Evidence for Policy School - Disaster Risk Management

In a world flooded with information from a multitude of sources, collecting, managing, making sense of and communicating knowledge, or evidence, is highly challenging.

With scientific controversies, post-fact politics and societal challenges to the use of evidence in public policy, evidence-informed policymaking needs advocates and skilled practitioners, both in scientific and policy bodies.

To help researchers to have more impact and policymakers to use evidence for policy solutions, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO), in collaboration with the Italian Civil Protection Department, the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) and the University of Florence (UNIFI), organise an Evidence and Policy School in Florence, Italy.

The thematic topic of the 2020 Evidence for Policy School is disaster risk management – a key strategic area for the future of Europe. However, the workshop will not present either the latest science or specific policy solutions in this field, but will focus on the tools and approaches to inform the policymaking process through evidence.

What is unique about the event?

• Policymakers and scientists meet and together develop skills in using evidence for creating policy solutions;
• Participants will learn how their respective professional worlds operate;
• Leading thinkers and practitioners producing science and policy around risk reduction, preparedness and response engage closely with participants through participatory, interactive masterclasses;
• The thematic focus stimulates cross-policy dialogue and interdisciplinarity.

Who will be there?

• Scientists interested in how to achieve impact on policy and
• Policymakers interested in how to commission and use research to support them in their daily work
• Both having experience of working within the field of disaster risk management (producing science or policy tackling it, using related data in their work on other topics, interested in the implications of this societal challenge on other fields, etc.) and
• Working primarily in the Participating States to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, i.e. EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey

What will you gain?

• New knowledge on how to better integrate scientific evidence into policy-making;
  • Scientists will learn how to better communicate and visualise their results, tackle uncertainty and align their projects with policy needs.
  • Policymakers will learn how research can support policy, which science can be relevant to their field, where to find it and how to interpret it, and what can be expected from researchers.
• New insights on how ‘the other side’ operates;
• Enlarged network of likeminded professionals, working on disaster risk management with ambition of using evidence in policymaking;
• Access to a global community of practice, exchanging top resources and expertise.