunities and constraints in adopting longer-term perspectives within coastal management on physical, social and economic coastal futures. Loraine has a long-standing interest in conceptual frameworks on which integrated assessments of coastal change are developed and particularly the field of vulnerability analysis.

Current Research:

SPICOSA: Science and Policy Integration for Coastal System Assessment (EU Sixth Framework Programme). Work Package Leader: social assessment for systems analysis.
THESEUS: Innovative Technologies for safer European coasts in a changing climate (EU Seventh Framework Programme) Work Task Leader
British Council Strategic Partnership Award: Capacity building in Bangladesh for sustainable management of coastal natural resources in a changing climate. Named participant.

Teaching Interests

Loraine contributes to the MA/MSc programme in Sustainable Environmental Management. She coordinates modules on Flood Risk Management and Social Research Methods (with Mary Tilki). Loraine's main teaching interests focus on the resilience of coastal systems and the process of knowledge mobilisation for science and policy integration.

Biography

Loraine is a Senior Research Fellow within the centre and an award holder of a Research Council United Kingdom (RCUK) Academic Fellowship. She has led research tasks within a number of national (e.g. Environment Agency Thames Estuary 2100 Project) and international projects (e.g. EU-funded DINAS-COAST and FLOODsite Projects). Loraine is currently responsible for leading a work package on ‘social assessments for systems analysis’ within the EU-funded SPICOSA Project (2007-2011). This research explores challenges and opportunities for integrating science and policy in a systems approach to coastal management. She is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the project. Loraine is also the principal FHRC scientist and work tasks leader on the EU-funded THESEUS Project (2009-2013), examining contributions of social sciences to addressing the challenges of developing a portfolio of innovative tools for managing coastal risks.

She has co-edited a book on approaches to managing vulnerable coastal environments (2006, Elsevier), is the author of numerous publications and has participated within a wide range of international conferences and workshops including invited presentations and lectures as well as chairing responsibilities. She acts as a reviewer for a number of international journals and has guest edited a special issue on coastal hazards and vulnerability for the journal Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions (2010).

Selected Publications:

McFadden, L. (2010) SPICOSA: challenges of science and policy integration. Editorial. SPICOSA News Special 2010, Issue 2.

McFadden, L. (2010) Exploring systems interactions for building resilience within coastal environments and communities. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS 9 (2010) 1–18

McFadden, L., Tapsell, S. and Penning-Rowsell, E. (2009) Strategic coastal flood risk management in practice: actors’ perspectives on the integration in flood risk management process in London and the Thames Estuary. Journal of Ocean and Coastal Management. 52 (12) 636-645.

Hutter, G. and McFadden, L. (2009) Strategic Planning for Long-Term Flood Risk Management - Findings from Case-studies in Dresden and London. In Samuels, P., Huntington, S, Allsop, W. and Harrop, J. Flood Risk Management Research and Practice. Proceedings FLOODrisk: the European conference on flood risk management in to practice. 30^th September-2^nd October 2008, Keble College, Oxford, UK. Taylor & Francis Group, London. ISBN: 978-0-415-48507-4

McFadden L. (2008) Contending with the challenges of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and the contribution from geographical thought. Geographical Journal. 174 (4) 299-314.

Vafeidis, A.T., Nicholls, R.J., McFadden, L., Tol, R.S.J., Hinkel, J., Spencer, T., Grashoff, P.S., Boot, G. and Klein, R.J.T. (2008) A new global coastal database for impact and vulnerability analysis to sea-level rise. Journal of Coastal Research. 24 (4) 917-924.

McFadden, Land Green, C (2008) Is stakeholder engagement too much like hard work? In Wallendorf L., Ewing L., Jones C. and Jaffe B.(eds) Proceedings of Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2008 conference, April 13-16, 2008, Turtle Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. 968-979. COPRI of ASCE, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Geologic Survey, Reston, VA: ASCE / COPRI, 978-0-7844-0968-8.

McFadden, L. (2007) Governing Coastal Spaces: the case of disappearing science in Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Coastal Management. 35 (4) 429-443.

McFadden, L. (2007) Vulnerability analysis in environmental management: widening and deepening its approach. Environmental Conservation. 34 (3) 195-204.

McFadden, L. and Green, C. (2007) Defining 'vulnerability': conflicts, complexities and implications for Coastal Zone Management. Journal of Coastal Research. SI50 120-124.

McFadden, L., Nicholls, R.J., Vafedis, A.T. and Tol, R.S.J (2007) A methodology for modelling coastal space for global assessment. Journal of Coastal Research. 23 (4) 911-920.

Green, C. and McFadden, L. (2007) Coastal vulnerability as discourse about meaning and values. Journal of Risk Research. 10 (8) 1027-1045.

McFadden, L, Spencer, T. and Nicholls, R.J. (2007) Broad-scale modelling of coastal wetlands: what is required? Hydrobiologia. 577 (1) 5-15.

De Brujin, K., Green, C., Johnson, C. and McFadden, L. (2007) Evolving concepts in flood risk management: searching for a common language. In: Begum, S., Hall, J. and Stive, M. (eds.) Flood Risk Management in Europe: Innovation in Policy and Practice. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, Volume 25. Springer Netherlands. ISBN: 978-1-4020-4199-0.

McFadden, L., Nicholls, R.J. and Penning-Rowsell, E. (eds.) (2006) Managing Coastal Vulnerability: An Integrated Approach. Elsevier Science. pp282. ISBN: 0080447031

McFadden, L. and Penning-Rowsell, E. (2006) Adaptive planning for flood risk management: emerging challenges and lessons from London, the Thames Estuary. In: M. Forkiewicz, New Approaches to Harbour and Coastal Risk Management and Education. 73-81. Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Management and Economics. EUROCOAST-LITTORAL 2006. Gdansk, 18^th-20^th September 2006. ISBN: 83-88617-08-7.

Selected Published Reports:

Mette, A. et al. (2011) The Systems Approach Framework Handbook

McFadden, L. and Priest, S. (2011) Guidance for identifying the Policy Issue, Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011.

McFadden, L. and Priest, S. (2011) Using social tools in the SAF Output Step, Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011.

Mette, A., Borner, J., Sandberg, A., Vanderlinden, J-P., Mc Fadden, L., Priest, S., Lowe, C., D’Hernoncourt, J., Fernandes, T., Hirschfeld, J., Raux, P. (2011): Guide to System Output, SPICOSA Project Report. Berlin, Kolleg fuer Management und Gestaltung nachhaltiger Entwicklung.

Vanderlinden, J.P., Stojanovic, Schmueli, D., Bremer, S., Kostrzewa, C and McFadden, L. (2010) The SPICOSA Stakeholder-Policy Mapping User’ Manual, complete version with worked examples. Deliverable D1.7 SPICOSA Project, Project No: 036992. Published online February 2011.

McFadden, L., Priest, S. and Green, C. (2010) Introducing institutional mapping: A guide for SPICOSA scientists, Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011 pdf.

SPICOSA WP3 (2010). Guide to System Design, v.3.04. Napier University, Edinburgh. Published online February 2010

McFadden, L., Priest, S., Green, C. and Sandberg, A. (2009) Basic Principles of Science and Policy Integration, Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011.

McFadden, L., Priest, S. and Green, C. (2008) Introducing social learning: A guide for SPICOSA scientists, Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011.

McFadden, L., Green, C. and Priest, S. (2008) Social science indicators for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), Spicosa Project Report, London, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University. Published online February 2011.