Project Researcher: "How prepared is the Radnor Valley for extreme climate change-"

Project researcher required for the project titled 'Ground Zero 2030 – Stage 1 Research: How prepared is the Radnor Valley for extreme climate change?' The aim is to produce a clear, evidence-based report on the Radnor Valley’s preparedness for extreme climate change, using existing data and community input. This report will provide the foundation for the wider Ground Zero 2030 resilience plan.

Commissioned by: Resilient Radnorshire

Freelance Status: Freelance contract linked to delivery of report. Can be one or two researchers sharing work and payment.

Completion Timeline: Equivalent to a three day week over a 36 week period. Possibility of extension.

Completion Deadline: Summer 2027.

Payment terms: £12,960.00, plus travel expenses as, and where appropriate.

Application deadline: Monday 17th August 2026.

Resilient Radnorshire is an emergent, grass-roots group in the Radnor Valley area committed to raising local consciousness and developing practical, people and nature-focused community-based responses to an accelerating climate emergency. We have scoped a project, 'Ground Zero 2030: Towards a Radnor Valley Resilience Plan' which sets out a community-led resilience strategy for the Radnor Valley. We are now ready to implement stage one of the project, which is the researching and writing of a report: 'How prepared is the Radnor Valley for extreme climate change?'

We are seeking an enthusiastic, self-motivated freelance researcher(s) to gather, collate and assess relevant material largely in the public domain, and from that, to synthesise the information within a report prepared for public circulation.

Background: Recent initiatives, such as the 2025 Climate Majority Project publication of 'The Strategic Adaptation for Emergency Resilience' (SAFER) report, and the Chris Packham-hosted film, 'The People's Emergency Briefing' speak to the urgency for UK climate adaptation. However, there has been very little consideration of how climate adaptation can be practically delivered at a local level where communities' long-term resilience may become dependent on their own inner resources.

The purpose of the 'Ground Zero 2030' project is to explore this coming eventuality as if it were real, rather than some abstract exercise, in a small, discrete, rural district of the Welsh border region. It seeks to find ways to enable local people to work together and be climatically resilient both for the common weal and for the natural world around them.

Lead questions for the research include:

• Water issues: drought, flood risk, farmland and buildings inundation, the overall hydrology of the district;
• Extreme weather events: potential health, safety, and other risks to human and non-human populations from extreme heat, torrential rain, storms, wildfires; how will energy supply be affected?
• Food security: is there enough locally produced food in the area in the event of wider shortages?
• Land usage: sustainability of present farming and forestry practices as the climate becomes more severe;
• Building stock: insulation and heating of public, workplace, and domestic buildings; provision for accommodating displaced people;
• Bio-diversity: vulnerability of the area's wildlife to further climate breakdown;
• Stakeholders: key local actors and resources available for emergency situations.

Resilient Radnorshire is working on the assumption that much of the necessary information will be available in existing data. The researcher's primary effort will be directed toward collating and interpreting this data and synthesising the information as it can be applied to the Radnor Valley.

Intended Outputs/Outcomes:

• Prepare summer 2027 publication of a short, online report written and curated in clear, everyday language for national and local government, interested environmental organisations, and the people of the Radnor Valley.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to inform the Ground Zero 2030 framework.
• Enable Resilient Radnorshire to engage and consult with the communities of the Radnor Valley based on the empirically-grounded knowledge of the area.

This role is suited for someone who can act in a self-employed freelance capacity responsible for their own tax, NI, sick and holiday pay. You will be expected to work to milestones in the contract with regular, scheduled payments on production of invoices. Strong time management and data analysis skills are essential.

Online contact with team members will be frequent, and you will report back to the RR group in evening or weekend sessions not more than once a month. A genuine passion for engaging with the human and natural dimensions of climate change is important.

About you: Environmentally and socially aware candidates will have a background in studying climate-related problems. Technically competent, conversant with computer software, data sets, preferably proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel. Good communication skills are essential, with the ability to present complex findings in a succinct, coherent, jargon-free report.

Beyond the report: The research report is intended to provide the essential foundations for the wider 'Ground Zero 2030' project. Successful production of the report could lead to further funding for a more community-focused second stage of the project.