BRIDGE-IT, Building Resilience to Increase Disaster Management Governance and Emergency preparedness-Italy

forthcoming

Today's challenges require European countries to adapt to be able to manage emergencies and crises that may occur. Italy’s National Civil Protection Service, coordinated by the Italian Civil Protection Department (ICPD), was established at the end of the 20th century to manage natural hazards and the consequences of both natural and man-made disasters according to the principles of whole-of-government and whole-of-society. Over the decades, the system has evolved through lessons learned from the numerous emergencies that have affected the national territory and, today, has reached a recognised level of quality and efficiency. The challenges we are facing today, however, go beyond the traditional scope of civil protection. From the pandemic to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, new crisis scenarios and emerging risk factors have highlighted the need for further evolution of the system, both to ensure effective crisis management at the national level and to strengthen collective resilience at the European level. This need clearly emerges at European level from the Niinistö report (2024) and the EU Preparedness Strategy (2025), and it is also confirmed by other international constituencies such as NATO, UN, OECD, WB, G7 and G20. With this project, Italy aims to adapt the overall national strategy, laying the foundations for improving the emergency and crisis governance system in line with EU and international guidelines. Through enhanced coordination between civil protection, policymakers, and private and military sector actors, the project will strengthen national policy frameworks for disaster preparedness and crisis management, as well as promote future developments of related national legislative frameworks. It also aims at informing and raising awareness among national public/private stakeholders and supporting the implementation of necessary preparedness activities to strengthen the resilience of society at all different levels.