About Us: introducing members of the Bradford Water Research Group
At Bradford University we have formed a group with interest and expertise in water. The objective of the group is to provide an inter-disciplinary perspective on problems and issues in water research, both in rich, industrialised nations and in developing countries.
The group currently comprises members from the schools of Social and International Studies, and Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences. These members represent a range of disciplines from engineering to social anthropology.
Members of the group carry out research and consultancy projects for a number of research councils and clients. The focus of these projects is wide ranging: current topics of interest include water governance, equity and participation, water conflict and water-efficient design for new developments.
Individual members of the group have an active programme of publications In addition the group meets regularly within the University to provide an informal forum for debate and discussion on research issues around water.
related pages:
Group Member Profiles
Eric Abitbol
Eric Abitbol, a PhD student at Bradford University, is investigating the significance of epistemic communities in building co-operative cultures in conflict environments, with a focus on water issues in the Middle East. He is currently a joint co-ordinator of the Alternative Visions of Water (AVOW) in the Middle East, an international multisectoral initiative investigating alternatives to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal. See www.yorku.ca/avow.
Frances Cleaver
Dr. Frances Cleaver focuses on the understanding of collective action in natural resource management. Her work is centred around three inter-related themes: water governance, institutions and participation in development. Her interests link theoretical development and practical policy application, pursued both through academic research and consultancy assignments for development agencies.
Tom Franks
Professor Tom Franks specialises in water resources and water governance, with a particular focus on management, and the interlinkages between land and water resources. His early experiences in irrigation development have been complemented by more recent work on fresh and saltwater wetlands. He also specialises in capacity-building for land and water management.
P.B.Anand
Dr.P.B.Anand specialises in institutional economics of water with a focus on the role of policies and institutions in addressing inequality and promoting co-operation in the management of water resources. His current work focuses on assessing progress with regard to target 10 of the Millennium Development Goal 7 and examining and contrasting economic analyses with alternative approaches including Sen's capability approach and a 'right to water'.
Cathy Knamiller
Cathy Knamiller is a Ph.D student funded as part of the project Water Cycle Management for New Developments (WaND). Her research focuses on whether and how domestic water meters influence people's intentions, perceived and actual behaviour in the UK. Variations between communities, based on socio-economic grouping and/or ethnicity are being considered. She previously worked in community development in the UK and abroad.
Christine Sefton
Christine Sefton's research aims to identify public perceptions of sustainable water management with the intention of recommending effective methods of communication. The research involves two case studies, located in Sheffield and Essex, concerning sustainable urban drainage and water efficiency respectively. The perspective is from social psychology and the methodological approach, action research.
Liz Sharp
Dr. Liz Sharp's interests centre on the complex interactions between environmental policy and the public. She is concerned with both how the public influence the policies, and how policies seek, and succeed or fail, to influence community perceptions and practices. She leads the work on governance and public perceptions within the EPSRC funded project, 'Water Cycle management for New Developments' (WaND) and the Essex and Suffolk Water funded 'Heybridge Project'.
Anna Mdee (Toner)
Anna Mdee's research focuses on pro-poor service delivery and the potential for community-driven development initiatives. She specialises in developing longitudinal ethnographic case studies of community participation in water management. Her previous work also explored the application of sustainable livelihoods approaches to planning and managing development interventions.
Mandy Turner
Dr Mandy Turner focuses on how and why water provokes violent conflict. Her research interests lie in the potential conflictual impact of environmental degradation (including water) caused by extractive industries, unequal access to fresh water, and dams and diversions. She recently completed a consultancy report for the Government of Finland Foreign Ministry on conflict prevention and water in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sam Wong
Dr Sam Wong is a research officer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. His research interests lie in sustainable water management, social capital and environmental citizenship. He is experienced in inter-disciplinary work and has conducted research in China and England. He has recently been awarded grants by the British Council to carry out research in Bangladesh this year (2007).
