Call for Participants - Summer School in Evidence for Policy in DRM 2024

Introduction

The Evidence for Policy in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Summer School will be held in Vienna (Austria) on 26-27 September 2024 and its objective is for participants to gain new knowledge on how to better integrate scientific evidence into policy-making. The event is a reproduction of the 2023 version of the School.

It will be organised by the Civitas Soteria consortium (ICF and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna) and hosted by the University of Vienna, on behalf of the European Commission. Due to the participatory nature of the classes, the School will require physical attendance.

The target audience are:

• scientists (e.g., university, national centre of science/knowledge, institute) producing DRM material for policymaking or technical decision-making; and
• policymakers and operational staff (e.g., technical decision-making, strategic planning, resource prioritisation) utilising scientific results in DRM.

A total of eight masterclass topics will be delivered during the School. Each participant will have the possibility to attend three masterclasses. The top preferred masterclasses will be requested in the registration form and participants will be distributed proportionally by the consortium. Based on experiences from the previous schools, we encourage participants to choose and attend masterclasses outside of their comfort zone.

You will find further information (agenda, summaries of the masterclasses, logistical brief, etc.) on this page: Evidence for Policy in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Summer School 2024 | UCP Knowledge Network: Applied knowledge for action (europa.eu)

This call for expression is only available on the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network (UCPKN) online platform. It is intended to fill limited open slots available after initial nominations.

Criteria for choosing participants and application process

A selection committee from DG ECHO.B.3 will choose applicants from EU Member States/UCPM Participating States based on the following two criteria and their connection to the goals of the UCPKN:

• Expression of motivation in participating in the Summer School.
• Expression of relevance of participation in the Summer School for their work.

Previous Schools have included personnel from early (e.g., assistant professor) to senior career (director of analysis) – and the cross-cutting mix has proven to be very fruitful in after action reviews. We expect the applicants to have at least 2-4 years of experience in DRM-related issues because the masterclasses will go in-depth quickly.

Preference will be given:

1. To applicants from states less or non-represented in the registered participants so far;
2. To applicants with specialisation in the less thus far preferred masterclasses; and
3. To keep gender balance and balance between scientist and policymaker profile.

Applicants should register their application in the following link by the end of Wednesday 24 April 2024: https://events.icf.com/240864451053857. The selection process will be completed as soon as possible after that.

Travel cover

The participants are expected to arrive on the evening of 25 September and depart on the morning of 28 September. The consortium will, on behalf of the European Commission, arrange and cover the travel ticket within Europe, accommodation, and meals at the School. However, the cover does not include local travel from home to the departure airport and vice-versa. Participants should not make travel arrangements by themselves and will be contacted by the consortium after the selection process. More info available in the logistical brief.