Research and Writing -

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Terrypic-vietnam-larger-1005x1024.png — Dr Terry Gibson

I am a practitioner, researcher and writer focusing on local level development, the role of Civil Society and the thematic area of Disaster Reduction . (Beyond my professional work I also make music . . .)

Latest Project: Disastermakers

Disasters used to be distant from people in the rich Global North. Now we’ve all lived through one and many find their hopes of returning to life as it was have been dashed. What’s going on? What comes next? What about the Climate Emergency?

‘Disastermakers’ brings the insights of Disaster Science to bear on the pandemic, cascading disasters following it, what comes next and what we can do about it.

The book is in production for publication in 2024.

Terry Gibson is a scientist, researcher, writer and activist who has worked in Disaster studies with colleagues right across the world for the last 15 years. His previous book was ‘Making Aid Agencies Work’ (Emerald).

Tune in to the introductory podcast . . .

Other Work

Some recent headlines from my work include the book ‘Making Aid Agencies Work‘; The report ‘Turning the World Upside down‘ based on consultation between members of local CSOs responding to the short and longer-term challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic; a resource microsite ‘Dealing With Disasters‘ directed at national Civil Society Platforms; a resource guide on Coherence – ‘The Coherence Cookbook‘, and a special edition of the Journal of Disaster Prevention and management ‘Disaster prevention – Doing it differently by rethinking the nature of knowledge and learning’

You can find out more about these and other projects in ‘ideas and stuff.’

You can listen to a discussion about my book ‘Making Aid Agencies Work’ which I had with two colleagues working at local NGOs, here. and find out more about the book here.

My earlier work was in film-making, during which I covered a million miles on shoots in the Global South. I then combined doctoral research at Manchester University with a full time role as Operations Director at GNDR to move out from behind the camera, make some sense of what I’d seen and engage in practical implemention. The Frontline programme at GNDR consulted over 100,000 people in villages, towns and cities round the world.