Development Studies Association Ireland (DSAI) Webinar Series on Irish Aid Funded Development Research, SDG 13: Climate Action
On 27th May 2026, DSAI hosted a webinar focusing on SDG Challenge Funded Projects – SDG 13: Climate Action, as part of our Webinar Series on Irish Aid Funded Development Research.
Showcasing the value of collaborative, evidence-based research in shaping development policy and practice, this webinar brought together researchers working across Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania to present findings from Irish Aid-funded projects addressing SDG 13: Climate Action. Watch the full recording above.
Chair
Assoc. Prof. Susan Murphy, DSAI Chair, Trinity College Dublin
Presentation 1
Engineering (for) Development: Adapting Wastewater Heat Recovery Technology for Climate Action in Zambia
Speakers:
Prof. Paul Coughlan (Trinity College Dublin)
Ms. Laura Nkhuwa (Southern African Institute for Policy and Research)
Ms. Eleanor Mancusi-Ungaro (Trinity College Dublin)
Dr. Calvin Stephen (Trinity College Dublin)
Abstract: The REHEATZ project (Research Ireland, Irish Aid) is focused on improving energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel use in Zambian food production to address SDG 13: Climate Action. As part of DSAI’s webinar series, members of the project team will share their findings from this project and their experience working on a development-focused engineering challenge. In particular, differences between previous sustainability projects and the SDG Challenge will be explored, showing the new approaches the engineering team took to working in Zambia and the importance of social impact to the project.
Presentation 2
FutureFarm: Design-Led Foresight for Climate Innovation: Co-Creating AgriTech Futures with Smallholder Farmers in Uganda
Speakers:
Assoc. Prof. Annmarie Ryan (University of Limerick)
Dr. Allan Mazimwe (Makerere University)
Abstract: Smallholder farmers (SHFs) in the Global South face increasing climatic volatility, yet innovation processes designed to support them often overlook their lived realities and future aspirations. This study, emerging from the SFI/Irish Aid Future Innovator funding, examines how design-led participatory futures methods can inform more inclusive agricultural innovation systems. We conducted a series of futures workshops with SHFs and agricultural stakeholders in Bukedea District, Uganda, to explore how farmers articulate alternative socio-technical imaginaries that challenge dominant assumptions embedded in agricultural technologies and extension practices. Through the Futures Triangle and related anticipatory tools, participants identified four systemic challenges and co-developed four archetypal farmer innovation pathways that illuminate diverse routes toward climate-resilient agricultural futures. A key contribution is Agricanvas, a novel design-led tool enabling SHFs and advisors to map present farming concerns, future aspirations, and potential innovation trajectories. Our findings show how participatory futures practices can build local innovation capacity, reveal sources of resistance and resilience within existing regimes, and generate actionable insights for technology developers and policymakers. We argue that integrating user imaginaries into innovation processes is essential for designing climate-responsive agricultural transitions in resource-constrained contexts.
Presentation 3
HEAT-ADAPT: Enhancing HEAT ADAPTive Capacity in Africa's Informal Settlements Through Nature-Based Solutions
Speaker:
Asst. Prof. Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo (Texas A&M University)
Abstract: HEAT-ADAPT aims to strengthen adaptive capacity to extreme heat in informal settlements of Dar es Salaam through integrated quantitative, qualitative, and transdisciplinary approaches. First, the project will validate and characterize heat stress challenges in informal settlements using mixed-method assessments, including environmental monitoring and community-based inquiry. Second, it will identify and address both technical and non-technical barriers limiting the adoption and integration of green solutions in these settings. Third, the project will iteratively co-create, co-develop, and deploy nature-based cooling interventions—particularly exterior greening strategies and community cooling spaces such as parks—through close collaboration with local stakeholders. Finally, HEAT-ADAPT will evaluate the effectiveness of deployed green infrastructure by measuring indoor and outdoor cooling performance under current and projected future climates, including surface temperature reduction and co-benefits such as food provision. The project seeks to generate scalable, community-informed solutions that enhance thermal resilience while delivering environmental and social co-benefits.
Followed by a Q&A Session
Speaker Biographies:
Prof. Paul Coughlan is a Fellow Emeritus at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. His research explores collaborative strategic improvement of operations through network action learning. His fellow researchers are in different domains and in practice, both nationally and internationally. He has contributed actively to funded research projects exploring environmental sustainability of water use and distribution, manufacturing improvement, and innovation in food production.
Ms. Laura Nkhuwa is a researcher at the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research and a PhD candidate at the University of Zambia in Climate Change and Sustainability Education. Her work on the REHEATZ project focuses on social and societal impact, where she brings experience from her previous work with the UNDP, the Zambian Centre for Environment Justice, and TIMESIS.
Ms. Eleanor Mancusi-Ungaro is a researcher in Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering on the REHEATZ project. Through REHEATZ, she works on analysis of heat recovery systems, their associated carbon savings, and their potential for wider adoption, as well as green policy initiatives that could support energy efficiency installations in Zambia.
Dr. Calvin Stephen is a researcher and engineering professional specializing in condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, machine learning applications, and turbomachinery systems. As a researcher at Trinity College Dublin, his work focuses on advancing intelligent monitoring solutions that improve the reliability, efficiency, and lifespan of critical industrial equipment.
Assoc. Prof. Annmarie Ryan is a senior Associate Professor at the University of Limerick whose work explores how markets, technologies, and sustainability transitions are shaped through design, participation, and stakeholder engagement. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from market studies, futures and foresight, and science and technology studies, her research focuses on the development of sustainable and digitally enabled socio-technical systems, particularly in areas such as food systems, the bioeconomy, and public engagement with innovation. Her research has been published in leading international journals including Human Relations, Journal of Business Ethics, Marketing Theory, and Journal of Marketing Management. She has secured and led a range of nationally and internationally funded research initiatives, including the Future Farm Science Foundation Ireland Future Innovator Award and Irish Research Council COALESCE funding focused on international collaboration and sustainable innovation. Dr. Ryan leads the Digital Futures Lab at the Kemmy Business School, where she develops interdisciplinary approaches to futures thinking, market innovation, and stakeholder-led system change, working closely with policymakers, industry, communities, and international research partners.
Dr. Allan Mazimwe teaches in the Department of Geomatics and Land Management at Makerere University, where he coordinates the MSc Geoinformation Science and Technology programme. Dr Mazimwe also manages the University GIS Centre, which promotes the mainstreaming of geospatial technologies in education, research, and development planning to support data-driven decision-making. His research focuses on vulnerability assessment, climate and environmental monitoring, agriculture, and the application of geospatial science to these domains. Dr Mazimwe has also worked as a consultant on Spatial Data Infrastructures, planning, climate resilience, and capacity building with organisations such as the FAO, the World Bank, the National Planning Authority, and the African Union supported projects in Uganda and Eastern Africa.
Asst. Prof. Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo is an urban climatologist and bioclimatologist. Over the past decade, his research has explored the interaction between urban land use and human stress in a changing climate and the role of green infrastructure in enhancing urban adaptive capacity. More recently, his work has expanded to understanding heat-health relationships in sub-Saharan Africa using geospatial technologies and open climate data to support multi-level heat adaptation planning for African cities. He is the Co-Lead PI a SDG-Challenge project, HEAT-ADAPT: Enhancing HEAT ADAPTive capacity in Africa’s informal settlements with nature-based solutions.