We announced at the CERIS Disaster Resilient Societies annual meeting in December 2023 that the UCP Knowledge Network platform's autonomous spaces are now available for civil protection (CP) and disaster risk management (DRM) related Horizon projects as well in addition to purely UCPM-funded projects. The project spaces allow to disseminate events independently, upload deliverables, integrate better to DG ECHO officers' day-to-day work, submit material to the soon-to-be-released Knowledge Library, and create a project discussion group to facilitate exchange.

How to apply?

The application guidance is available on the UCPM projects & exercises main page and includes submitting basic information as well as, for example, a short justification on why is the Horizon project is relevant to the UCPM.

Four Horizon projects have been thus far added: LINKS, CLIMAAX, MYRIAD-EU, and RiskPACC. For example, the open call for funding from CLIMAAX was shared via the platform and through the January 2024 newsletter. Similarly, the call for abstracts to the Natural Hazards and Risks in a Changing World conference by MYRIAD-EU was shared online.

Logos of four Horizon projects added to the Knowledge Network platform

The added value to the community

The UCP Knowledge Network platform, opened in early 2022, has been growing fast both from a technical and an audience viewpoint. For example, there has been an over 10x increase in engagement and there are now 900+ registered community members. Many technical upgrades and additions are similarly in the pipeline for the first half of 2024.

Intended as a one-stop-shop, it is an institutional platform embedded in EU legislation and thus guarantees sustainability for novel project results. Likewise, it enables a more comprehensive exposure of the CP/DRM community's activities cross-cuttingly to scientific, practitioner and policy groups.