Judy’s research bridges theory to practice relevant to a range of stakeholders who have been grappling with how to start climate change adaptation, for example, Wellington Water, Watercare Services, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City Council, Hutt City, Dunedin City Council, Tasman District Council, Nelson City Council, Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Hasting District Council, Napier City Council. This has involved working alongside consultants such as Infometrics, Mitchell Daysh, Tonkin and Taylor, MWH, NIWA, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Ag Research, Scion, ESR, working in multi-disciplinary teams. The research has wide impact on uptake of adaptive practices, use of economic, adaptive pathways assessment and planning tools.
Her research is at the leading edge of practice and is contributing to the international literature. Judy works with teams of colleagues across disciplines, organisations and jurisdictions through research collaborations and networks in Australia (CSIRO, RIVM), UK (Defra), USA (RAND, World Bank), Norway (CICERO) and the Netherlands (Delatres, Dutch Delta Commission, Erasmus University) and through the Society for Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty a global network of researchers, academics and practitioners. Her work on the development and application of the Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways planning in river and coastal settings is now embedded in the NZ national Coastal Hazards and Climate Change guidance.
Government agencies seek advice based on her research area of expertise including Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Primary Industry, the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment, NIWA, AgResearch and GNS.
Judy is currently a New Zealand Climate Change Commissioner and Coordinating Lead Author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Australasia Chapter.
Role: Senior Research Fellow | New Zealand Climate Change Commissioner
Field of Research: Cascading climate change impacts; adaptive decision-making tools and measures; resilience governance tools; enabling coastal adaptation through planning, economic tools, monitoring signals and triggers; managed retreat.