Dr Gemma Sou from the University of Manchester has been awarded the Society’s first Rob Potter Award.
Established in 2018, a grant of £1,500 will be given every year through the Society’s Small Research Grants scheme. In honour of Rob Potter, an eminent human geographer, applicants’ research should focus on the geographies of development or transnational migration, with research in the Caribbean region particularly welcome.
Gemma’s research focuses on disaster recovery policy processes in Antigua and Barbuda following the impacts of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The country was a British colony between 1632 and 1981, and Gemma is keen to understand how this colonial history has impacted the nation’s disaster recovery policies today. Her research hopes to not only understand the role of national government and international community in disaster recovery, but also to evaluate the challenges and opportunities of developing locally appropriate recovery plans.
As Gemma explained, “Disaster recovery is extremely under researched. This project will advance knowledge of how nations develop recovery plans, which is important as the impacts of climate change are set to increase the number of disasters in the Caribbean and other regions of the world.”
Gemma’s project will run for one year from September 2018 to September 2019.
If you are looking for funding for research related to the geographies of development, find out more about the Rob Potter Award. The next deadline for applications is 23 November. We also offer other funding opportunities for a variety of research and scientific expedition projects.