Beyond “unprepared”: Towards an integrative expertise of drought

The overarching hypothesis of this project is that the understanding of preparedness is fundamentally transformed in the era of Anthropocene.

In Sweden, recent events such as the corona pandemic and the extreme weather in 2018 have pointed out insufficiencies in public readiness.

This project explores drought in Sweden, which until recently was a marginal problem on the national agenda but is now a priority of the Swedish government.

Both public agents and researchers call for collaboration an “integrative expertise” that combine the expert knowledge of natural sciences, social science and the humanities to advance public preparedness. However, the potential of humanistic expertise and knowledge is under-researched.

The potential of humanistic knowledge becomes relevant in new contexts where problems and potential solutions fall outside the domain of previously dominating expertise. The aim of this project is to contribute to the expertise for increasing public preparedness.

The purpose of the project is to study: the identification of Swedish "unpreparedness" in relation to the drought in Sweden in 2018, the historical processes behind this present unpreparedness, and the formation of future experts focusing on the significance of humanistic expertise. The project provides a novel and timely assessment of integrative expertise of drought.

It engages with actors in the public sector, NGOs, academic research, and arts and culture.