CFA celebrates science week

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CFA will celebrate this year’s Science Week (14–22 August) by profiling some of its outstanding researchers and scientists working hard to keep our volunteers and the broader community safe.

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said he was proud of CFA’s strong research programs and projects, which bring improvements and insight to areas such as firefighter equipment, social attitudes to bushfire risk and the impacts of climate change.

“We are grateful to have some of Victoria’s brightest minds working at CFA to improve both community and firefighter safety,” he said.

One of those employees is John Gilbert, CFA’s Program Manager for Research and Evaluation. He was recognised earlier this year when he and fellow researcher Ken Strahan won the EMPA Research Award at the Emergency Media and Public Affairs Conference for their research on ‘bushfire archetypes’ and how to engage with different people around the risk of bushfire.

Originally from the UK, John did his Honours Thesis on bushfire risk perception on the rural/urban fringe of Melbourne while studying Geography at University College London.

After a short stint at CFA when he first moved to Melbourne in 2004, he then returned to the organisation in July 2009 as an analyst in the fires taskforce set up to respond to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. He then moved into research and evaluation roles.

A common thread of his work has been a focus on understanding community needs and improving our community safety approaches

“I find the work rewarding because we’re addressing challenging questions about complex issues and helping to solve problems.

“I really enjoy working with my colleagues and community members on a diverse range of projects.

“I feel my skills as a broker are becoming increasingly important; helping to connect people to the research and working with them to find practical uses for it.”