I am Dr. Ronan McDermott, a dedicated scholar and practitioner in the field of Cultural Geography and Climate Adaptation Governance. With a Ph.D. from the Centre for Humanitarian Action at the University College Dublin, my research has focused on the pivotal role of risk perception in shaping domestic compliance with normative frameworks in disaster management.

During my doctoral studies, I had the privilege of working under the guidance of a distinguished panel, including Associate Prof. Pat Gibbons as my Principal Supervisor, Dr. Heike Spieker (an IHL and Disaster Law Expert at the German Red Cross), and Prof. Sinisa Malesevic from the School of Sociology at the University College Dublin.

Currently, I am contributing to the academic community as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Global and Local Governance, Campus Fryslân, University of Groningen. In this role, I am actively engaged in research and teaching, furthering our understanding of cultural geography and climate adaptation governance. My commitment to fostering sustainable solutions for our planet drives my work in academia, and I look forward to continuing to make meaningful contributions to this field.

Current activities with RDI :

• The Implications of Climate and Environmental Change on Migration and Displacement (USIP);
• NWO Digital governance and Climate Adaptation: A Case Study of the Use of the E-musrenbang Participation Tool in Kecamatan Bulak, Surabaya, Indonesia (“University of Groningen Grant from NWO”)