There were almost 40 deliverables and milestones embedded in the project. The most crucial in terms of achieving the overall aim of the project are discussed here in relation to their associated D2.1: Complete personal career development plan or PDP was achieved early in the project. This involved discussion with the researcher’s mentor on the ideal next step in the researcher’s career, namely securing a permanent academic post, and which steps to take during the project to achieve this. The researcher has been successful in securing a permanent academic post (in Ireland) and is now in place in that position. Another important deliverable within this WP was D2.2: Literature review on climate change in NW Europe. This was achieved and provided the foundation for the publications written and published during the project. This deliverable was supported through communication and teachings from AU and the researcher’s mentor, and allowed the project to continue after reaching milestone M2.1: Acquire sufficient skills in climate studies to proceed.
The secondment at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK (WP 3: D3.1-3. M3.1-2.) was crucial for the development of skills, namely related to citizen science and ethics, required to instigate the project. Although the secondment was carried out virtually, that is all meetings, talks and seminars were online due to Covid 19 restrictions and the furlough employment status of some staff, the overall objectives of the secondment, namely the knowledge gained for citizen science experts in Scotland, was achieved. The deliverables and milestones related to citizen science were achieved prior to proceeding with the questionnaires, communication with communities and writing of publications and thus much of WP4.
WP4: Data collection involved deliverables and milestones which were impacted by Covid 19 restrictions. With the project’s start date in early 2021, the project coincided with a series of lockdowns. The international aspect of the project meant three separate sets of restrictions and rules to follow. Restrictions included lockdowns and travel restrictions and these continued for the first nine months of the project. As such, to comply with international guidelines as well as ethics, all workshops related to the project were online. While this posed challenges in terms of engagement and establishing connections with local communities, the workshops went ahead online at the desired stage of the project in order to avoid delays to the overall research programme.
The deliverables and milestones related to WP5 (Analsyis and Deep map) were completed after WP4. Due to the changes made to WP4 data collections, some elements of WP5 were also adapted. This was due to the Covid 19 restrictions during the first nine months of the project and the move to online workshops. This meant that data collection was slower than planned as it was not a face-to-face workshop where the questionnaire and interview information could be collated immediately. Instead, questionnaires were circulated in three parts (Stage One, Two and Three, each five months apart) to assist continuous engagement with the communities involved and met the project’s milestones.
The last WP, WP6: Dissemination was also impacted due to Covid 19. Particularly, many conference plans and opportunities were cancelled, postponed or moved online. In the cases when the conference was postponed, the researcher was not always able to attend the new date. This was the case for ACHS conference in Santiago, Chile and Human Agency and Global Challenges in Bergen Norway. The rescheduled dates did not suit due to the researcher’s pregnancy and maternity leave.
Despite the challenges posed by Covid 19 restrictions, the deliverables and milestones of WP6 were achieved as other conferences were attended (see list discussed below). Similarly, some publication avenues were not explored as other avenues were preferred. Publications and their location were carefully considered by the researcher and her mentor. It was deemed important to publish with Gold Open access were possible and as such two publications, co-written with colleagues including the researcher’s mentor, were published as freely accessible articles during the project.
