In a nutshell

New challenges, new opportunities

Under the current landscape scenario, where intensification of the effects of natural and technological hazards due to climate change is combined with new ways of threatening our societies, the establishment of strong alliances to reinforce our capacities to better protect our future has become a must.

Faced with the risk of progressively severe and frequent natural and man-made disasters (technological and malicious), policy-makers and risk managers increasingly rely on the wealth of existing knowledge eat all stages of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) cycle – adaptation; mitigation; prevention; preparedness; response; recovery and reconstruction.

A growing number of Commission Services are collaborating to reinforce the links between the different Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and DRM related policies to ensure the maximised impact of an optimised implementation of DRR and DRM policies.

While complexity and uncertainty are growing and a lot of developments cannot be predicted as such, a stronger anticipation culture would strengthen EU preparedness and resilience. Understanding disaster risk becomes essential to enhance resilience and contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Together we are stronger

The Commission officially endorsed the concept of Knowledge Centres in its Communication on Data, Information and Knowledge Management (C(2016) 6626)). They bring together experts and knowledge from different locations inside and outside the Commission, creating a new instrument to develop and pursue informed and evidence-based EU policies. The development of Knowledge Centres has become one of the key elements of the JRC 2030 strategy.

The Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) provides a networked approach to the science-policy interface in DRM across the Commission, EU Member States and the DRM community within and beyond the EU.

Partnership

Networks are fragmented and it becomes imperative to foster the transfer of knowledge and technologies across scientific networks specialised on different hazards and threats - where knowledge begins- to be able to strengthen the science-policy interface by providing integrated support to the policy cycle – where knowledge applies.

Knowledge

Scientific research results along with operational knowledge gained from lessons learned, exercises and trainings need to be better exploited. Pooling of information and granting access to scientific results and expertise to boost transfer of research outputs to end-users – where knowledge meets - is the first step to facilitate the difficult task of making sense of existing knowledge and to identify existing gaps – where needs are identified.

Innovation

There is the imperious necessity for a common space where continuous testing, training, benchmarking, validation and promotion of more and more focused innovation in all phases of the DRM cycle will take place. Industry and the scientific community play an essential role in developing innovative methods, tools and technological solutions for the mitigation of disasters (adaptation and prevention) and their impacts (preparedness and response).

Developing collective knowledge and innovative tools

Supported and empowered by the union of well-experienced scientific networks, the DRMKC offers a collaborative space with a multidisciplinary approach to the complexity of the DRM by proposing concrete collective goals to be reached in support the development of a more sustainable future.

The DRMKC facilitates information and knowledge sharing, while enhancing the connection between science, operational activities and policy needs. The DRMKC Newsletters are produced on quarterly basis to help disseminating information across sectors and networks.

When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

The driving force of the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre is collaboration. Relying on the expertise of the wide DRM community, the DRMKC proposes and coordinates actions to consolidate collective knowledge across scientific disciplines and economic sectors, while reinforces the existing links across DRM and DRR related policies.

While knowledge is abundant, gaps do, of course, still exist. The DRMKC contributes to map these gaps fostering in that way a more focused and needs-driven development.

Risk Data Hub

The DRMKC Risk Data Hub is a multi-hazard Geo-portal aiming at providing a common tool for scientists, practitioners and policy-makers to support bridging science and policy, pass and future, local/National/European and Global scales in the frame of DRM. It is conceived to be co-developed by scientists and end-users looking for crystallising the science-policy interface.

Science for DRM

The Science for DRM series has mobilised the whole DRM community with the common aim of summarising the state-of-art, to learn from the past experiences and to contribute to the definition of the new challenges. The Science for DRM is notably contributing to enhance risk awareness and to the dissemination of information on DRM policies and science.

INFORM GRI

The Index for Risk Management (INFORM GRI) provides a quantitative assessment of the risk of humanitarian crises in a multi-hazard context with a major focus on developing countries.

Gaps Explorer

The DRMKC Gaps Explorer offers science-based knowledge and targeted recommendations, tailored to different stakeholder profiles – scientists, practitioners and policy-makers, regarding the way forward.

Other DRMKC activities

EIOS - CEWS

Projects Explorer

The DRMKC Projects Explorer is continuously updated with information regarding research projects and the institutions involved. Nowadays there are around 1800 research projects and 8000 institutions mapped. It is an essential tool to discover who knows what.