Integrating Risk Perception and Action to enhance Civil protection-Citizen interaction

ended

Increasingly complex and interconnected risks globally highlight the need to enhance individual and collective disaster resilience. While, there are initiatives to encourage citizen participation in creating a resilient society, these are typically fragmented, do not reach the most vulnerable and can result in unclear responsibilities for building disaster resilience. New technologies can also support preparedness and response to disasters, however, there is limited understanding on how to implement them effectively. Awareness of risks and levels of preparedness across Europe remain low with gaps between the risk perceptions and actions of citizens, and between the risk perceptions of citizens and Civil Protection Authorities (CPAs). The RiskPACC project seeks to further understand and close this Risk Perception Action Gap (RPAG). Through its dedicated co-creation approach, RiskPACC will facilitate interaction between citizens and CPAs to jointly identify their needs and develop potential procedural and technical solutions to build enhanced disaster resilience. RiskPACC will provide an understanding of disaster resilience from the perspective of citizens and CPAs, identifying resilience building initiatives and good practices led by both citizens (bottom-up) and CPAs (top-down). Based on this understanding, RiskPACC will facilitate collaboration between citizens, CPAs, Civil Society Organisations, researchers and developers through its seven case studies to jointly design and prototype novel solutions. The “Risk Pack” of solutions will include a framework and methodology to understand and close the RPAG; a repository of international best practice; and, tooled solutions based on new forms of digital and community-centred data and associated training guidance. RiskPACC’s consortium comprised of CPAs, NGOs, connector organisations, researchers and technical experts will facilitate knowledge sharing and peer-learning to close the RPAG and build disaster resilience.