EPSRC Policy Fellowships in Defra

There are economic, social, technological and environmental challenges to the development of effective policies to mitigate the water challenges of the 21st century. To this end, preservation of water resources requires a three-way evidence-based approach, broadly: reduce consumption and minimise waste; recycle and reuse water; and reduce associated energy consumption in treatment and distribution activities. Technological innovations for buildings and urban infrastructure can help improve the effective supply and use of water in buildings and put in place measures to achieve current standards set in the building regulations and other supply regulatory instruments. However, for any solution to succeed, the collaboration of consumers, policy makers, academia/research and industry is required to explore and implement credible solutions aimed at increasing knowledge/awareness, technological change and socio-behavioural change. This is even more important in order to realise the challenge of meeting the 80% carbon emission reduction target by 2050.The core aim of the fellowship will be to further explore the interfaces between active and passive processes: information, technological and infrastructure processes for optimising water supply and waste systems in buildings and urban environments on one hand and socio-economic constructs on the other. A clear understanding of these interfaces and their interaction is necessary to achieve the change required. By working with DEFRA and partner government/industry groups, it will be possible to map interdependent variables affecting the fore-mentioned policy issues, affecting the reduction of resource waste and carbon emissions in supply and treatment processes. At the end of the fellowship, it will be possible to propose an integrated route to complement current policies for water efficiency and carbon reduction in the built environment. This will comprise two parts: the first will comprise policy recommendations which will propose logical, sequential and innovation-led 'options' to resolve water and waste-related challenges. This will encourage innovation, reduce constraints and promote the collective responsibility necessary to achieve expected goals. It is anticipated that this will further facilitate customisable (flexible) solutions to achieve further efficiency in water supply and use, reduction in waste water generation, increase in recyclable rainwater/grey water all without excessive strain on suppliers and users. This policy recommendation will need an implementation support system. Therefore the second output will propose a holistic systems approach to inform the targeted delivery of technological solutions on a micro scale, for specific urban areas. This will provide the evidence necessary for decision and policy making regarding the regulation of the built environment. This may be in the form of an information base designed to integrate physical, geo-morphological, environmental and social (demand/supply) datasets from multi-disciplinary sources that already exist within or that collaborate with DEFRA.

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