Dr Josh Whittaker

Dr Josh Whittaker

Researcher
About
Dr Josh Whittaker

Josh is a geographer specialising in research on the vulnerability of human communities to bushfire (wildfire) and other natural hazards. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong's Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires from 2016 until February 2021, and is now the Coordinator Community Engagement at the NSW Rural Fire Service. Josh has considerable experience collaborating with social and physical scientists and industry end-users to produce research that influences policy and practice. Specific research interests include:

  • Innovative methods of vulnerability assessment
  • Factors influencing hazard exposure and capacities to respond (short and long term)
  • Cost-benefit analysis of risk reduction
  • Location decisions after disaster (why people stay, why people leave, why newcomers move to disaster affected places)
  • Discourse analysis as a method for understanding environmental issues and problems

Project leadership

This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Research team:
This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Research team:
This project was commissioned by the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Contributions of digital volunteering to community resilience
30 Jun 2017
Adoption of location-based information sharing technologies and the emergence of digital...
Strategies for non-traditional emergency volunteers
30 Jun 2017
A risk-benefit framework has been designed to assist decision-makers in emergency management...
Joshua Whittaker Conference Poster 2016
12 Aug 2016
Citizen participation is a key principle of disaster risk reduction and resilience building.
Billy Haworth Conference Poster 2016
12 Aug 2016
Involving communities is a prerequisite to sustainable disaster risk reduction.
Community-Led Bushfire Preparedness in Action: The Case of Be Ready Warrandyte
18 Aug 2015
Be Ready Warrandyte (BRW) was an award-winning, community-led bushfire preparedness project...
Out of Uniform: Building Community Resilience Through Non-Traditional Emergency Volunteering
18 Aug 2015
The public is usually first on the scene in an emergency or disaster and remain long after official...
Non-traditional volunteering: Volunteered geographic information (VGI) and bushfire preparation
25 Aug 2014
This research explores the potential role of VGI for fostering community engagement in bushfire...
Out of uniform: Building community resilience through non-traditional emergency volunteering
25 Aug 2014
Citizens may play vital roles in helping those affected to respond and recover, and can provide...

Resources credited

Type Released Title Download Key Topics
HazardNoteEdition 05 May 2021 Lessons from Black Summer: how people experienced the 2019/20 NSW fire season PDF icon Save (1.23 MB) communication, communities, warnings
Guide-Fact Sheet 23 Jul 2020 Interview participant information sheet - Community attitudes and experiences of the 2019/20 NSW bushfire season project PDF icon Save (620.92 KB)
Guide-Fact Sheet 23 Jul 2020 Interview invitation letter - Community attitudes and experiences of the 2019/20 NSW bushfire season project PDF icon Save (272.8 KB)
HazardNoteEdition 06 Mar 2020 Understanding bushfire risk, warnings and responses - lessons from the 2018 Reedy Swamp fire PDF icon Save (561.7 KB) communication, communities, warnings
Presentation-Slideshow 27 Aug 2019 Householder preparedness and defence in the 2018 Reedy Swamp (Tathra) fire PDF icon Save (5.56 MB) communities, local knowledge
Presentation-Audio-Video 15 Jul 2019 Community preparedness, warnings and response to 2017 NSW fires File Save (0 bytes) communication, communities, warnings
Presentation-Audio-Video 18 Sep 2018 Community preparedness and responses to the 2017 NSW bushfires PDF icon Save (2.82 MB) communities, fire impacts
HazardNoteEdition 12 Feb 2018 Community preparedness, warnings and responses: NSW fires 2017 PDF icon Save (422.42 KB) communication, fire severity, warnings
HazardNoteEdition 18 Apr 2017 The changing landscape of emergency volunteering in Australia PDF icon Save (411.5 KB) non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 30 Aug 2016 Using participatory mapping in bushfire preparation - Billy Haworth PDF icon Save (2.32 MB) communication, fire, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 30 Aug 2016 Harnessing the capacities of spontaneous volunteers: application and adaptation of the Queensland model - Blythe McLennan PDF icon Save (1.61 MB) communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 30 Aug 2016 Opportunities and challenges of citizen-led recovery in post-disaster settings - Josh Whittaker PDF icon Save (2.29 MB) communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 17 May 2016 Out of uniform PDF icon Save (2.54 MB) communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 11 Sep 2015 The future of 'non-traditional' emergency volunteering PDF icon Save (1.85 MB) volunteering
HazardNoteEdition 10 Jul 2015 Ensuring volunteering is sustainable PDF icon Save (150.91 KB) non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Audio-Video 02 Jul 2015 Out of uniform File Save (0 bytes) non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 10 Apr 2015 Out of Uniform 2015 NSW RAF Presentation PDF icon Save (2.48 MB) non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 08 Sep 2014 Building community resilience through informal emergency volunteering PDF icon Save (1.12 MB) non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 07 Aug 2014 Sharing Responsibility and Non-Traditional Volunteering PDF icon Save (1.63 MB) non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow 27 Mar 2014 Out of uniform PDF icon Save (877.64 KB) capability, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering

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