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Dr. Kasia Wodniak

Teaching Fellow (Social Studies)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Kasia Wodniak

Teaching Fellow (Social Studies)

 kwodniak@tcd.ie

 


I am currently a Teaching Fellow in Social Policy and an Academic Lead for International Exchange at the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin. In my previous role, I was an Assistant Professor and a Horizon 2020 Researcher at the University of Social Sciences in Warsaw. I hold a PhD in Sociology from Trinity College Dublin and a Master's in Public Management from Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. My main research interest is the sociology of organisations and especially organisational approaches to policy issues in the context of global challenges such as climate change and inequalities, governance (polycentricity and co-production), community engagement and resilience, and sustainability. I participated in European research projects namely the European Commission Horizon 2020 Search & Rescue project, where I investigated the role of civil society in crisis management, and the Erasmus+ DigitalRoutes@Culture project. The 8-million-euro Horizon Search & Rescue project consisting of 28 partners that run from 2020 to 2023 was recently selected by the European Commission as a "Success story" that not only developed many advanced technologies and identified ways of adopting them across European countries to strengthen social protection and community resilience, but also fostered a meaningful collaboration between researchers, rescuers and policymakers. Other research projects I was involved in included a qualitative study on the institutional, organisational and social legacy of the European Football Championship UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and a large-scale mixed-methods study of the National Museum of Qatar. I have participated in international conferences, am a member of academic associations and published in high-impact academic journals. At TCD SWSP, I am the Lead on Global Social Policy & Comparative Welfare State, Introduction to Social Policy Concepts and Social Policy, Critical Theory and Social Work Research modules and the co-lead on the Capstone Module. I also act as a College Tutor. Previously, I lectured on a variety of sociology and management/administration modules, including Social Networks & Digital Lives, Globalisation and Development, Organizational Theory & Behaviour, Crisis Management, and Social Research Methods. I also engage with the community. One of the ways to do so has been through co-organising with the Architecture Association of Ireland a public lecture series entitled Housing Solutions. The series showcases socially and ecologically innovative housing projects from around Europe and attracts an audience of around 100 at every event.
Project Title
 Search and Rescue: Emerging technologies for the early location of entrapped victims under collapsed structures and advanced wearables for risk assessment and first responders safety in SAR operations
From
01/07/2020
To
30/06/2023
Summary
The Search & Rescue (S&R) project has received funding from the European Union"s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 882897. Its main goal is to establish an efficient synchronisation framework managing the data, developed services and information flow between the different authorities involved in emergency management operations and the crisis managers (Rescue forces, Police, Fire-department, etc.). The project has a social science component of investigating the role of civil society in crisis management as well as community resilience.
Funding Agency
European Union
Programme
Horizon 2020
Project Type
Research and Innovation

Katarzyna Wodniak, Crisis management and polycentricity, Disasters, 2025, Journal Article, SUBMITTED
Kooperatywy 2.0 (Cooperatives 2.0) in, editor(s)Katarzyna Jasikowska Michal Palasz , Za piec dwunasta koniec swiata. Kryzys klimatyczno-ekologiczny glosem wielu nauk (Tick-tock, the end of the world: climate-ecological crisis in the voice of multiple sciences), Krakow Poland, Jagiellonian University, 2022, pp541 - 566, [Katarzyna Wodniak], Notes: [DOI 10.26106/bvyp-p569 za512.uj.edu.pl], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  URL
Ioannis Benekos Evangelos Bekiaris Katarzyna Wodniak Waleed Serhan Lukasz Sulkowski Hana Gharrad Ansar Yasar, A Proposed Framework for Considering Community Resilience in Technology Development and Disaster Drill Design, International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 13, 2022, p342 - 357, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-022-00417-2 Open-access https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13753-022-00417-2], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL  URL
Katarzyna Wodniak, Social leverage of sporting mega-events and co-production. The case study of Orlik facilities in Poland after EURO 2012, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 13, (1), 2021, p85 - 104, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2020.1859585], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Do No Harm Lest Others Do Harm to You: Self Protection and Risk Management by Generation Y On Social Media in, editor(s)Jeremy Schulz Laura Robinson Aneka Khilnani John Baldwin Heloisa Pait Apryl A. Williams Jenny Davis Gabe Ignatow , Mediated Millennials. Studies in Media and Communication, Bingley UK, Emerald Insight, 2019, pp71 - 87, [Katarzyna Wodniak Anne Holohan], Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020190000019005], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  URL
  

Wodniak, Katarzyna; Serhan Waleed, Positionality in Ethnically Diverse Qatar (forthcoming), Field Methods, 2025, Journal Article, ACCEPTED
Katarzyna Wodniak, Waleed Serhan, Report on the role of civil society involvement in Crisis Management, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8108311, Zenodo, June, 2023, Report, PUBLISHED
Adrian Vilciu; Robin Cosma; Mircea Cernat; Cristina Horrillo; Pia Ferner; Lorenzo Nerantzis; Iliana Korma; Marta Burgos Gonzales; Nicolae Maruntelu; Chalaris Michail; Katarzyna Wodniak; Waleed Serhan; Pavlos Spanidis; Ioannis Benekos; Nicoleta Nicolau; Marcel Istrate, Report on safety and security issues of emergency and crisis management field actors, Zenodo, 2022, Report, PUBLISHED
Radu Andriciuc; Alexandru Dumitra"cu; Ioannis Benekos; Cristina Horrilo; Iliana Korma; Philippe Besson; Sabrina SCHEUER; Zenia Koti; Francesca Morelli; Fabio Cibella; Iosif Sklavidis; Iosif Vourvachis; Maria Burgos Gonzáles; Mango Gianluca; Hana Gharrad; Marie-Christine Bonnamour; Anthony Lamaudière; Jean De Preter; Pia Ferner; Georg Aumayr; Niklas Hamann; Katarzyna Wodniak; Waleed Serhan; Ansar Yasar; Sofia Karma; Iliana Korma; Philippe Besson; Marco Guerri; Giulia Sedda; Christodoulos Santorinaios, Report on the functional specifications of S&R, V2, Zenodo, 2021, Report, PUBLISHED

  


I am a sociologist and I am interested in new organisational arrangements and alternative policies based on social and environmental objectives that would help us respond to global challenges of climate change and inequalities. These include polycentric governance, sustainability and deepening of the democratic process through co-production and co-management as well as cooperativism and active community involvement. I am also interested in the role of women in the process of societal change. My research concerns the application of these concepts across various fields including crisis management, amateur sports, housing and circular cities, among others. One example can be my article "Social leverage of sporting mega-events and co-production. The case study of Orlik facilities in Poland after EURO 2012" where I employed Elinor Ostrom's theory of co-production to analyse the development of a national network of small sports facilities in Poland. The article investigated how organisations in the public sector designed and implemented policies that incorporated existing local knowledge to successfully promote amateur sports in Poland. I argue that such arrangements apply to other contexts and not only amateur sports and as such, they hold a promise for better organisational solutions and social policies.